I thought I’d wait a week so that the fact that I’m older really had time to sink in. How does it feel to be older? Well, it doesn’t feel very different really. I’ve been living in Holland for 59 days training for the 2010 Olympic Games. It’s not easy. As the previous post shows very clearly, I have a long way to go. I’m not going to lie, I’m a little worried that I won’t qualify – they don’t make it easy you know. So, not wanting to disappoint my loyal readership, I will construct a birthday post inspired by Janus from which we get the word “January” (and not “Anus”).

Looking back - A year ago, I was preparing for finals at the end of my first semester at Columbia University in the City of New York. Time does fly, dunnit? First snow was on the 2nd of December and I only had to pull 3 all-nighters during those final weeks. It’s funny the things you remember… breakfast at an ungodly hour of the morning following an all-night writing session, the beginnings of my New York karaoke obsession beginning in February 2008 and going until my goodbye party in October. What else… I got a paper published, spent some time developing my skill as a photographer, actually graduated on time, and worked at UNICEF. Not a bad year…

Looking forward - Where to from here? Immediate goals include getting faster and qualifying for progressively higher-level competition, culminating, of course, in the big O.G. Aside from that, however, my life lacks any real direction. I’d like to do some more reading and write some academic papers while I’m pursuing my quest. Eventually I think I may return to academia, this whole “real world” is a very strange place and I don’t feel like I really belong. I’d like to spend some time at the university here in Enschede, and get to know people outside of skating. This is the first time I’ve really only had one group of friends with whom I regularly interact, and it is very strange indeed.

Life lessons? I’m hardly the authority on that, I mean, I’m only 27. Two thoughts to take away though… “Never forget who you are”, and “Live with passion”. Whenever I have to make a big decision (and “big” means whatever it means to you) I ask myself who I am, and what decision would that person make. As for the passion, I don’t want to get to the end of my innings and look back on a life filled with easy-way-outs, “safe” choices and, dare I say, contentment. You only get one shot at life so you may as well get into it. Sure, I will probably have to endure a lot of heartache and disappointment if I’m always shooting for the stars, and flying by the seat of my pants with my heart in my mouth (I’ve got more clichés than you can poke a stick at), but I’ll be satisfied that I gave it my very best… and I’m sure Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson would have been well-pleased with that.

Firstly, the 5x5x5 Rubik’s cube. Presented wrapped in two metres of bubble wrap, a present in itself.

The 4x4x4 and the 3x3x3 cube are presented here for scale (and mostly to show James Z that I did manage to solve the 5-cube.

here they are again, in all their glory.

The ACME Klein Bottle

For those of you who aren’t sure what a Klein bottle is… check out mathworld or wikipedia.

Especially amusing was the documentation that came with it and… the volume measure.

I felt it was kind of strange being asked to give a speech for Andrew here today, I mean, I’ve only really known him for about two years. C’mon, hands up, who here has known Andrew for longer than I have? Yeah, I see quite a few hands, in fact, there’s hands all over the place. Its like a brothel on payday.

Wow, it doesn’t seem all that long ago that I was asking people to give speeches for my 21st, so to be asked to give a speech makes me feel… well… old. I mean, I’m 23 going on 50 and I look it. I certainly look old and wrinkled next to young Andrew who is, I must say, looking quite hot tonight.

I first encountered Andrew in the now infamous school maths olympics of 1999. While still in year 9, he captained a team which included a few people sitting here today to victory in the first ever schools maths olympics. This is all very well Daniel, you may say, but where do you come into this? Well, I happened to be captaining the team that came second, which incidentally also includes a few people sitting here.

So, even at this early age, Andrew’s cut-throat competitive edge was already starting to show. Mild-mannered and very hot he might seem in everyday situations, but when the real heat is on, his ‘dark side’ begins to show. Those of us who have played scrabble with him know only too well how he cheats by coming up with really good words and putting them across the triple word score squares.

In fact, he is so competitive, and he is such an avid perfectionist, that I sometimes get the impression that if he were to come out of a test and realise that he’s actually managed to lose a mark, that he might just start crying. This is a hypothesis which needs some testing, as it is a well-known fact that Andrew doesn’t lose marks in tests. Andrew is such a workaholic that he is to idleness as I am to tasteful comments.

Speaking of competitiveness, the mums AGM this year was a perfect example of this. Here I was, minding my own business, plotting to take over mums and Andrew rocks up and has the audacity to run against me. He won, of course. Bribing the first year uni high alumni with hentai must’ve done the trick, and in retrospect, I’m a little annoyed that I didn’t think of the idea first.

But every now and then, something happens that reminds Andrew that there is more to life than getting 100% or winning all the time… or being really really really ridiculously good looking. Like the time, just 11 days ago, when he was on a team that LOST the maths olympics. Not only did they loose, but they came third!!! I guess my questions were a little too difficult for you Andrew. Revenge is sweet.

But for all his ego-centric uber-competitiveness, and his fastidious workaholic nature, Andrew is a pretty cool guy. I mean, I’ve just stood here and harped on, doing what I usually do, which is accuse him of things which are mostly completely untrue just for shits and giggles, and he just takes it in his stride and laughs along, and looks very very hot.

Well Andrew, I guess this party is all about your ego and making you feel good about yourself. Choosing me to do a speech was a stroke of genius really. I am, in every way, your inferior. Your percentage average begins with a 9 while mine begins with a 4 (5 if you don’t count metric). You are the president of MUMS while I am just the lowly education officer. Your hentai collection dwarfs mine, who knows what else you might possess which dwarfs mine. And of course, you are certainly much hotter.

Oh Andrew when I speak to thee I feel
that your mental powers are unreal
you’ve shown us all more than mere
talent it takes to get to here

work, work and work given the chance
between classes, and before the dinner dance
but when will you stop and smell the roses?
in between photo shoots, ‘tween the poses?

live life to the full is all I say
lest you look back with dismay
on your life, its many rewards
and find you’ve just accumulated hordes

of stuff of which you hold no value
degrees, certificates, cash and what have you
savour every moment, every friend
because that’s what matters in the end

Andrew, it has not only been a pleasure to know you in these few short years, but is has also been a privilege. You are a good student, a good person and a great friend. Happy birthday.