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Tuesday, December 23, 2003
Tuesday 23rd Dec 2003
Da TaiwanTank Rolls into Las Vegas and San Francisco!!!
Da Tank will be in Vegas from 23 till 24
Da Tank will be in San Francisco from 25 till 30. He will stay in the Holiday Inn At Fisherman's Wharf. Plz contact him if you are in the vacinity so we can join force and go havoc ok?!!?!?
Da Tank will then return back to Vegas for the remaining journey and come back to ann arbor on the 1st.
posted by David at 12/23/2003 06:07:00 AM
The finalz are finally over. so did the 600 day celebration away from home. no, i did not exactly get a huge dinner, i didnot get drunk, i did call my mom but she sounded so tired that i didn't want to make her feel worse. but i did cry. yeah... i am a pussy wuss. i still cry like a baby at some of the slightest thing out there. I cry like shit on friday. it is not fun away from home for so long. you dunnoe wat is going on. you feel uprooted. shit, even last time when i went from
Taiwan to singapore i at least go back once a year and my folks are with me. and now i am all by myself. this feeling is not good. not at all... i feel lonely. the worst kind of lonliness. the kind tat you feel even though you are always surrounded by people. it is not like i dun have ppl around me. the dudes are there. but i still feel lonely. i identify it as the worst possible kind of loneliness. it is like i locked up a part of me inside in a cell tat nobody can reach. it is crying out for help yet nobody seems to hear. it could be shouting to someone's ear, screaming at everyone and anyone passing by... but still no one seems to be able to do anything. ppl either dun notice, or they just look on and stood there, or they just dunnoe wat to do with it. the worst thing is even though it is locked up, it controls the emotions, the rest of the person. i am afraid that the longer that this part of me is being locked up, the more deform i will get. the more hysterical and edgy i will become. i will go for the extremes, or in chinese, pian ji 偏激, antisocial or wateva mentally illness there are. i have no idea why this is the case. coz nobody truly understand me? coz of the academic pressure? coz wat? homesick? i dunnoe. i feel lonely. really lonely...
ok... tat aside... coz tat is my own devil i have to fight, here is the update of wat has gone on after friday. Friday after 330... started packing after i got back from exam. shitty UofM housing. freaking chase all of us out... so went packed almost everything i have into two bags and a bagpack and a laundry basket and storm over to satchi's new DELUXE SINGLE. watched movie like siao in the meanwhile... and after move over,
Friday arnd 9... crossing over to arnd 3am SAT when LOTR 2 started...
went to epol's and watched Band of Brothers for first time. hmmm.... war movies always gets my attention. war sux... but hmm... dunnoe leh... guess it is a guy's stuff... but war is just totally awesome eh? hahahah... watched LOTR 2 also after band of brothers... until like 8 in the morning... it was crazy... but pretty awesome... eaton was empty... so we went to the lounge and watch it on the huge flat screen tv with epol's PS2... pretty awesome... and we ordered pizza to go with it... not too bad... the crazy thing is... we decided there nad then tat we are gonna watch LOTR 3 tat very same nite... siao... but nth surprising... finalz over liao... not suppose to think straight... so yeah... tix were bought and preparing to go movie at 630...
Sat 3pm...
went to TK Wu for brunch... since it was already 3 plus when we woke up from the LOTR2 thingy... make no sense rite?! yeah... it made no sense... feeling so freaking dead and vomitted like siao... nth makes sense and just wanna let lose... or havoc should i say? well anywae, went TK Wu with batcha, ivan and fooming and i had this mix vege... which er... ironically, when i came back to satchi's room, satchi whom did not join us for the meal, cooked almost exactly the same thing i just ate... and he did not pay 6 dollar like me for that meal... hmm... and i am suppose to be the econ major dude tat has the financial brain... sigh....
Sat 7 till 10 plus...
anywae... LOTR... hmm... ok lah... pretty awesome... but feeling pretty brain dead to really appreciate it fully. seriously... think it was pretty cool... but yeah... watched it for the sack of watching it and get the hell outta school to so call get a life... probably should have rested more so i could appreicate more... but oh well... can't give a flying F... oh... did realise tat too much male bonding in that film lah... and the ending drags like siao... so many times i tot it is gonna end oledi...then something comes up... i am just being picky... but think it is pretty nice lah... esp the war shots... tot it was pretty cool... but i was so fatigue that i dun get the adrenaline rush from watching it like i usually would... ok... so i guess it was 10 bucks wasted...
Sat after 10 plus...
detour to meijer's to change my blardy bball... hope it won't screw up again like the last one... and yeah... will train once i get back... so watch out world!!! went to danny's after tat... had a nice supper.... chill... but ain't exactly in the best of spirit... tired? fatigue? or jus plain sianz? i dunnoe... but felt like only my skin was laughing... but at least i was laughing... so thanx guys for taking me out...
Sunday AM... can't remember wat time...
i have no idea wat i did on sunday... no i was no drunk... no alcohol... hmmm... i remember waking up at around 3pm... went over to satchi's place to cook maggie mee to makan... and if i am not wrong... i rotted there with satchi watching his TV and wasted the day away... hmm... i think tat is more or less wat i did... oh and i fixed up wat would turn out to be a "HOT DATE" for monday...
Monday morning 2AM...
yeah.. it was 2AM.. i had gone to bed early at 10 hoping i could sleep early and thus wake up early coz i had to go pick up tien huei and take her to breakfast at angelo's... then Dear Mr Chong Fooming called me on my cell and totally woke me up... beautiful... i tired so hard to hypnotise myself to sleep and after tat phone call... tat was it... i can't go back... so i woke up, showered, and watched BOB on my comp... watched like for 3 hours till it is like 6 plus when i doze off to bed... guess wat... i turned GREEN when i least needed it... and i turned off the computer (which is my alarm clock...) to conserve electricity in the midst of my extreme exhaustion by then... so while i was suppose to wake up at 9 and pick up TH at 10, i overslept and she had to call me at 1030 and demanded where i was... sigh... luckily it was not a date... and i am not like after her or anything... phew... if not i would hang myself really... but anywae... rinsed my mouth, washed my face and i dashed all the way over to her place... took the short cut of all shortcuts from baits to rush over to the huron river bridge near mitchell field where she was waiting... thank god she very nice to me nowadays and did not go ballitic... but yeah... ran like siao after so long in tat kind of chilly morning air and almost bursted my tiny lungs... sigh... but anywae... went to angelo's ate a TON... farmer's omelette, blueberry pancake, french toast and rasin breads... felt like a pig but totally satisfied... anywae me and TH jalan jalan around ann arbor... since the weather was really nice by then... later found out from fooming tat the temp was like 7 deg man!!! WOO HOO!! so now you noe why i call it a HOT DATE!!! 7 deg C here in ann arbor in the middle of dec man... how funky can you get? but anywae, me and TH just walk around downtown, went to lotsa cool shops and just sat around and tok... it was pretty cool... guys like me dun hang around chic all tat much... which is sad... considering tat i am on the gaysuspicion list still... dammit... if i am on the list and presumably gay, why ain't girls flocking to me like bees to honey?! shit... but anywae... yeah it was a wonderful day, wonderful weather, wonderful companion... and a great way to set off to Las Vegas and San Francisco...
posted by David at 12/23/2003 06:02:00 AM
Thursday, December 18, 2003
ya noe wat is the meaning of sianz? wat abt burnt out? or wat abt the feeling of overstretched?
this is exactly wat i am feeling rite now. the mad dash started last monday to prepare for the econ 401 and poli sci 339 on tat friday of tat week. and had one on tuesday and now still staring at this 369 baby tomorrow from 130 to 330. very mentally stressful and demanding. sigh... is this call mentally weak or wat? ok, go ahead, shoot me, ain't got the energy to fight back.
i think i have been unknowingly been eating meat you noe. the indo mee last nite tasted really weird. i am not sure tat thing was onion or my msgfilled egg or wat. but somehow last nite i had this dream where i was sitting with some ppl (can't remember who) then they start scrutinising me on why i go vegetarian. and i mean scrutinise. and i end up screaming at them to shut up and leave me alone n all tat. hmmm... i think it is a sign. yeah... it is a sign!!
p.s. expect a post tomorrow which celebrates the 600th days i have been away from home!!! events will include a huge dinner at dunnoe where, possibly a get drunk session, movies, and definitely calling my mom n dad and a huge crying session when i lock myself up in the room. all are invited except the last two events of course!!!
posted by David at 12/18/2003 02:51:00 PM
Monday, December 15, 2003
Me: Oi Batcha, dun ya have to prepare for finalz this week? why do you have the Harry Potter book half way thru?
Batcha: Oh, tat is just for me to read before i go to bed. I read 3 page onli i start to sleep.
Me: MUAHAHAH, tat's a good idea!! then shouldn't you try to read your textbook instead?!
Batcha: Oh, if i read textbook then too fast oledi!! i read one page oledi i doze off oledi. and tat is WAY TOO FAST!!!
MUAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA
tat's batcha for you man!!!!
posted by David at 12/15/2003 10:59:00 PM
oh yeah... amazingly, i actually got 8 and 7 for my two posts for my poli sci 369. was actually expecting 7 and 5 or something like tat... MUAHAHAH... my Prof is really nice in this sense i guess!! hahaha
posted by David at 12/15/2003 06:48:00 PM
ripped off from Julienne's AIM away msg... this girl is totally hilarious!!
Why girls are like finals:
-you'd rather get an easy one
-you get in a lot of trouble if you get caught cheating on one
-if you are drunk when you do one, it takes a lot longer to finish
-the less they have on them the better.
-they suck and/or blow.
-when you finish one, you have to immediately start preparing for the next one.
-if you have more than one scheduled at the same time, you have a problem.
-you have to put in a lot of effort for very little reward.
-nothing about them makes any fucking sense
-when you are done you get up and leave.
-good curves make for a more enjoyable experience
-it's easy to bullshit one
-they jsut lie there and you have to do all the work
posted by David at 12/15/2003 06:46:00 PM
Thursday, December 11, 2003
It is now 7.17 in the morning... haven't sleep since 10 the day before... shit... this is bad.. just did two posts nonestop for my poli sci 369... one post tat blasted US left right up down which definitely will make ppl throw shit at me... the other one is just plain shit by itself so i can't be bothered already... iam so dead... and i am still going to play bball with francis in 2 hours time...omg....
posted by David at 12/11/2003 07:18:00 AM
Wednesday, December 10, 2003
the Fudge Factory (shit... i hope i am recalling its name correctly...) is special coz it has a open kitchen, and the crew, while making the fudge cakes, (correction to my previous post, bakery BAKES... you dun BAKE fudge cakes... at least not according to wat i observe at the shop there...) will sings, rap and perform. it was really quite a site. well, they dun have grammy winning voices lah of course, but it was just fun and hilarious seeing them performing while working... (think STOMP, but not so "instrumental" and more vocal based)
i bought the first neck tie of my life there in union station other than the sch ties... and the second one, and oso the third one... yesh... i bought THREE neckties in one swoop. dun ask how much they cost... not expensive at all if you look individually, but when you add 3 together.... ooops... but i think it is (er... i mean THEY are) gonna come in handy very soon...
expect random side notes to the full-of-hole account of jebai's narrative piece that is worse than a swiss cheese... MUAHAHAH
posted by David at 12/10/2003 11:24:00 AM
the name of the stadium is Busch stadium an ice hockey stadium which i can't really recall the team's name... the bakery is the the Fudge Factory... (dude... bakery bakes CAKE onli lah...)sells good fudge, but dun buy the peanut fudge cake... coz it is too soft and becomes a pile of brownish sticky oblong thingy which is just disgusting... the loop serves more than just the students unlike its south U counterpart here in ann arbor... it caters to regular city folks oso and has more pub and nicer shops than south U. it is also longer and just to let you get the idea, it has TWO thai/siamese restaurant. Union station use to have 16 operational railway tracks (if i recall correctly) during its prime days... and yeah... his name is teddy... teddy purnomo... i have no idea why indo names are so act cute one... MUAHAHHAAHHAHAAHHA... jk...
posted by David at 12/10/2003 11:13:00 AM
i stole this from jebai's site Sorry... he was the official trip historian/narrator/storyteller for the St. Louis trip... so he is in charge of giving the debrief... so go kill him and send him viruses for putting up this post so late. anywae, photos are up now at www.umich.edu/~yll for the trip. Enjoy folks. jebai would like to say a big sorry for the delay in this debrief. MUAHAHHHAHAHAHA... jk
St. Louis is a great city. It is not as large as New York or as dark as Detroit. The city is simply pleasant.
I stayed at Washington University, crashing in Teddy’s place for three or four days. Teddy was a great host and yeah, his name is really Teddy as in teddy bear.
Before I describe the city, I would like to say a few words about the structures in Washington University, better known as Wash U. Some of the buildings are new but the focus here is the old ones. In the middle of the University, there’s a huge field and the University’s buildings concentrated around this open space. The architecture of the old buildings is impressive – it’s sort of like University of Michigan own Law Quad - castle-like - though the feeling of being in Europe is essentially expanded throughout the whole academic campus. One particular work of art is the arch on the hill, facing a long avenue with trees on both side of the space. Again, it’s like Michigan Engineering Arch down in West Hall though the size is doubled or at most tripled.
In contrast, St. Louis has a modern skyline.
Typical of American cities, St. Louis uses the grid system instead of a centralized one to plan out its city. Thus, walking around the cities street is actually a pleasant experience. There weren’t many vehicles on the road though I must admit that I wandered around St. Louis a day after Thanksgiving. Therefore, my description about the traffic might be misleading.
St. Louis is located on the west bank of the Mississippi River, facing the state of Illinois of which is situated directly across the river. There’s a city called East St. Louis on the Illinois’ side though it is no as high profile as Missouri’s.
Traveling around the city is pretty easy. The city's satellites are connected to the downtown by a rail transit system. The rail transit is reliable. There’s also a bus system but I didn’t use it. However, judging from the frequency of the bus, I am sure it is efficient. The city is well connected by road. There are several long bridges crossing the Mississippi River. To sum it up, St. Louis has a pretty good transportation system. Important to note however, new visitors might want to avoid shitty cabs because they do charge more that usual. David and I experienced that first hand.
Like every main cities that I’ve visited so far, St. Louis has its own Union Station. Compared to New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, St. Louis has a rather unique structure for its Union Station. From my travels to New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, the Union Station has the reputation of being a grand old building with the primary function to serve the respective city’s transportation needs. St. Louis’ on the other hand is a recognizable metal structure. It’s almost like a huge warehouse or hangar minus the walls. It’s more like a really big gazebo.
From far, St. Louis’ Union Station looked like the city of Detroit – rusty and poorly lit. Inside however is rocking like it's 1999. About half or a quarter, of the Union Station is occupied by a shopping complex. The term shopping complex might be an exaggeration but the complex is full of shops selling various souvenirs. Also, there’s an interesting bakery. The bakery is unique because not only you could buy its tasteful product, entertainment is also provided.
Typical Union Stations like I said earlier is a grand old structure. Perhaps St. Louis’ had undergone renovation as inside, there’s the Hyatt Hotel. The hotel is adorned with impressive work of art. I was further informed by Teddy that St. Louis Union Station used to be the busiest railways station in the world.
And of course, St. Louis is famous for its Gateway Arch. The Arch itself stands normally aligned to the east-west line. It’s to symbolize the west as St. Louis is closely related to Lewis and Clack’s famous expedition to the west immediately after the Louisiana Purchase. The Mississippi is about 50 meters away from the Arch’s base.
Nearby, an old building is erected facing the Arch. A park is also present. The only disappointing thing about it is the fact that an ugly factory exists directly on the other side of the river.
The city itself is very open. Among the tall buildings, there is a sort of boulevard starting from the Arch and almost all the way across the city. The city prominent old public structure all aligned to face this boulevard.
Finally, the city skyline is pretty normal from the west. Nothing impressive but the Union Station and a stadium of which I can’t recall its name stands out. From the east, the Arch is the eye catcher.
The nightlife is somewhat happening. I gave a place called the Loop a visit and there were many people there even a few days after Thanksgiving. I would imagine the place is packed with people during normal weekends. The Loop however is not the city itself but rather, a hangout place for college students, much like Ann Arbor’s South U St.
For food, St. Louis does offer great choices. I ate dinner with some friends at a Siamese restaurant and damn the food is good. It also has teh tarik! Additionally, I was told that a must try in St. Louis is its root beer. I tasted it but unfortunately, there was nothing great about it though at the price it was sold, it was definitely a huge glass.
Anyway, I hope that wrap up my review of St. Louis. To cut things short, I would like St. Louis if I had grown up there. It’s not too big and it’s too small. It’s just nice for person who wants a quiet life without leaving civilization.
All photos will be made available once somebody get his ass to work. :)
And before I make love with my bed, I would like to say thank you to Teddy for a warm treatment in St. Louis, to Ray for thinking that I could speak Chinese and finally to David for giving me a choice to have fun in St. Louis or to rot in the overrated Annarbour (pardon for the spelling. AAIO has a bad influence on me).
posted by David at 12/10/2003 10:58:00 AM
Monday, December 08, 2003
won't be going LA with armhawan as planned after all... kinda sad... hmm... ok.. really sad... planned for this for so long and it can't work out last minute. sigh... his mom loves him too much and armhawan is just too nice a son to learn how to say no also. sigh... can't be helped. but i wonder when i will get to see tat dude ever again... SIGH!!!
So Michigan's Rose bowl game is gonna be more than wat it is gonna be!!! USC became the no. rank team in the nation but darn computers dun allow them to play in sugar, so they end up playing in Rose bowl. so since the number one team is playing in rose bowl, then DUH DUH DUH, the rose bowl becomes the title championship game rite?!?! obviously it is something computers has yet to understand. but well... won't be going to see the game coz LA is not part of the cali trip plan oledi. and i will be celebrating new year in the las vegas airport also. how fun... no, i am not some hard core i-must-celebrate-newyear tat kind of person. i just want to party tat's all. and new year party is definitely one of the fun ones around rite!? well... double sigh... yet another good reason for me to blame arhawan for my misery. hahahah... jk
final is this friday oledi and my review pace is totally like shit. so far onli redo my midterm one's 2 papers and have no even restudy those slutsky and hicks crap. i am so freaking dead for 401. and i need to pick up my pace for china oso. the silly, environment and econ reform part is too shaky for my likings... lotsa work awaits.
tried to contact some dickfaces back home over the weekend but all of them had their hp shut. blardy chunyi, ah meng, kianping and mike kwan you idiots better get in touch and write me mails you shit ass. or i will very soon shaft your silly faces down the toilet bowls where they really belong!!! haha... jk... (or maybe i am not?! MUAHAH)
posted by David at 12/08/2003 04:07:00 PM
Wednesday, December 03, 2003
i am trying to cut down on the vulgarities i am using. Teddy said tat i seems to be using less of them now... which is kinda surprising. MUAHAH... should make more attempts to eliminate it.
the december cali trip is still dangling there. still awaits final words from armhawan and i am really praying hard for him to give me some positive replies. preparations of the finalz has begun last nite and is going pretty good. need to build up my confidence level or nothing will be achieved. should be more confident of the work i have done so i dun keep repeating them even after i am done with reviewing thru them and waste those times tat i could have used for other subjects like econ 401. will go on a ten day mega powerplay for econ and china and should make sure things get on track as much as they should. gambatte!!
oh, in case you guys still dunnoe, i am unplugged from the internet access from my dorm room. so i won't be able to chat online for the forseeable future. Thank you!!
posted by David at 12/03/2003 05:53:00 PM
understand wat tat cheena post below means? the essence is the last italised para. it mean, preassumptions usually affects a person's decision makings and behaviors. Oberve more and dwell more and you usually will have more unexpected discoveries.
i am always lamenting about this. but ppl nowadays are just so goddamn too busy too spend more time into figuring who a person is really like. i am definitely guilty of this crime on occasions. but then again, i try to really noe a person and find out as much as i can by myself. i think it is just sad. really sad that ppl usually got labelled thru their repu and some casual observations. hmm... maybe i am feeling so strongly of this coz i am usually the victim of such evil acts. haha...
dun say you noe me, coz you dun
dun pretend tat you noe me, coz there is no need to
dun tell me you understand, coz it is alrite that you dun
dun fake and extend superficial helps coz it onli makes me feel worse
it is ok to just leave me alone. i will be better off that way,
than receiving half-hearted helps which you dun really want to extend.
just leave me alone, it is my problem after all, thank you!!
posted by David at 12/03/2003 05:48:00 PM
在那個貧困的年代裡，很多同學往往連帶個像樣的便當到學校上課的能力都沒有，我鄰座的同學就是如此。
他的飯菜永遠是黑黑的豆豉，我的便當卻經常裝著火腿和荷包蛋，兩者有著天壤之別。
而且這個同學，每次都會先從便當裡撿出頭髮之後，再若無其事地吃他的便當。這個令人渾身不舒服的發現一直持續著。
「可見他媽媽有多邋遢，竟然每天飯裡都有頭髮。」同學們私底下議論著。為了顧及同學自尊，又不能表現出來，總覺得好骯髒，因此對這同學的印象，也開始大打折扣。
有一天學校放學之後，那同學叫住了我：「如果沒什麼事就去我家玩吧。」雖然心中不太願意，不過自從同班以來，他第一次開口邀請我到家裡玩，所以我不好意思拒絕他。
隨朋友來到了位於漢城最陡峭地形的某個貧民村。
「媽，我帶朋友來了。」聽到同學興奮的聲音之後，房門打開了。他年邁的母親出現在門口。「我兒子的朋友來啦，讓我看看。」
但是走出房門的同學母親，只是用手摸著房門外的樑柱。
原來她是雙眼失明的盲人。我感覺到一陣鼻酸，一句話都說不出來。
同學的便當菜雖然每天如常都是豆豉，卻是眼睛看不到的母親，小心翼翼幫他裝的便當，那不只是一頓午餐，更是母親滿滿的愛心，甚至連摻雜在裡面的頭髮，也一樣是母親的愛。
便當裡的頭髮
先入為主的觀念
往往影響人一生的格局，
多觀察、多探討
會有更多意外的發現。
posted by David at 12/03/2003 05:03:00 PM
Tuesday, December 02, 2003
Look wat email i have just received... how ironic and fun i am having nowadays with my computer!!! WHEE!!!
* * * PLEASE REPLY TO ALL * * *
It has come to our attention that your machine is infected with a virus or trojan. This code is able to replicate across the network independently of your actions, and needs to be addressed immediately.
Because of this infection, I have deactivated your network connection. This preventative measure is in accordance with the Conditions of Use that you consented to while registering your machine with the ResComp Ethernet program:
http://rescomp.umich.edu/Residential.Ethernet/NetGuide/Registration/Conditions.of.Use.php
I have included the University of Michigan's VirusBusters team (www.umich.edu/~virus-busters), on this message. Contact them at virus.busters@umich.edu - you will need to work together to disinfect your system. Their anti-virus services (virus removal and prevention) are free to UM users.
Once they certify your computer is clean, we'll re-enable your network connection. Be advised - they are busy, and deal with customers on a first-come, first-served basis. Depending on their workload, there may be a delay after the first contact.
Another option is to reformat your computer and start from scratch. If you do not follow their instructions(or reformat), you will not be allowed back on the network. They cannot reactivate your connection; they can only verify that your machine is sanitized.
Note: the VirusBusters group is very busy right now. They've given the following suggestions:
===
[Last modified 30 October 2003]
DISCLAIMER: The U-M Antivirus Team supports the entire University; we are
not part of Housing. We can neither disconnect nor reconnect; our task is
to assist you and, once you are fully protected, to recommend to ResNet
that you be reconnected. We process cases in the order they are opened;
we process them all as quickly as we can. But since we are have fewer
than two staff member equivalents and we support all of U-M, please
understand that we may have hundreds of cases open at any one time.
There is no preferential treatment other than for the time the issue is
initiated: no benefit for faculty or staff over students, or vice versa.
Rest assured that we'll help you absolutely as soon as we can, and make
every effort to recommend reconnection as soon as it is safe for you and
the network.
Understood? If not, please reread the disclaimer; otherwise, let's
move on:
Please reply directly to the messages ResNet or members of the
antivirus team send you, so that we have all the information about your
situation. I'm dealing with many many of these at once. It's a good idea
to include virus.busters@umich.edu and resnet@umich.edu in your replies,
so that your case may be processed more quickly.
Also, please follow the instructions carefully and exactly. I know
that should be obvious, but you'd be surprised how many times we have to
ask for more info. The more back-and forth we have, the longer it is for
you -- and everyone who gets afflicted after you -- to get back on-line.
There are three phases: First, you use the Stinger tool to remove a
few particularly nasty viruses, if any. Then you fix some critical
Windows vulnerabilities. Finally (we hope!), you install VirusScan so
that your computer is protected, and then you send the reports of all
these phases to us for analysis. Details follow.
When your machine is clear to be reconnected, we'll alert the ResNet
folks, who do the actual connecting and disconnecting (remember: we're not
Res Hall staff; we support antivirus for the entire University). If at
that time I forget to send you procedures that go beyond the protection
that antivirus software provides, please remind me, and I'll send them to
you as quickly as I can.
Ok, now on to the detailed instructions; you may find it helpful to
print them first so that you can check things off as you do them. It
is important that you do them in the order specified:
1. Run Stinger on your machine
First, be sure to disable System Restore if you use WinXP
or WinME. If you need help with System Restore, phone 4-HELP or
has
information.
[After Stinger runs, you may re-enable System Restore, or not. I
prefer to leave it off; some of my colleagues prefer to re-enable.]
Browse to and
follow the directions there for for using Stinger. In brief:
Download Stinger to your Desktop, then double-click on the
downloaded application. Then, when the scan is finished, use
File/Save report, which will save a file named STINGER.TXT in the
same folder as Stinger itself. [I recommend booting in Safe Mode
before running Stinger, but usually that is not necessary.
** We keep a copy of the most recent Stinger at
** -- you can
** access this from the Housing network, even when you are
** "disconnected". We recommend that you get Stinger here.
Note: it's httpS, not just http.
2. Install the patches from the U-M Security CD, which you can borrow
from your front desk. If you browse from a computer connected to
the 'Net, has more info, as
does the readme document available through the CD's menu.
If you use Windows NT 4, you'll have to apply the patches
manually.
tells you what you need to know.
[Stinger is on this CD, but it is an obsolete version. Please
use the one on Neutralzone instead.]
3. Install the most recent version of VirusScan, available from
even when your
machine is disconnected form the network.
DO NOT USE Blue Discs! The virus definitions are too old,
and we'll end up sending you back to do it again. [When the U-M
Preconfigured VirusScan Installer starts, it should say that it
was created 26 August, 2003. If it doesn't, you have the wrong
version.
DO NOT USE the version from the Virus Busters web site: it isn't
configured for the Res Halls. More important, the versions on
Neutralzone are able to update their virus definitions to the
most recent version, even when you are "disconnected."
If you have Windows NT 4, 2000, XP, or 2003 Server, you must use
VirusScan 7.0. If you use Windows 9x or ME, you must use
VirusScan 4.5.1: VirusScan 7 works only on NT-class machines.
Be sure to use the proper VirusScan installer.
4. When VirusScan is finished installing and you have rebooted your
computer, please email the following to virus.busters@umich.edu --
and you may want to send a Cc: to resnet@umich.edu as well:
a. the STINGER.TXT file (or a *detailed* summary of what it said, if
you didn't save the log)
b. A relatively verbose report of what you did with the U-M
Security CD. A sentence or two describing what you did should
suffice.
c. the VirusScan "post install" log file. For VirusScan 7, that's
vs70pi.txt; for VirusScan 4.5.1, it's vs451pi.txt Use
Start/Search or Start/Find, respectively, to find this file.
Email STINGER.TXT and the post install log file directly, or put the
files on a diskette and send them from another machine. Attach the
files or copy and paste them onto your email. And don't forget to
include a brief description of what you did with the U-M Security
CD.
That will, with any luck, tell us whether you're ready to be
reconnected, or if more drastic steps are required.
-BPB
-----------------
Mr. Eldred Pickett
Network Administrator - HITO
University of Michigan
posted by David at 12/02/2003 05:41:00 PM
Ok... back in ann arbor for awhile oledi. probably should have blogged in more detail about my St Louis trip but my computer is severely screwed and i just can't use it the way i want it. So let me just start to give a detail history account of my computer.
it was bought by my dad in taiwan in early 2002. thus, it operates on chinese traditional ME and runs on PIII-850. It was given to me and brought over to US thru markadamang when i was desperately trying to get a computer that can hook me up onto internet using the ethernet of the UofM. the option of buying a LAN card is out otta the window coz my PCMCIA drive of my old laptop is consider to be broken just like the rest of tat poor baby.
after installing XP onto that baby. i found to my horror tat it can onli run at the speed of 300MHZ coz the engine was designed for ME and not XP. but i am use to 300mhz speed oledi so it was perfectly alrite. and it was all these while other than the fact that i can't send out files thru icq and msn coz it take foreva (but it is just coz the config was not suitable for the stupid westquad server coz the same config was perfect when i moved into baits this september).
the freaking problem started when i try to use the virus buster disk provided by the UofM to fight the WORM. guess i should have trusted myself and my computer more. i have been regularly updating my system and scanning it for virus to keep it safe and stable. but i just can't resist the temptation of giving my baby the MOST protection it need. so i decide to use TAT freaking disk and it totally wrecked my computer. after using tat disk which declare tat my computer is totally safe from all tat crap... it now takes FOREVER to boot up. so from the time i press the power ON button to the time it reaches the WELCOME to winXP tat screen, it takes around 30 minutes 3 out of 5 times i boot up. and it just plain sux. it is running like a 386 goddamit. and i just can't freaking stand it. this is not how my baby should be behaving and i am just plain sick and frustrated as i can ever be.
then came the gurus. ppl started bombarding me and nagging at me at the wonder of how reformatting my drive is gonna help. nag nag nag. ok fine, maybe they have their good intentions. i mean so many ppl are just flooding me with that SAME FREAKING sentence on either MSN, ICQ or AIM "please go format your drive lah mister, you will thank me for keep telling you to do this after it is done..." oh man... you noe how troublesome it is to do this crap shit when you dun have a CD burner? yeah, sure, can of course send to ppl and ask ppl to burn for you, but when you are asking ppl to do it for you, it means you can't do it the way you want it to be. you need to work on THEIR time and everything. it is just frustrating. but behaving just the way a nice guy would. i just keep telling these ppl that i am working on it even though i fucking hate it when ppl keep trying to tell me what to do and keep nagging and nagging and naggin. it sux... really sux.
but then again, i am really running out of patience both on my computer and on these ppl's advices. (ok... won't call it nagging anymore coz it is just plain rude. i assume they are saying it for the best of my interest and i should not be so mean and ungrateful for their assistance.) i decide to reformat. i took a more active stance and i got all the stuff i needed to reformat my drive. remember, every step tat i take to do requires about 1 or 2 hour for my computer to process it so here we go on the operations i let my poor baby went thru.
when i first install my XP, it was under FAT32. which was the same system the ME was installed under. under the advice of ppl, i decide to install the XP this time round under NTFS. which later proved to be a bad choice. coz later i realised that my computer did not format my drive at all, and merely installed XP under NTFS environment and under a new user name while the old portion of the HD is still there and i can't access those files oledi. this is bad. really bad. coz now i have onli like 2 GB of my total HD space to work with. so i decide to do more to it.
i figured after hours and hours of trying to enable myself to boot from my disk instead of HD. after tat is done, i decide to cancel the partition which i use to have and combine the HD into one lump 20GB space. so tat means i have to unpartition everything and make the HD into a raw space. ok... this is yet another mess i created unknowingly about is probably unavoidable coz by doing this, it wiped out ALL the disk information there is on the HD and when i try to reformat my HD using the XP cd, it says tat my HD is corrupted and not online and tat information required is gone. so, i try to repeat the reformatting process about 3 more times before sitting down and plan a new strategy to it.
i brought out all the disks tat was given to me with the laptop from my dad. it includes a driver CD, rescue CD for ME and a certain ASUSDVD2002 which i have no idea wat it is all about. ok. so now the plan is to redo everything from the very beginning. i will install ME and put the computer back to the way it was when it first came to me and i will install XP from there. sounds brilliant rite?! the Taiwantank once again puts its brilliant and ingenius problem solving ability to good use and to tell the truth, i am still at this pt in time very proud of wat i did and it COULD have worked just the way i wanted it to if not for this blardy thing call the CD KEY. yesh... brilliang beautiful. after taking like 2 hours to do a recovery work, it enteres a setup menu of ME asking me to key in username, screen resolution preference and of course, the 25 digit product CD key. er... and where is tat suppose to be? no, i do not have CD KEY and in an act of ultra desperation, i made a call to ASUS in taiwan to ask where the hell i am suppose to find tat baby coz the phonenumber for ASUS in USA given with the rest of the userkit is no longer in service. and after an hour of so, the conclusion i received from this non-english speaker in the english assistance department (who REFUSE to speak english with me even though he can't freaking speak english properly and he can't freaking understand me despite me speaking REALLY slowly and chew on all my words in my best ang mo accent which even my mom would have been proud to hear me tok tat way...) the conclusion was tat i do not need a CD key. and WOW... how brilliant is tat answer? but yet i am staring at the beautiful screen tat tells me tat i need to use a CD key and i have no other option to sidestep or get past it other than giving it tat 25 numbers which i was reassured that i do not need. hmm... fun fun fun... so ok... i key in rubbish and it says it was wrong and my computer got shut down by itself. i did it twice and got the same response the same number of times. beautiful.
so the tank sat there, smashed those useless manuals around in the room and chew madly at my ramen and came up with yet another brilliant strategy. which was YET again VERY brilliant but still failed to work due to yet another small tiny problem. ok... here is how it is suppose to work. since i can't fully install my ME, at least it is installed. so i shall force my way thru and continue with my plan. so i boot up again thru my cdrom with my xp cd inside and from the option. i brilliantly chose to FIRST convert the FAT32 system to NTFS first!!! this is really brilliant to avoid wat happened in the very beginning and obviously i remembered all the lessons i have learned, except for one. i must have grown so used to my computer being so goddamn slow that i forgot it is still running like 386 and tat it could crash ANYTIME. and just as fate would have it, after the convertion and installing XP under the NTFS environement (all these while, the taiwantank is just filled with joy and self pride at his achievement in defeating the machine after such long struggle and at the bright and successful future tat Agent Smith would call as INEVITABLE.) the computer came to the start of XP, with all its fancy music intro (which was lagging big time but was something the tank did not take heart to coz he was happily bouncing around in his room and throwing confetti around n such and cooking for himself yet another bowl of ramen to celebrate!!) and then went into the system setup page. well, this is where it hangs. it frozes. it went dead. IT WON'T FUCKING RESPOND!!! ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH... the tank was going totally insane and berseck at this pt in time. the ramen noodle was ready and it never tasted so disgusting. the tank has yet again been defeated by the blardy machine and this time round the defeat felt extra painful coz victory was brutally stolen away rite under the tank's nose. it sux... really sux and the tank was close to tears... the tank at this pt in time was totally pissed and angry with the horrible machine and is just really really really really pissed. and i mean pissed.
but he amazingly pressed on. ok... i am trying to make all these things sound really light hearted and fun to read... but i am just suffering from internal injury really bad. i am ready to blow my top off but on wat? on the stupid laptop tat just won't respond? or on those ppl tat only tried to help? but the tank is just pissed and internal bleeding like shit. and i mean really really shit. i have exhausted all options. i have tried all combinations and way of using watever resources i have on my hands and still it won't work and still the computer is running so slow. but yesh, i pressed on and restart my computer again. ok... and it did not go back to the unfinished set up page. and so my name is the administrator. the system is still totally unconfig and i had to manually config those things and bear with the super slow speed tat i am just too goddamn frustrated with to bother and scream now. i just sat there like a dejected asshole and amazingly still trying to think of ways to salvage the situation. oh, and brilliantly, kelvin msged me asking me to bring my computer to epol to get it done and get his help coz epol would noe how to do it better. ok... epol is not gonna be of any help coz he will be working on this issue with as much resources as i had. and i have genuinely tried all methods of solving and approaching this issue tat one could possibly do with the amount of resouces i have on hand and no to mention also that i dun wanna drag epol into these frustrating one hour super slow cycles. and yesh... i was gay close to making kelvin the sorry scapegoat of all my misery thus far and i guess i was sensible enuff not to kill him (coz tat would dirty my hands will all his alcohol filled blood and all tat alcohol will be just too cold for me in this kind of cold freezing weather... heehee) and just told him not to mention any more on the computer issue. but of course this buddy here dun understand the intensity of things and keep pressing on the issue and i had to diver his attention to the bball game later today to make him stop tokking about it. i pray for his life tat he dun mention and keep pressing on this issue when we meet later today. it is not gonna be pretty and will be pushing my level of tolerance and patience to new great level. *take deep breathe*
do rite now, my computer is still running super slow and may not work any time (coz during one of my bootup sessions, it says that it cannot detect my HD and cannot move on...) and i have done watever i can to salvage the situation. so wat is the future plan? rite now i am really have enough with this thing oledi. so with exam coming up, i will be spending more time in media union and library to study anywae and away from the computer/room to prevent reignition of my flame of anger as much as i can. and after my finals, since the internet connection will be gone anywae, i will send it to have it serviced to check on my HD, my ram and my processor. coz there is no way tat the problem can be fixed thru reformatting and tackling it from the software's method. the problem is with the hardware and its basic programmings. i may not be a computer genius, but after struggling and fighting with this issue for so long, this is as much as i have realised. yesh. and i have done as much as i can to give a detail account of my frustration thus far and the misery tat i went thru. if reading all these is bad enough, imagine having to live thru it and stare at the blardy monitor all these whiles. it is not fun and i am just numb and trying really hard to shut these outta my system. and yesh. tat is the official stance i have on this issue and pls stop bugging me for both my and more importantly YOUR dear life and mentally wellbeing. coz i have had just about enuff. if you wanna do more to this issue, you are more than welcome to take my laptop home and work on it and not bugging me and telling me wat i should do. coz i ahve done all i could to do it and i am not willing to spend any extra energy on it. yesh... thank you for your kind patience to read thusfar and your generous understanding. xie xie.
posted by David at 12/02/2003 02:17:00 PM
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