I am insistently stubborn. I don’t know if that’s even a way you can describe stubbornness, but I didn’t know how else to express it. Some time after I got my iPod touch, I wanted to jailbreak it so I could get some games for free, but Mac, the resident Apple expert, told me I couldn’t because my model is too new.
But it’s only 2G! I exclaimed when he told me it was a 3G. I then went online to find out how to go about it and downloaded some program with a pineapple logo. I tried and tried, but alas, I failed and failed. Perhaps he was right. I got a scare after restoring it to “factory conditions” and thought I’d lost all the games I had, but it turns out my computer (thank goodness) kept track for me and had saved the last state it was in. When prompted to sync with a previous version, I gladly agreed and most everything was restored for me.
photo credit: appleiphoneschool.com
Over the past week I’ve been playing this wonderful game on Typea’s iPhone called iZoo, which is basically Bejeweled but with animals. Some may know it as Zoo Keeper. Unfortunately, that game is only available to jailbroken iPhones and ipod touches. Sad. After spending a week begging and pleading every time I wanted to play, I wanted to get it for myself. So once again I went on the prowl, first trying to see if there was some other version I could get on my iPod. I came across an online one, but it just wasn’t as fun (who doesn’t love a touch screen?).
Eventually I found another program meant for version 2.2.1, which I swear is what I have, but try upon try made me doubt the viability of my goal. I always got stuck when I tried to put my iPod in DFU (I think that’s what it’s called) mode, where you hold power and home forten seconds, then release power and continue holding home for thirty more seconds. My tries only resulted in no response from my device as I frantically held down the power button, the home button, and both in an attempt to revive it.
In the end I gave up and now my iPod’s sitting here, syncing back all the music and games and other apps that I had before. It looks like this is going to take a few hours. Yippee. I’m still not satisfied though. I want that game!!!
Well, it’s that time again and everyone at UCLA is done with finals and have been spending the past few days graduating. Today marks the final day of all the ceremonies, from commencements to departmental graduations to the ethnic-based ones. I’ve been getting e-mails on the AKPsi listserv of people talking about taking pictures together, attending their respective ceremonies, and otherwise celebrating the Class of 2009’s achievement. It’s really a festive time of year, as everyone has summer on their sights and just this one last hurdle before induction into the world of alumnihood. For just a moment, any worries about the future can be set aside as we focus on the here and now and rejoice in the completion of a degree.
It was a nice overcast day for the most part, which kept things cool. Thankfully, the rain stayed away though and allowed us to enjoy a very nice time at the park. Apparently a lot of people are blood donors because the place was packed! From the bus that took us from Boon Lay to the park to the line to get in, we could tell it was going to be a crowded place. It was still great fun though, as we made our way from penguins to flamingos to macaws to hawks to ostriches, and so much more! There was even this beastly creature that was huge and rather ugly, with remnants of a dino-like crown protruding from his head. Along the way, we came across a pelican feeding, where we were told about the seven types of pelicans in existence, and then got to see an entertaining bird show with all kinds of fun tricks.
At the end of our trip, we took the tram for one more spin around the park and headed out to meet up with some of Mizu’s friends. We stopped by the gift shop hoping to find a cute penguin pen to bring back to Starfish, but they didn’t have any. 🙁 We also came across this free pearl offer (where they would extract it in front of you), but it was only for real ticketholders. 🙁 I was so sad because I really wanted one so I could bring something back to Chatty to thank her. Oh well. We then squeezed back onto the bus to take us to the MRT and took a nice long ride to Ang Mo Kio to wait for Mizu’s buddies. Typea’s been using my iPod touch to play Tap Tap Revenge (it’s like DDR but with your fingers on the touchscreen), which Mizu also enjoys, so we played a few rounds challenging each other as we sipped on some drinks.
Though I’ve been getting little tastes of Singaporean culture throughout my time here and occasionally something will remind me of China, it wasn’t until last night that I truly felt a strong cultural impression in everything around me. We had gone to East Coast Park, where there’s an outdoor cafeteria of sorts with stall upon stall of laksa, satay, dong dongs (I can’t remember what they were called), stingray, and who knows what else. I felt at once lost and amazed among all the dishes I’d never seen and had hardly heard of before. Paths cut through the park to allow bike riders, rollerbladers, and other such athletic activities to ensue. A little stage consisting of a piece of carpeting and a half watermelon backdrop provided the scene for an acrobatics show. On one side, we could look out across a small patch of trees to the ocean beyond, which was filled with ships.
