tala @ so-phobic

I’m so tired.

This morning I had to take the IBM ACE exam for Software Engineering. It covered Core Java (J2SE), XML, and Enterprise Java (J2EE). What a nightmare. The 50 questions of program tracing were mind boggling because while tracing, we had to troubleshoot the fucking code fragments. Are the declared variables really missing the “;” character or is that a typo? Will not compile is not a choice, must be a typo then. It’s looking for an output but there’s no System.out.println. How the fuck am I supposed to find a rectangle’s circumference? Go figure. Hmm, will the error be at compile time, or at runtime? Don’t ask me, ask IBM.

Then Mog treated us to some yummy and oily Brooklyn Pizza. Big mistake to save the 4 Cheese last. I could feel the oil chunking up my throat. 1 and a half slices and I couldn’t breathe.

At least practice was a breeze.

I’ve had only 3 hours of sleep. Contrary to popular belief, I didn’t stay up all night reviewing for the cert exams. I went through all 9 of the Lucifer graphic novels. Great stuff. The story happens after Lucifer, Lord of Hell, resigns from his position to live among us humans. He gives the key to the gates of Hell to Dream (Sandman) and has his wings severed. He now owns a restobar called Lux in Los Angeles. Eventually, the rule of Hell passes to 2 angels, the asshole angel Remiel, and Duma, the angel of Silence.

In the first novel, Heaven hires Lucifer to investigate (and terminate) the existence of the gods that existed before the creation of Light - gods that remained in the Darkness. Heaven doesn’t want to interfere directly, so it hires Lucifer to do its dirty work.

Lucifer is a smooth manipulator. He’s like a way cooler James Bond. In one of the later issues, Lux burns down and in its place, Lucifer builds a mausoleom-like house. 2 people sneak in and get lost in the house. They seem to keep coming back to a gargoyle-like statue. They have no idea that they’ve been there for 3 days without food or water. As one of them lay dying, Lucifer strolls along. The dying guy begs for help while Lucifer tells him that his companion (a girl) is already dead and that he will shortly be joining her too. The dying guy starts mumbling “God help me”. Lucifer walks away with the parting words: “You came into my house without knocking. And then you prayed to HIM.”

Lucifer to Remiel, while knocking on Hell’s door: Little pig, little pig, let me in.

Other memorable characters include Mazikeen, a Lilim and Lucifer’s consort, and Gaudium, a fallen Cherub who looks like a gargoyle and has a tongue like a scalpel.

So after practice, we watched Mission Impossible 3. Better than the first 2, largely due to the camera handling and to Philip Seymour Hoffman (of Capote fame). You could feel the adrenaline rush with the action. I wish PSH had more screentime though. He was perfect as the seemingly poker faced, cold blooded antagonist. And Maggie Q was hot in that red dress in the Vatican scene.

Now that I’m done with Lucifer, I’m going to sink my teeth into Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon. In the Beginning was the Command Line… Wish me luck.

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