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What is this place?
Here, I'll be putting anything that I think is interesting to me, whether it be an opinion on something or a story about something. Just think of it as an online commentary or some junk like that, hence the name. I'll even put the date something is entered...like a journal or Xanga...there I said it. But you know Andy Land is cooler.
UC Davis - this has a fair amount of stories from my first year at
UC Davis.
Evolution 2002 - this is log of what happened during my awesome
trip to Evolution 2002
Summerslam 2001 - read about the cool stuff Joey and I saw when
we went to WWF Summerslam live in San Jose.
Kristin Kreuk Randomness - look at the random junk I have here
Archived Commentary - To avoid clutter on
this page, I've archived some older commentary. More will be archived when new ones are added to this page.
Here's what's archived:
Feel free to comment on this at my Xanga site.
Coming off from a great 2002, my momentum was just rollin' and i was in full swing to
have another great year. Did 2003 live up to my expectations? Well, let's find out
now...
Part 1: More College Goodness: January 1 - June 14: >>>
I would say I started off my 2003 year pretty well. I was taking some tougher courses
during the Winter quarter, but it was ok. I at least wasn't taking Bitch Studies. I
was taking a very demanding computer science class, which took a whole lotta time. On
top of that, i was taking another CS class, Honors Compartive Lit, and
Calculus. That sure was a busy quarter. I missed a lot of meals and basketball games
because of all this stuff, but I got through it.
Part 2: Summer of Knives: June 15 - September 18: >>>
As soon as I leave Davis, we go to Reno, which was fun because we got to chill with
Rob, JP, and the rest of the Reno Crew. But when I got back, I had to look for a
summer job; something to keep me busy. I had talked to Joey earlier about Vector, and
I was interested because I went to one of his meetings last summer and was simply
amazed by it. So Joey helped me get an interview at the office.
Part 3: Return of The Substitute/Protege: September 19, 2003 - December 31, 2003 >>>
I move into my brand new apartment a week before classes start. Knowing I can't let
certain things bother me, I had to do my best to carry on with my life. The apartment
at first glance, was pretty small. But, I got used to it and now it's home to me. I
had a great first week at Davis, since there were no classes. I got to hang out with
my roomies again and I got to see some old friends I hadn't seen in a while.
...and so much more. During the winter break, I went through a period of deep
thought, and I had to rethink my life. It was a painful ordeal, but I got through it
and now I'm "better than ever" (for lack of a better term). I ended my year with a
pretty fun trip to Reno. Nothing THAT spectacular, but it was fun.
Reflection: >>>
I guess you can say I had another great year. Whenever I was in Davis, damn near
everyday provided an interesting story. The last two quarters in the dorms was some
of the best times of my life. My summer was awesome, especially with the job. And
this past 4 months brought about plenty of great moments.
As mentioned on the front page, the bulk of future commentary will be moved to
my Xanga site. Part of the reason
is because it'll provide more frequent Commentary updates and it'll have more
non-commentary-like material. So...read on...
Hi, it's been a while since I've added commentary, so I'll give some thoughts on numerous happenings over
the summer. If this turns out like a Xanga thingie, whatever. You know Andy Land is great; that's why you
are here.
Well, that's it for now. I'll try to be a better host to you fine people by updating regularly. But
with a female, knives, street fighter, and a pudgy mexican....i got little time for Andy Land.
This is too golden to forget and procrastinate about. So I bug Katherine about
spelling Kristin Kreuk's name wrong. And that leads into a talk on my imagination, particularly
something I call Bizarro World, for lack of a better term. It's basically crap that I used
to daydream out of bordeom or just to put me to sleep. Well, here's how it goes...
I'm married to Kristin Kreuk. She is a pretty popular actress; not obscure and not super big.
I am a computer scientist/marketing genius in my company called...Andy Land. Brad Pitt is the
Vice President of the marketing department. Jennifer Aniston and Kristin are very close friends, for
whatever reason. Oh, I don't know exactly what I program or market, but i know
it's top of the line stuff.
It is about two months before Evolution 2003, which has basically been Street Fighter nationals.
As of right now, my interest in Marvel vs Capcom 2 (MvC2) has significantly increased. For the past 9
months, it's been moving up and down like a sine curve. But now that tourney season really kicking in,
i'm dying to play against my brother, my friends, and people i've played in tournaments.
As you may know, Mother's Day was last Sunday. I spent a Saturday evening at my sister's house with
mommy, pop, brother, and brother-in-law. On Sunday, my parents took me back to Davis. Along the way,
we're supposed to pay a $2 toll. We noticed the person in front of us took a little longer. Then,
when it was my turn to hand the two dollars, the worker said that the young lady in front of us
paid for us and said Happy Mother's Day. We were like WOW...soooo nice.
Then last Friday. I saw Matrix: Reloaded with hella people. Specifically, it was Jay and me with 8 other
girls. Can't go wrong there. Anyways, it was good, entertaining movie but it wasn't the best damn thing
like people hyped it to be. The action scenes were, of course, incredible. Side note: Jay loves cake now.
The plot was at times kinda random, but would probably make sense if i actually took the time to think.
But I didn't pay $7.25 to think. Yea, the Twins were badass bad guys. Oh man, way too good.
On a similar note,
that same night, i had dream where hundreds of Girl Scouts were coming up to me, asking me if i wanna buy cookies.
Like Neo, i picked up a long stick (in my case, a broom), and i started fighting those scouts, just like
Neo vs. Agent Smiths. Crazy yo.
If i had to choose between the two, I'd go with X-Men, cuz it's m'fukkin X-Men! But man, I was
running around my building doing X-Men/Matrix shenanigans like the 8-year old i seem to be.
Man, Thai Iced Tea is sooooooooooooo f'n good. I liked it before. But after a long while,
I had some and damn...it officially became my favorite beverage. Seriously, as i'm typing this,
i'm yearning for some thai tea right now. Megan and I went to Sophie's Thai Kitchen because
it had unlimited refills for the thai tea. I had soooo much that I had to limp to Border's
so that i could pee. Forget regular tea, green tea, mango milk green tea, Lipton ice tea
and any other tea. Forget soda. Forget fruit drinks...and forget MILK...yes kids, Thai Iced Tea for
life. I'd sell a roommate, a programming partner, and a neighbor for a talk glass of Thai Tea right now.
Until next time, drink your milk, take your vitamins, take a shower, write a program, and play
some Marvel vs Capcom 2!!!!
Ok, so I'm legally known as "Andrew." My family calls me Andrew. Classmates call me Andrew. But
friends call me Andy. According to friends, they said that during junior year, they kept on yelling
"Andrew!" but I never responded. Then they yelled "Andy!" and i turned around. So from then on, they
called me Andy. See, I still introduce myself as Andrew, even when on the first day of college Then why does everyone know me as Andy at UCD? Well, Jay called me Andy a few times and then
everyone just caught on. Then you got Angela and Qub calling me "Drew." I'm cool with that, but I think
only one other person has called me that. Then who's Barry? Technically, it's my other self. It's the Angelus to Angel. It's the Evil Ryu
to Ryu. It's the Orochi Iori to Iori. It's the Pepsi Twist to Pepsi. It came up months ago when Juan
and Sammy were in my room and trash talking to someone online. I walk in briefly, and decided to talk
a little trash before leaving. As an alias, I just put the name "Barry" and left. Ok, later on, Juan, Jay
and I were talking about being wrestling heels (bad guys) and what our names should be. I just said
Barry. Yea...that's it. "Barrylicious" is my Jackass name, by the way. Yea, that's my commentary for now.
Everyone talks about them. It's cliched. But what the hell? Looking back at 2002, I realized some problems
I have yet to solve.
(1) First thing I would like to do is start doing better in college. My GPA is dismal and that's
extremely disappointing. Everyone that knew me from high school know that my lack of studying and lack of doing
homework is very uncharateristic of me. I was thinking about my parents and I know I can't let them down.
My mom worked her ass off to raise me and my sibs. She's gone through so much and I'm happy with the way
I turned out...well, to a certain extent. I believe my dad's a genius, although he doesn't seem like it. His
business card says "Sr. Staff Software Engineer." In a time like this, he still is well-off whereas many are jobless.
It would kill my parents if I did poorly in college. On top of that, I have my younger brother, with his
superiority-complex and all, breathing down my back. And when (not if) he becomes a doctor, he'll never let me live
my failures down. To sum this up, failure is not an option for a guy like me. I'll cry if my GPA is lower than a 3.8.
(2) I'm also going to work out/exercise more. I've been out of shape since high school. My metabolism
allows me to lose weight without doing anything. Because of that, I do not exercise as often anymore. I tried
working out a little but with a lack of determination, motivation, and other junk, I've never consistently
worked out. This year, I'm gonna start playing basketball and tennis again, as well as go to the rec hall.
See, I don't wanna get buff or anything like that. I just wanna get in good condition and a little toned.
And how am I gonna get motivated? As far as i know, Yaqub, Jay, and Megan are gonna get me to do it.
For now, these are tangible things I can do this year. I have some other things I'm hoping I can do this
year such as enjoying life, not being lazy...the usual. Yea, whatever. I think I've typed too much.
It's been another year for me and it's time to reflect on the good, the bad, and the awww shits of
the year. See, a year ago, I told myself 2002 is gonna be a great year for various reasons. Hmmm, did it
turn out well?...
Part 1: High School: January 1st - May 21st >>> My last semester of high school...After college
applications, I decided to forget about everything and just have fun. All in all, I think I did
have a good time. Being me, I couldn't let my GPA drop, so I still managed a high GPA at the end of the
semester. Academically, I only really cared about AP tests, and with that in mind...I don't think I cared
that much either. Community service at Sunday Friends was often a fun thing to do. Joey and I have some
interesting stories and experiences when working there. Oh yes, Joseph...YOU know what I'm talkin about. I'd say the worse moment of this time period was receiving my rejection letters from UCLA and UC Berkeley.
Yup, I remember feeling good one morning at school, and then in a second my entire mood went straight to hell.
I was pissed, sad, furious, angry, and frustrated beyond belief. It felt like everything I had worked for and
spent hours on was a total waste of time. I spent the past 3 1/2 years putting up with a lot of bullshit
just to have it all tossed back in my face. Not only that, my parents didn't give a shit about every other
college I got into. I got accepted with honors and scholarships to the other UCs, but they were like "whatever."
There goes my confidence. I still can see a scar on my hand from punching a wall in my house. To justify my
losses, I did apply for EECS, which is one of the most impacted majors at those schools...so basically you
can't just be smart...you gotta be top tier smart. One of the best experiences was the Kairos retreat I participated in. It was good timing too since
it came a few days after my UCLA rejection notice. It is difficult to explain what was so great about this
retreat but it put so many things in perspective and it changed the way I viewed life. I felt incredibly good
after the retreat. Other fond memories include my Senior Ball, the last two mixers I went to, and just
randomly hanging out with my buddies after school and talking for however long. I also spent a fair amount of
time going to Marvel vs Capcom 2 tournies at Sunnyvale Golfland, where I met some cool people.
Part 2: Summer: May 22nd - September 20th >>> Ah yes, I figured it's the summer after high school
and I'm gonna have a super duper fun time before I go off to college. Well, that plan didn't go too well.
I wanted to get a job doing whatever just so i could have some extra money for college. To keep long stories
short, I didn't get any job because I was going off to Davis. Hell, I didn't even go out that often.
Most of my summer days consisted of sleeping until 12...eating, watching TV...and then nap until dinner. Then I
would watch TV and then go online until 3 or 4 AM. What a shitter those days were.
July 4th weekend comes around and my family goes to Reno. It was fun. Take a look at the commentary on that
somewhere here...One of the funnest events was Summer Advising at UC Davis. Over the 2 day period, I
got a little taste of college. I met a cool dude named Brian and we pretty much hung out during advising. Too
bad he lives in frickin Cuarto! What else happened over summer...lots of random stuff with my buddies such
as bowling, mall, movies, late night chatting about junk...Joey and Vector come to mind. I'd say the best
thing I did the past summer was go to Evolution 2002, the national Street Fighter tournament. If you care, just
read below. But in short, it was 4 days in Los Angeles/UCLA playing Street Fighter until whenever. It was just
me, brother Alex, and friends, Steven and Matt. Awesome time.
A couple more weeks of summer left and I recall a picnic with my buddies. It was pretty much the last thing
we did together before going our separate ways. It was a pretty fun day, which ended with us going to the mall.
The night before I was Davis-bound, we went bowling. It was my last night in San Jose. Honestly, I don't remember
what happened that night...all I know is I got home at 2:30 and felt damn good...
Part 3: College: September 21st - December 31st >>> So far, my year looked decent. Starting
September 21st, that changed. My year was going to get good...really good. To read about my UCD life and look
at the crap I do, click here. In a nutshell, it was the best experience of my life. Over
the past 3 months, I've enjoyed everything I've done here. The great people. The great times. Being in college
alone made my year incredible. Even when I went back home for winter break, I got to hang out with some of
these people, particularly with a certain special someone. To end my 2002, my family and I went to Reno for 4 days
for New Year's. Last Saturday, I got a 78 win streak in Marvel vs Capcom 2. All I got to say is
50 cents, 4 hours, 78 wins...the next 2 days in Reno were ok, nothing great. New Year's Eve was pretty good
though, but not as great as last year's. All in all, it was a good trip. But damn, college is awesome.
Wrap-up: So...looking back, would I say 2002 was a good year? In short, damn skippy! Things were
up and down most of the year, but college pretty lifted all my spirits. I think I learned a lot this year.
Learned about many different things pertaining to life. It's hard to explain what went on in my brain, but
I think I'm a better person because of this year. I've contemplated over the mistakes I've made. Well, I've done
a lot of thinking in general. Hopefully, all I've learned is useful for something. Anyways, 2003 is gonna be
interesting...
January 3, 2004: 2004 Year-In-Review
Regarding my social life, I wasn't a single man anymore. I spent most of my time in
the dorm, but of course, still running around like a complete jackass. It's hard to
just pinpoint any particular stories of what happened during this time since I can go
on for hours about all the fun times. It was a very memorable 6 months, that I would
love to relive.
Yea, pretty much, everything is a giant blur and can best be described by storytime
or my photo album. I mean, random times at the DC, running into Heidi/Gina's room,
harassing Linda, apartment "shopping." and just nights of random hilarity provided
for many great moments.
After about a total of 2 hours of screening, a group interview, and a final
interview...I got the job. It was kinda nerve-wracking in a sense since I was the
last person they called in. My interviewer, Gabe, was like, "Andrew, a lot of people
applied for this job and we can't accept everybody. [Pause] So you must be excited to
know that you've got the job." Boy, did that feel good.
After 3 days of going through the training seminar, I was on my way to selling Cutco
knives! And my first demo was, well, horrible. In short, my mom was highly against my
job. I still don't know why the fuck she would be. Whatever. I was able to sell $1479
in 3 days, and that felt great.
As great as the knives + accessories are, the best thing about this job was how much
I learned over the summer and all the great people I met. After each meeting, I would
leave feeling so positive. This feeling was incredible. It's hard to put into words
all that I learned and all this personal growth that I went through. What I got from
the meetings far outweighs any paycheck that I got. The knives and the money are just
extras. Because of all this, my attitude in life pretty much shifted towards the
positive side, making me a much happier person in the process. Lastly, what made it
great were the people around me...
Gotta thank Joey for getting me into this job. I owe that pudgy guy many thanks. Gotta
thank Jay for being my bitch for 5 months. Gotta thank my managers (Dan, Gabe, Chris,
Cindy, Mariel, Rachel, Sean, Alex) because I've learned a whole lot from those guys.
And I can't forget the rest of the people I met (Jason, Don, Jayme, JP, and everyone else).
It was a pleasure meeting and hanging out with all of you.
Despite the great things that came out of my job, I experienced a fair amount of
negativity. My mom still didn't approve of it. She would yell at me or lecture me if
I came home a little late after a meeting. Shit, she even waived a fucking Great
America job information sheet in front of me, acting like that's a much fulfilling
job for me. Whatever, I think I suffered an even greater loss by taking this job, but that's
another story.
Nonetheless, my summer was pretty eventful. I grew on a personal level, and i got a
new wardrobe AND kickass knives!
Helping out Lucia and Lika prepare for the new Indio kids to move in was fun,
especially since we don't have cable/internet/phone in our apartment. I also helped
my cousin and his friend move in to their dorm, which was much better than shear
bordeom. The best thing about spending time at the dorm area was that I ended up
meeting a lot of cool people, especially Rebecca and Allison. They are the lucky
people that live in my room that Jay and I lived in last year.
Contrary to popular belief, I wasn't feeling great the first couple weeks back. Most
of you may know what happened so I won't go into detail. Basically, I was in a big
slump. Good thing I had great roomies to make sure my problem wouldn't carry over to
other aspects of my life. Even with all the other things, I knew I was still sad
inside.
I continued to live my life the best I can; enjoying everything to the fullest. In
all, I had a great time this past quarter. I have plenty of stories to talk about,
but I damn well ain't gonna put it here...
Aside from the fun, I realized I did a lot of growing. Compared to how I was earlier
in the year, I am somewhat different. Maybe it was Vector Marketing, cuz everything I
learned there applied to my life in so many ways. It made me a better person, and in
turn, a much happier person. I put life into perspective and things turned out well.
So yea, this was a good year. Fun and personal growth. So what's in store for 2004? Well,
since it is the 12th right now. Let's just say the past 6 days have been waaaaaay tooooo
gooooood. In conclusion, 2004 has gotten a really good jump start. YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAH!
December 20, 2003: Andy Land Commentary...Moved
August 19, 2003: The "Andy Has Been Busy for the Summer" Recap
July 8, 2003: Bizarro World: Unfolded, inspired by Kafferine Ng
Also, i have super powers. I'm like Jet Li + James Bond + Spider-Man + Legolas (from Lord of the Rings)
all rolled up into a giant burrio supreme. I am the leader of an elite super hero group. I don't know a
name for my team yet, but that's always a work on progress. There are seven memebers. Four guys: me with
two guns like Caster Troy in Face/Off except they are silver and not gold; another guy with long white hair
and swords, a slightly larger guy who carries a fat shotgun; and a ginormous wrestler-sized guy. Then there
are 3 girls: 1 asian, 1 blonde, 1 brunnette...yea, this is my imagination so I mold my super hero team
to what i want it to be. Anyways...we fight bad guys and junk...yea...
Katherine and Jude Law are my neighbors. They send their friend Johnny Depp over to my house to clean my
pool. Katherine has 3 personal stylists, i mean, "make-up slaves." They are Linda, Judy, and Cat. I
don't know what they do exactly, but they make sure Katherine looks perfect otherwise Linda gets spanked.
June 11, 2003: I Love Marvel vs Capcom 2
See, this all started when Alex and I played Street Fighter II: Turbo for hours and hours. We played
around with other Street Fighter incarnations over the next couple years. Then we got into the Marvel
and Vs. series. In 2000, we got MvC2 for the Dreamcast and we got really deep into it. Then in the summer of
2001, we got two MAS sticks and from then on, we were freaks. WE played MvC2, Capcom vs SNK 1/2, Street Fighter
: Third Strike for endless hours. During the summer, we got into tournaments at Sunnyvale Golfland.
At the beginning of 2002, we really with the tournament scene. I started doing fairly well at tournies.
But in all, it was fun. I got to meet so many people and it also increased my gameplay a great deal.
It August, along with Matt and Steven, we went to UCLA for Evolution 2002, and that was one of the best
things I've done. If you want to read my travel log, click here. Even in college, there was a UC Davis vs
UC Berkeley event that was hella fun. I got to represent UCD in MvC2. Then a couple months ago was
Universities Battle Royale, where San Jose State entered the fray as well. Good times.
This weekend, I'll be in Reno for a MvC2 and CvS2 tourney. Rob, JP, Angel, and the rest of the Reno crew are
some more people I've met playing Street Figher/Marvel. Then the week after, I'll probably be at NewPark Mall
in Fremont for a tourney. And then the next day, Sunnyvale Golfland is having a huge tourney, in preparation
for Evolution 2003. Crazyness yo.
May 22, 2003: Nice People are Cool
This brought back my belief that there are still some good people in this world. As some of you may know, there
was a hazing incident where high school girls were smeared with shit and abused. Countless times during the
week, i had to see that horrific, distasteful video on the news. I thought these people were some of the
dumbest people in society. Even their justification for their actions sounded retarded.
I can't believe people like these are allowed to breed. Thinking about this makes me sick.
This mysterious lady did a kind thing for us. It's not the two dollars, but just the idea that she was
thinking about others. It's hot right now, so i can't put my thoughts into words. Just know that I wish
this person the best. it's the thought that counts.
May 22, 2003: Even More Super Duper Movies!
1 1/2 weeks ago, I watched X-Men 2 with Jay
and Heidi. And damn that was some good shit. The characters were cool, the story was cool, and the little subtleties were
simply neat. Some scenes were just siiiiiiiick. I;m still salivating over the goodness.
Woooo, and we can't foget how oh so fine Kelly Hu was.
March 28, 2003: Thai Iced Tea
March 6, 2003: Quick random thoughts
January 30, 2003: Andrew vs. Andy vs. Drew...vs. Barry?
January 5, 2003: New Year's Resolutions
January 2, 2003: 2002 Revisited