the speakers keep making funny noises

it feels so nice knowing that people care about you. even if they don't say it outright. or say it in abstract ways. or say something bordering on insulting, but you know what they mean.
thank you for being lovely, all of you. you know who you are (maybe).
and thank You.

i'm over being the emo-ness now. or the emo-less, rather.


you know, it took me a while to grasp the concept of the TER being a ranking, not an average. and everyone i know who hasn't worked out what it is, and has asked me, has had trouble understanding that it's a ranking. i was starting to think that maybe it had to do with the way i was explaining it.

until tonight.

i was talking to a friend of mine whose english isn't even very good. and he asked me what the TER actually is. i told him. and he got it immediately. not only that, he managed to put it into context...

kim: it's a ranking. so if you get 60%, you did better than 40% of the state. if you get 99.95%, you're in the top 0.05% of the state.
dk: ooooh.
kim: so basically it's a test to see how many people you can beat.
dk: oooh. so... if i'm lucky... everybody do so shit... i get good TER.
kim: *i'm laughing now* EXACTLY!!
dk: so.. i shouldn't study. should distract others from studying.

now THAT, is what i call a working mind. that's laziness at it's best, channeled into innovation and BRILLIANT strategy. 10/10.