WOOBLE WOOBLE!

poooopieee

2008-12-01T02:02:00.002-05:00

i miss my freshman year grades. i owned those girs.

=( this year classes are owning me. i need self-discipline!!!

i don't wanna workkkkkk

i don't know what i want

2008-11-26T23:20:00.003-05:00

well i know some things i want
-iap
-sleep
-to understand 5.12
-to just curl up in my bed with a book or a movie on my laptop and snuggle in the covers

but i don't know what i want
i want to not have to make hard choices, i want to know what my passion is, i want to know that my life is going somewhere.

i felt like i was forced to make a choice, so i chose. i don't think it was the wrong choice, but i didn't like having a sort of ultimatum, no matter how subtly it was put...but at least there was closure.

what's done is done.

i really need time to recharge in general, but i know i'm not going to get it until after finals.

ahhhhhhhhh

2008-11-21T07:47:00.007-05:00

why am i sick again =( good thing it's almost gone, i think

so i have a problem. it's called procrastination. and it's eating away at my precious sleep time!!! cry cry cry. but i get soooo easily distracted.

on an unrelated note, i feel so out of shape compared to how i was over the summer...i haven't worked out at all since freaking beginning of september. so i'm going to do that over iap but that's what i say for every break and then it doesn't happen. this time it will as i have summoned a new energy. also need to ask linden for openings at the psc. i want to work on campus but nothing where i really have to think like a urop.

i bought a shirt on shirt.woot. SO BAD. oh yeah my other problem is a lack of self-control. actually i think that encompasses procrastination. also it is the reason i have not worked out. anyway hopefully i won't be buying stuff off there all the time...but usually the stuff on there is not that appealing anyway.

i was doing suuuch a good job not buying stuff off the internet this semester...

i feel like i've changed a lot. i think when i stop thinking previous posts are lame (not previous to this one necessarily, but in general...i know what i mean) is when i've stopped changing so much

i should be doing my lab report.

fuck!!!!

2008-10-19T00:54:00.004-04:00

i hate being sick! and i have that stupid 1200-word french essay + 3 freaking tests next week.

i think i only write in here when i'm unhappy bc when i'm content there's nothing to complain about lol

i'm so tired

2008-10-02T22:07:00.005-04:00

okay so i've been getting an average of like 5 hours of sleep a night for the past two weeks and i'm really sleep-deprived.

yesterday i didn't finish my homework due today because i was too tired at 5am.

i think i want people to think that i'm okay because i don't want pity, but i'm tired of trying to be strong all the time. when am i going to find someone i can be vulnerable around? i love my friends and my big but sometimes i just want to be taken care of.

so basically i need people. at the same time, i hate depending on people because i feel like they let me down a lot...

i feel naked and emo now.

junot diaz

2008-09-25T20:34:00.003-04:00

today!! =O i went to the junot diaz discussion and saw jkiberd was there and he was like really funny and nice. and then he was like aww i have to go now for a meet and greet but you all should come to the r&d pub! so i went to the r&d pub for the first time, it was pretty cool but awkward since everyone was old. but then we left the 21 and over place and got some hors-d'oeuvres and i got my book signed! so one of the hor-d'oeuvres was imitation crab on a slice of cucumber. so i was talking to julia and a piece of crab fell on the floor and i went to go pick it up and he was like "aw no honey, don't do that!" and gave me a napkin. awwwww! it was also embarrassing. anyway after that i went to the book reading. when i read the tech last year, his responses made him sound like a jerk but on the colbert report and today he seemed pretty cool

the whole damn summer

2008-08-16T02:29:00.003-04:00

is almost over, cry ='( i can't wait for the rush of running around during orientation though. or seeing everyone come back, getting a new routine for the year, meeting new people, ringcomm!!! (which i am sort of apprehensive about, there are a few people that i'm worried i won't really get along with. well not get along, i pretty much get along with everyone but only because i keep my mean/sarcastic thoughts bottled up and secretly feel resentful), my new room, my new job, more boston adventures...ahhh!!!! so excited.

really excellent sheep

2008-07-17T03:47:00.001-04:00

http://www.theamericanscholar.org/su08/elite-deresiewicz.html

i read stuff like this and agree with a lot, but i just continue the way i am...oh, inertia

things i don't like

2008-07-16T12:53:00.004-04:00

pet peeves, turn offs, random annoyances, etc.

1. smoking
2. fuzzy teeth
3. maggots
4. when i make a video on facebook and it doesn't attach
5. captains obvious
6. those fruit stamps because i read this: http://jezebel.com/5016236/po-box especially the papaya and pomegranate =(
7. when V8 is colder than room temperature
8. when my mail doesn't get to me!!!
9. when people try so hard that they seem fake
10. flakiness (except in pastries)

books i've read so far this summer

2008-07-07T00:44:00.003-04:00

in the order i remember that i read them

the brief wondrous life of oscar wao
the namesake
unaccustomed earth
wicked
bringing down the house
love in the time of cholera

i think there's more but i can't remember them

things i am afraid of

2008-06-23T23:58:00.005-04:00

1. eating any kind of brain
2. stepping on a dead bird
3. being touched by a bird*, especially if it's flapping
4. dead fish*, especially their eyes
5. that one guy i first saw at the hayden christenson thing who looks like an angry wrestler
6. rejection
7. dying alone
8. sharks

*it's okay when they're cooked and you can't really see what they looked like when they were living

exploring boston

2008-06-08T20:12:00.002-04:00

is so fun i don't even remember where i've been. addis red sea was really awesome though, and coolidge corner is really cute. there's just too much!!! i need more money. although notorious b.i.g. claims "mo money mo problems."

summer!!!!

2008-05-23T03:49:00.003-04:00

i've been so ready for this. SO READY. freshman year was awesome, but seriously...what a relief!!! ahhhhh. i will miss tracy and melissa tons, but i am super excited about living in the house! with jaspark! who claims she's over a certain someone...hehe it's too late!!! steph and i have already developed the habit of spotting him. the only solution is for her to find a new schmaniel.

in other news...boooooo i hate packing. =( what a pain.

but i love my haircut!

RAP BATTLE ROUND TWO: IT'S ON

2008-05-15T01:21:00.004-04:00

prologue: email from ShinCrediblez

I'm goin down to Verde's because my stomach aches,
Can I get you something there, maybe a snack cake?
I'm thinkin of a drink, something carbonated
I don't want Sprite , I think it's overrated.
I'm gonna be awake for a really long time
I know what I want - diet coke w/ lime!
I have 8 pages, 5 more to go
And then I'm all done, except for my powerpoint show!

Heyyy, hooo,
Go Steph Qui Qui, Steph Qui Qui....

ShinCrediblez: me: heygirlhey
Esther: lol
hows your studying going?
Sent at 12:43 AM on Thursday
ShinCrediblez: i'm getting work done but i keep getting distracted/can we have grace's membership to our family retracted/she emailed out my rhymes and she's giving me 'tude/now she came over and she's eatin my food
Sent at 12:46 AM on Thursday
g-unit: !!!i'm the one getting you distracted??
girl you know you better redact it
plus you shoulda known i was gonna eat yo food
because that's just how i do
so stop complainin and time wastin
now i'm gonna come over for some pretzel tastin
Sent at 12:53 AM on Thursday
ShinCrediblez: girl,whatchu do?/do i look like a foo?/there's a seat next to me, and my pretzels be tasty/ move over here and make it hasty!
Sent at 12:54 AM on Thursday
ShinCrediblez: or i guess you can stay over there/let the distance 'tween us grow/are you scared of my lovin?/once you got it, you'll want mo!
Sent at 12:58 AM on Thursday
g-unit: girl yeah you look like a fool/but i make up for it cause i'm cool/i decided verde's pretzels be funky/let me have your earphones again so i can get crunk...y/but i ain't movin there that dude looks sneaky/he's in my class and i think he's kinda creepy
ShinCrediblez: the rap battle is ON
g-unit: HAHAH NOOOOO
do your werk
ShinCrediblez: p.s. that guy looks like he's 35!
g-unit: yeah i know
i think he's a freshman
ShinCrediblez: whoa!
g-unit: bc he's in 18.03 and 8.02
methinks...
i def see him around all the time
ShinCrediblez: girl, that ain't right/i think that he might/be the kinda guy who wears his whiteys tight/and don;t go out at night
g-unit: ...3rd line ew??
ShinCrediblez: hahaha! GENIUS!
g-unit: WRITE YOUR ESSAY!!!
i gotta finish by 3
Sent at 1:02 AM on Thursday
ShinCrediblez: i'm trying!
what's at 3?
g-unit: ok foreals this is the end of our talk/ good thing i know that guy or else it would be awk/ but i had to move that sandwich cause it was sorta jank/why does the reading room always have a weird stank/ i gotta write my essay by the hour of three/ because if i finish before amanda grue will check it for me
Sent at 1:05 AM on Thursday
g-unit: haha he finally moved that sandwich!!
ShinCrediblez: yay!
g-unit: what's your rapper name
ShinCrediblez: ummm
DJ ShinCredible
g-unit: z
too long
drop the dj and add a z
ShinCrediblez: a z to what?
g-unit: the end
ShinCrediblez: ShinCrediblez?
g-unit: yeah
ShinCrediblez: hmm
i dunno man
i think esther's writing a rap response to me
it's said "esther is typing" for a while now
Esther: ya'll need to get yo act together fo sho/cuz it ain't the crack of noon no mo/ get right to it/ yo betta pass this class/or mama's gonna beat yo ass

TOUCHE, MATRIARCH

RAP BATTLE ROUND ONE: WARM UP

2008-05-15T01:09:00.004-04:00

rnx (3:23:17 AM):gracie graceeee
rnx (3:23:25 AM):get out of this placeee
rnx (3:23:33 AM):or get some maceee
rnx (3:23:41 AM):hope you get that aceee
g-unit (3:23:44 AM):haha
rnx (3:23:58 AM):you can win the racee
g-unit (3:24:13 AM):do ones that end with -ase not count
g-unit (3:26:08 AM):yeah....i guess base/case/vase are imposters
rnx (3:26:33 AM):no they dont count
rnx (3:26:37 AM):they're only half rhymes
g-unit (3:26:45 AM):if you were rapping though i'm sure nobody would care
g-unit (3:26:50 AM):you could even do baste
g-unit (3:26:51 AM):or taste
rnx (3:27:14 AM):you taste like you've just been baste-----ed
g-unit (3:27:21 AM):haha ew
rnx (3:27:24 AM):but you're still chaste
rnx (3:27:35 AM):and full of haste
rnx (3:27:43 AM):in a case
g-unit (3:28:27 AM):that's no waste
rnx (3:28:52 AM):haha good one
g-unit (3:32:02 AM):umm
g-unit (3:32:05 AM):tie your shoelace
g-unit (3:32:09 AM):at first base
g-unit (3:32:59 AM):don't drop the vase
rnx (3:33:11 AM):wow you'd make a good rapper
g-unit (3:33:41 AM):that's why they call me g-unit
g-unit (3:33:59 AM):it's a good fit
g-unit (3:34:54 AM):when you're in the pit...s
g-unit (3:34:58 AM):i'll give you a hit
g-unit (3:35:29 AM):of a rapper's lit crit
g-unit (3:36:44 AM):you'll wish you had my wit
g-unit (3:36:49 AM):yeah that's how we do
g-unit (3:37:26 AM):actually that was sort of taxing
rnx (3:37:54 AM):but now you relaxin
rnx (3:38:01 AM):chillaxin
rnx (3:38:02 AM):maxin
rnx (3:38:14 AM):super smackin
g-unit (3:39:25 AM):no snackin
g-unit (3:39:32 AM):word packin
rnx (3:39:35 AM):whip crackin
g-unit (3:39:40 AM):ooh good one
rnx (3:39:44 AM):it's time to hustle
rnx (3:39:51 AM):wit all yo muscle
rnx (3:39:59 AM):no tumble and bustle
g-unit (3:40:47 AM):move those corpuscles

lucy schwartz - i don't know a thing

2008-05-10T01:29:00.002-04:00

<3

she sings the little "mr. f" jingle in arrested development!!

Rupa and the April Fishes - Une Americaine a Paris

2008-05-03T23:56:00.001-04:00

i like this too

things to do before i'm 50

2008-05-03T01:38:00.004-04:00

1. go skydiving
2. go on a cruise
3. go to italy & greece
4. see the aurora borealis
5. change a life

dans mon ile - henri salvador

2008-05-01T01:11:00.002-04:00

i like this

i love my big

2008-04-14T20:29:00.004-04:00

Stephanie: hey dude

my back is killing me

me: hey dude guess what

Stephanie: wha

me: scientists have found stem cells in menstrual blood

JSYK

Stephanie: whoaaaaaaaaa

me: stephanie i think you probably got too hyphy at that party

Stephanie: omg we had the weirdest discussion about periods in my class last wk

no, i got too crunk

my prof was born in zimbabwe but she moved here, and her mom kept making her wash her underwear separately when she got her periods

so, she had to wash them everyday (since they do that in zimbabwe i guess)

me: wow...

i guess tthey didn't have tampons or pads...

Stephanie: until her dad found out and was like "i shit in my pants and put them in teh washer with everyone else's stuff...just let her wash her stuff too!"

me: EW gross

Stephanie: i KNOW

but it was hysterical!

me: hahahahaha

Stephanie: btwubs, esther wants me to get you the feminal

me: i can't stop laughing at how disgusting that is

Stephanie: hahaha

me: why would i need a feminal

are we going on a road trip

Stephanie: i dunno...you sent me the link

it's for when you're in class....

haha, she says she'll make everyone in the fam chip in

me: lol...yeah that's not awkward at all

Stephanie: we're so gross

me: hahahaha

yeah i don't know about class

but when i have to go on the road

Stephanie: lab?

me: ooh

lab

yeah the men's room is like right across from me

Stephanie: feminal > urinal

me: but the women's room is way far away

Stephanie: exactly!

have you had dinner yet?

me: yeah

Stephanie: want to come to the stud later? i'll buy you ice cream

or a fruit salad

OMG CPDUBS AGAIN!!!

2008-04-12T12:19:00.003-04:00

AHHHHHH i can't believe it's only been a year/it's been a whole year!! since i was first here!!! the energy on the campus is amazing and fun and the prefrosh are so cute. matt or someone wrote in their mit blog that despite some people thinking it's not real, it's just supersaturated...well iono. maybe i guess. it's like how i came here to orientation and thought that everyone is so super nice. which is not true. i mean, most of them really are nice, but cpw and orientation are definitely rosy lenses.

but i think my prefrosh really likes it. she's sort of a uhh like one of those really good kids who goes to bed at 10 every day lol. like we were up until 2 one day and she was like "this is the latest i've ever been up! well once i stayed up until 1 but that was because i had a project due the next day." haha but she's really smart and i think she would fit in pretty well here. i like her better than what i've heard of tracy's prefrosh lillian, who seems like she's only interested in partying. hope she hosts again next year and gets a good kid!! and i hope i get a good one again next year. because i am so doing it again. for once, my room is clean.

why do i have so much work =((( yeah obvs i'm trying to avoid it now, but also i haven't done this in a way long time and i think i should. so much has changed since then...people i thought i would keep in touch with since we're all here have drifted a lot, and people i never thought i would have met are my sisters now. speaking of, while there are some people who sometimes rub me the wrong way, the benefits have far outweighed anything bad. i am so incredibly glad i made that decision.

i also like living in mccormick and still think it's the best dorm, but as tracy and i were saying earlier today, there are prices to pay...for one, i feel like the housemasters are sort of judgmental about us...and they just happen to be our advisors. i was thinking about my relationship with them while taking some mit survey and if i had gotten to choose which advisor i would get, i would have chosen like...kirk kolenbrander. or someone cool. but yay at least we're getting new ones for our majors.

another one is like...i don't really have many close guy friends like i did in high school. but it's okay i guess, i was talking to ellen and she said she didn't really have any until junior year and now she has plenty...i guess you meet more when classes are smaller. but then all the guys i would meet would probably be course 7...which might be cool...or not. anyway, not having guy friends is still weird...

omg sometimes i wonder like how much people know about me. because i definitely facebook-stalk people but i think other people do it too.

new subject omg lipsync ahhh i hope we get our act together, i feel like we started late. plus everyone is so busy all the time.

oh new subject ahhh urop presentation. cathy and i really have to work on it. sigh i feel like if they ask me questions about procedure, i won't know them and i am somewhat scared. but yongting says they're really nice

omg i wonder when housing lottery is...i mean i could easily look it up but i'm lazy...i really hope tracy, melissa and i are able to get like a corner together. but that probably won't happen. also maybe jasmine. love her.

dude reading this post makes me look like i really do have add. but i don't!!! i'm just spontaneous, right?

dammit i was going to watch the office during this break before taste of cambridge

things to do

2008-03-16T02:55:00.003-04:00

gelateria
modern
trident
sebastian's
bottega fiorentina
do-re-mi
faneuil hall
place behind the coop
bartley's
harvard sq. creperie
berryline

things that have happened

2008-02-19T02:00:00.003-05:00

ashdown
iHouse
biodiesel@mit wins ecomagination
10-250 renovation
marilee jones
stata
divest from sudan
world series
6.001, 6.170 last semester offered
baker tree
next house rex
new sorority - now 6
80th ringcomm
150th year

JHUMPA LAHIRI

2008-02-07T23:30:00.001-05:00

is coming to mit mid-march! which is exciting because i read interpreter of maladies over winter break.

the lit class i wanted to take but couldn't because of scheduling conflicts is reading it right now. i had to switch sections and they're reading different books =( but that's okay, i like them.

anyway, i'm sort of excited because i've been thinking about buying the namesake for a long time...and now lit@mit is giving them away($2 donation suggested)!! they're in the literature office, 4th floor of building 14N, to which barely anyone ventures, so there were plenty when i got there. i got rid of change + bought a book and saved $12 on it!!

bob loblaw

2008-01-01T22:27:00.000-05:00

so this break has been somewhat productive in terms of...finishing all of arrested development, which is as hilarious as the office but with more subtlety.

and reading 2.5 books. and meeting up with a few people, but not as many as i would have liked. and buying stuff. yeah that's about it. BUT IT'S A NEW YEAR!! i resolve to get back to the 110-111 range. i thought about schoolwork-related crap or procrastinating less, but that kind of stuff would probably be too ambitious.

in other news, i discovered hellokittyhell and it's pretty amusing.

the rising tide

2007-12-31T14:06:00.000-05:00

a few days ago, my mom found dooby online. we think he got out from the people we gave him to and couldn't find his way back home, so another family picked him up and took him to an animal care center.

today my dad, jeff, and i visited him there, and he was so incredibly happy to see us. we played with him for a while, but my mother had forbidden us from taking him home. so we left.

i think maybe i never want to fall in love.

//edit: after numbing the pain with arrested development, this post is so emo in retrospect

pooooo

2007-12-23T09:44:00.000-05:00

so less than an hour after i got back, i went to visit jasper and plano

jasper was fine, i got to see mrs. booth, mr. stanton (<33333), and mrs. fischer. i looked for mrs. walker too but she was gone! i found out that she's actually at plano now! and i was like yay that's where i'm gone. mme gould is really gone though =( omg those halls were so congested i forgot what it was like.

then i went to plano. HAAAATE PLANO ADMIN!!!! where i visited mrs. stanton. then my mom called me telling me to wait to pick up my brother, and damn mr. davis saw me on the phone. i was like oh shit and told him i wasn't a student there, which is true. then he was like "where's your visitor's badge?" dammit!!! so i had to go to the office to get a visitor's badge. when i got there, the receptionist was like which teacher are you here to see? WTF? i had to make an appointment? why are there so many fucking rules now??? i was like uhh mrs. stanton and she was like "you're not on the list. what's your name?" "grace." "nope, not on here. i can't let you in." at which point i started crying again because it was turning into a terrible first day back home - first the delay, then dooby, then something i probably should never publish/put in writing ever because it's sort of incriminating, then this. luckily, ms. smith (my mock trial coach) happened to be there in the office and she was like "grace yao??" and she saved me because the receptionist was just like..."here you deal with her." so i told her about dooby and she felt bad and let me go. i visited a bunch of other teachers and everyone was happy to see me except the stupid plano administrators!! hate hate hate.

homecoming

2007-12-21T17:58:00.000-05:00

low/high

Low: So today, after a trip that was completely disastrous except for the fact that Britni went through it all with me, I called my mom as I walked off the plane, and she said she was here. After picking up my luggage, I looked around baggage claim, where she said she'd be, and I couldn't find her. I was hoping she'd bring Dooby since usually when our family picks one of us up from the airport, we bring him because we don't want to leave him at home alone. Twenty minutes later, she appears (without Dooby). On the way back home, we just talked about college and stuff. Finally, I asked casually, "So Dooby's at home by himself?" My mom got really quiet, and I knew no good was in the future. She started telling about how he's gotten really aggressive since I left my mom, my dad, and other people. The last straw was when he bit my brother so hard that his fingernail almost fell off. Of course, Dooby had to go, so they gave him away.

The whole time she was telling the story, I knew what the ending would be, but I just denied it to myself. Even after she told me, I was simply stunned and angry. Why did they give him away? (The answer is obvious.) Why didn't they tell me? (I didn't ask, but I'm thinking it's probably because they didn't want to distract me from schoolwork.) Then, when the realization finally hit me, I started crying for the first time since I left home. My mom was definitely teary too, but she told me not to think of all the cute things he did and just think of how dangerous he was now. This made sense in my head, but I couldn't help it! I just remembered all his little idiosyncrasies - how he looked ashamed when he knew he done bad after we caught him chewing up tissues from the trash can, how he runs to the bathroom when we tell him "timeout" and is supposed to stay in the corner but sometimes leaves and when we crack open the door and catch him he'll sneak back to the corner, how I taught him to shake, high-five, super-high-five, and guess which hand the treat was in, how he ran around the house in a perfectly predictable way and we would chase him, how he loved to play so much, how soft his fur was, how he would sigh and flop on the couch...but I knew if he was that fierce, we would have to part with him. I just couldn't stop crying until I realized that I would be visiting my high school in an hour and how I would be all red and disgusting, so I'm holding it in right now. Still, when I walked in from the garage door, there was a little tiny hope that this was not real and Dooby would be in the bathroom, whimpering and scrabbling on the door to get out. I think I put him, or at least my love for him, on a pedestal, which half-blinds me to his faults. I still can't help it though!

I walked through the house and saw his little doggie house with his bed inside. My mom's letting me sleep in her room, and when I walked in, all I could think of was how in the mornings, he would jump at the side of her bed, asking her to pick him up. I know, when I walk to the front door, I'll think of all the times I took him out and complained about having to pick up his poop and wish I'd done it more often and less begrudgingly. When I walk to the kitchen, I'll think of his little water dish and food bowl in the corner and how he only ate from them when he was reeeeally really hungry - he always begged for our food otherwise. When I walk into the living room, I'll see the mantle by the fireplace where we put his toys in a box and he would be smart and get the ones he liked and where we cracked open the treats that were too big for him and make him do tricks for them.

I can't believe the one thing I missed most while I was gone isn't here anymore and will never be.

High: I'm home, I guess.

678-782-4700

2007-12-21T01:43:00.000-05:00

is the number of Sleep Inn, the hotel at which I am spending the night in Fairburn, Georgia (just outside of Atlanta).
This morning, when I woke up, pretty snow was floating down from the grey Boston sky, and it made me happy. Later, I went outside and realized...the fluffy snow was great, but it still turned into slush on the street.

So Tracy came to McCormick and took my carry-ons while I carried/dragged my 40-pound suitcase though the dirty slush to Kendall Square. After a tearful (not really) goodbye, I took the Red Line to South Station, then got on the Silver Line to Logan. At Logan, I checked in and the attendant checking me in asked me if it was okay that I get an exit seat. I just chirped, "Sure!" but in my head, I was thinking HAAYYL YEAH!! Then, I found out my flight was actually on time!!! YAYYYYY!! Like...pretty much the only flight at the airport that wasn't delayed by like 4 hours or cancelled. I also happened upon like a gang of 7 MIT kiddos (2 of them are AXOS), all going to Atlanta too! My dad called, and I told him the good news, so he said he'd pick me up at 9:30 when I got back to DFW.

I boarded the plane, stretched out my legs in all that extra room (yessss seat 22C!), and waited. And waited. AND WAITED. About every 30 minutes, the pilot would come on and say that "such-and-such is happening, we'll be ready to go in 15 minutes." So our flight, which was supposed depart at 3:46, took off at about 7:15. Of course, I missed the connecting flight from Atlanta to Dallas at 8:something. Good thing I picked up Blink before I got on...best 16 dollars I've spent lately, because it was a really fascinating read for me. Instead of being bored for 6.5 hours, I took a nap and learned about instinct. Still, I didn't get in to Atlanta until like 10, 10:30. Ughhhh and the next flight to Dallas was at 9:15 in the morning. So I'm at this little hotel with my AXO sis Britni (she's from Dallas too) and we have to wake up at 5:30 to catch a shuttle to the airport. AND they accidentally charged me like $532 for the night, when it was supposed to be $39. I called the lobby, and they said they'd fix it. I'm keeping the number just in case!

I really wanted to visit Mrs. Stanton in 2nd period tomorrow too...I hope I still have lots of time to visit Plano and Jasper =\ I won't get to DFW until 10:30 am.

Close Encounter with...random dude

2007-10-23T18:11:00.001-04:00

This afternoon, I took a shower, put on jeans and a duck week t-shirt, and went to the bus stop at 4:15 to catch the bus so I could go to my job. As I was walking towards the actual sign that says T on it, the number one bus passed me! WTF =( I ran for like 10 seconds to try to catch it but gave up, walking the 20 steps back to the covered bus stop place.

I noticed this random dude who looked between 17-21 years old sitting on the left-side bench, so I went and sat on the right-side bench and started flipping through a newspaper left there. Suddenly, he stood up so I stood up too, thinking that this was my lucky day and 2 buses came right in a row. Instead, he walked over to me and started talking. What follows is our conversation, as closely transcribed as I can remember.

Him: When did the last bus come?
Me: Oh, about 3 minutes ago. It passed by me - I guess the driver didn't see me.
Him: So it comes like what, every 15 minutes?
Me: Yeah (looks at watch), the next one should be here in 5-10 minutes.
Him: Cool, that's not too long of a wait.
Me: (Nods agreement)
Him: Where are you from?
Me: I'm from Texas.
Him: Oh, Texas! Have you seen snow?
Me: Yeah, it snows maybe one or two days a year where I live.
Him: Oh I see. It starts snowing a lot here in December, but right now the weather's nice for October.
Me: Yeah, I'm sort of surprised. I thought I'd have to wear long-sleeved shirts by now. (Sits back down)
Him: So what grade are you in?
Me: (Thinks this is pretty normal small talk. plus the guy is not bad-looking) I'm a freshman.
Him: Ohh. You don't have the big freshman backpack.
Me: (Looks slightly quizzical)
Him: When I was a freshman, I had a huge backpack with all my books in it. When people saw me, they'd be like, "Are you a freshman?" and I'd be like, "How did you know?"
Me: (Starting to assume he's a sophomore or junior, also feeling slightly awkward because I'm sitting and he's standing, but not wanting to stand up) Ohhh yeah. No, I'm actually on my way to work, so I don't need all my books with me.
Him: Oh really? Do you have like an internship?
Me: No, I'm a tutor for ReachOut - you know, teaching little kids to read.
Him: Oh cool, where is that?
Me: It's at the Cambridge Community Center.
Him: Ah I see. I'm looking for an internship. My older brother (I'm thinking: cool, his older brother is at MIT too, that's nice) has sort of the job I really want.
Me: Ohh.
Him: So have you been to Hahvahd Square?
Me: Yeah, I've been there.
Him: It's nice, I used to work at a place called The Tempest there.
Me: (Hasn't heard of The Tempest) Oh, cool. I go to Harvard Square sometimes because I have some friends that go to Harvard.
Him: Want to go there sometime?
Me: (WHAT????????????) Uhhh...
Him: Maybe I could just call you up sometime and we could go.
Me: (Looks to the left, desperately hoping to see the number one bus arriving.) Uhh...Well...I have a lot of tests coming up (lie) and I'm pretty stressed out (lie), so I don't think I'll have time (not with you, at least).
Him: Oh. How about I'll leave you my number and you can call me when you feel like going?
Me: (Slightly relieved, pulls out cell phone) Oh okay.
Him: 617. 909. 93. 59.
Me: (Recognizes 617 vaguely) Oh, so are you from around here?
Him: Yeah, I'm from Boston.
Me: Ah. (still holding phone)
Him: My name's Jason.
Me: Okay. (starts typing it in)
Him: So call me when you want to go to Hahvahd Square! (Walks away)
Me: (????wtf????)

Now that I think about it...he definitely asked about the bus like he didn't know for sure it came every 15 minutes, so I didn't think that he was a Boston native. Then, when he said "Hahvahd," I was like "aw cute" but still didn't make the connection. I pretty much thought he was just a friendly upperclassman until he said he was from here. When he left, I was like...dang, I don't even know if he goes here or if he was randomly waiting by the MIT bus stop. Sorta sketchy, waiting at the bus stop and then walking away before the bus gets here. Even sketchier, telling a stranger his name and number after like 5 minutes of conversation. WEIRD

HALLOWEEN IDEA!!

2007-10-13T00:40:00.000-04:00

DEAL OR NO DEAL!!

4 things

2007-10-03T14:42:00.000-04:00

1. Did not do so well on the chem test this morning even though 3.091 is supposed to be like the easiest class ever.

2. Holy moly look at the Megaminx

3. Lol...sorta

4. Domestic Violence Awareness Week is this week and I'm having dinner on Friday with friends and I'm really excited about it! And 20% of the check goes to the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center!

omg so busyyyy

2007-09-17T22:52:00.000-04:00

omg i'm so busy!! i have a ton of stuff to do, and whenever i have free time, i always want to take full advantage of it. AHHH there's so much to do!! both work and non-work. AHHHHH!!

OMG MATT HERMAN

2007-09-14T00:51:00.000-04:00

OMG the biggest event that's happened to me so far at MIT. Besides me forgetting to multiply by four on the first chem quiz ever (I very much bemoan my carelessness).

I was walking back across Harvard Bridge from FREE JP Licks - I got Noodle Kugel, one of the September flavors, and it was surprisingly good. Suddenly, I saw this skinny guy with glasses walking toward us (floor mate Karishma and I) and I was like OMG THAT'S MATT FROM BEAUTY AND THE GEEK!!!! Too bad I didn't say hi, because I wasn't sure if it was him =(((( Cry cry cry. When I got back to my room though, I looked him up and found that he's still living in Boston. WHY DIDN'T I SAY HI TO HIM. Ahhhhh

In other news, I AM STILL SICK OMG. It's just a cough now, though. It's sort of regressing...like a parabola. Like...sore throat + cough + losing voice + runny nose + neosporin/puffs/tea/ibuprofen/advil/nyquil - runny nose - no voice...maybe - cough and sore throat at the same time; that would be cool with me. My awesome mystagogue got me tea and honey too!! <333 Sam Fox.

Freshman 15

2007-09-09T03:34:00.001-04:00

I am well on my way to the freshman 15, I feel about 10 pounds heavier than before I came. Damn all this free food!

I'm not doing so well on this 20 laps per day resolution but feel somewhat justified in slacking off since I'm still sick.

So laundry today was a futile effort. After carrying 50 pounds of clothes (and two towels) down four flights of stairs because the East Wing elevator was out, I had to load up two washing machines in the sweltering heat of the basement laundry room. Sweat was literally dripping off my face. Climb back up to fourth floor. Forty minutes later, climb back down, suffer the heat again to move clothes from washing machines to dryers 9 and 11. However, when I activated them, dryers 8 and 10 started moving. So I had to move the clothes yet again. Must ask upperclassmen how the numbering works...Anyway, when that was finished, I loaded up my laundry baskets with the clothes, still a bit damp, and hauled them up to my room on my poor shoulders. Before I could get a fifth of them folded, the wrinkles had already set in, even though I skipped underwear. POOP. I will never wait three weeks to wash my clothes again.

Here's what I plan to do tomorrow:
11:30 Wake up, get dressed
12:00 Go to Target
14:00 Go to House Meeting
16:00 Start reading or do one of the four p-sets I have due next week
19:00 AXO Meeting
21:00 Tool some more

Note to self

2007-09-07T19:39:00.000-04:00

Add Puffs with Lotion to Things I Love.

Do all the crap you've been putting off because of your disease: problem sets, reading, finding a job, setting up room, meeting people on your floor.

First Week

2007-09-07T17:24:00.000-04:00

The first week of classes is finally over!

I finally somewhat got my voice back today, but my nose is still running all over the place. My cough also sounds pretty bad, but it actually feels better than before.

I accepted a bid from Alpha Chi Omega, which is pretty exciting!!! I was torn between them and Kappa Alpha Theta, but I had to pick one so I did! The girls in A-Chi-O are amazingly incredible, so I hope to learn and grow a lot from being around them. I was also really glad to hear that, unlike fraternities (a few of which don't really like each other), all the sororities get along really well. A lot of the girls I talked to said that they had good friends in other sororities, so it'll all be cool.

As for classes...I have 3 giant lectures and one smaller lecture. We have the renowned Eric Lander for 7.012 Bio, the infamous Donald Sadoway for 3.091 Solid-State Chem, and for 18.02 Multi-Variable Calc, Denis Auroux, speed-eraser/inspiration for love (totally saw both of these on Matt McGann's blog, omg the second video is soooo cute I've watched it like 15 times). I definitely watched him erase the board quickly and say "trajectory" and "zero" today. Actually, once he pressed the button for both upper boards to come down and didn't finish erasing the middle board before the topmost board came down, and all the kids who'd heard of his legendary erasing skills were like "ooooh" while the girl next to me was like "What, did they think it would chop off his hand?" In the smaller lecture, we have TEAL. Yay...

I accidentally skipped the very first 18.02 recitation, but I think it will be okay. I emailed my recitation instructor, got the p-set from the website, etc. I already feel so behind though! Yesterday I went over to Baker for a bit, and people were doing work!! I was like, ahhhh should I be doing work too? I've still got to buy a printer, clean my room and look for a job. Good thing I'm getting better, or else I don't know how I would handle everything.

I need to turn on my fan.

grumblegrumble

2007-09-04T23:38:00.000-04:00

So Friday, I had a sore throat.

Saturday, I lost my voice.

Sunday, I developed a cough.

Monday, my nose started running. I went to MIT Medical, and after over an hour of waiting, Dr. Ray (name has been changed to protect identity) told me it was just a virus, to sleep and drink water, and that it'd be over in 2 or 3 days. He also was going to give me a certain kind of cough drop, so I waited around another 10-15 minutes. When he came back, he said they were out but wrote the name on a piece of paper: Cepacol lausages. SERIOUSLY, like sausages with an l. Would you trust a doctor that can't spell "lozenges?"

Today is Tuesday. I can barely breathe or talk, and my nose is raw from the 100+ tissues I've used on it. The water supply I thought would last me at least a month is half gone, as well as all the free water I've picked up at random Orientation events.

Tomorrow is Wednesday. My first class starts at 10, and I will most definitely keep whispering (instead of talking), coughing, and blowing my nose. I barely even remember what my voice sounds like =(

Somehow, I still like it here. Maybe that will change in a week...but mainly I just hate being sick.

Sorority Recruitment

2007-09-02T22:24:00.000-04:00

Basically, sorority recruitment is a real trial - but usually tough things are worth it in the end so I hope it's true in this case. Imma stick it out. It's a lot more structured than rushing, and they're always having us line up in alphabetical order. We have to give each sorority an equal amount of time - our Pi Rho Chi's (Panhellenic Recruitment Counselors) even have stopwatches, and they were all like "Okay, we're going in in 30 seconds!" Still, I'm glad to be choosing out of 5 rather than the 27 fraternities. What really sucks is that I got sick the day before recruitment started =( I completely lost my voice this morning, but it came back a little. Everyone's really nice and understanding about it, but they all think I lost it from talking so much at recruitment. Grrls plz. As if I could lose my voice just by talking. I'm drinking a lot of water though, so I barely slept last night between coughing and getting up to go to the bathroom.

Anyway, I want to go to the rush parties, but I also want to get well before school starts so I'm going to have to get more sleep. I think I can get in a good twelve hours tonight if I go right now (Delta Tau Delta just started Septemberfest, which I really want to go to, poop), and there will be parties the rest of the year anyway. Maybe not as much free food. Sleeeeep.

P.S. Sodium drop wasn't all that great this year, and apparently we were sacrificing potatoes to the East Campus god? Maybe it'll be better next year...

Halfway Home

2007-08-30T19:42:00.000-04:00

Yeah so my room is still super messy and I'm only halfway set up, but I took pictures of it anyway! I'll straighten it up by the end of the week. This is a slightly mysterious looking view; I turned on the flash for the rest of them.

Oh yeah, I signed up for classes today, eek! 18.02 Calculus, 3.091 Intro to Solid-State Chem, 7.012 Introductory Biology, and 8.01 Physics. I heard from some that four technical classes is crazy, and a good idea from others because of Pass/No Record. I'm just worried about having Chem and Bio back-to-back, even for the final, but we'll see. People have been trying to convince me to do 18.022, but I think I'd better test the waters first. My adviser said I could change during the first week anyway.

Here's my unkempt hovel!

The closet, or the "Elephant," as I believe they call it here.

My African Pearl from the Terrascope exhibit...I think I might name it Arnold or Mufasa, it's a toss-up right now.

My bookshelf with a ton of food on top, if you open the door you can see Karishma's room all the way down the hall, the bathroom about 5 steps away, and the kitchen about 3 steps to the right.

My desk/window/bed; the colorful thing was a poster from the Academic Expo. You can also see the very edge of my Target modular navy blue foam floor-covering thing which I love love love.

Target lamp: $40. Hawaiian Breeze Desk Fan: $10. Ikea curtains: $5.00. Riverview: a heartfelt plea on my housing application. There are some things money can buy. For other things, there's begging, which my dog knows quite well.

Hooray!

OMGCHAIRRACING

2007-08-30T00:42:00.000-04:00

OMG. Chair racing was so ridiculous and fun.

FIRST...Okay this wasn't going to be first, but it just happened. So I'm sitting by my open window and this silent group of people walks by along the river. Suddenly, one guy is like "DUDE, LET'S GO TO SPAIN!" and the rest of them are all like "YEAH!!! Let's go to Spain!!" Lollerskates.

B (the original first), to do the continue reading thing, write <> before and after the hidden part. The first time, before the link, put: span class = "fullpost" in between them, and the second time, put /span to end it.

TRIANGLE, some people here call water fountains "water bubblers."

FOURTH (and nineteen hundredths), I can't believe I paid over 4 bucks for a freaking pair of scissors from LaVerde's. I'm gonna try to go to Target as much as possible, but I heard that the next group going is a Catholic group, and I don't even know how to say Hail Mary stuff. =( I guess they wouldn't kick me off or anything, but it'd be like O HAI i'm in ur bus, usin' u 2 get 2 target.

So last night, I went to the Boston T Party briefly at Stata; it wasn't that great but I got a free t-shirt, 2 movie posters, and some food. (Eric got strawberry-flavored lube and a condom, but I passed on those.) Then we chilled at Simmons for a while before this random upperclassman, Erik, randomly invited us for some ice cream. We (me, Eric, Jillian, and Michael) were all just like, "Okay," and we ended up walking down the Infinite and all around the buildings until we found this random classroom. Then we had ice cream. Did I mention it was all really random?

After that was the chair racing. Basically, we were underneath building number 66, I think, and there was a long ramp in the tunnel. We had a bunch of Athena cluster rolling chairs, and people just went down the ramp. The thing was, at the end of the ramp was a corner, so we were mostly watching people get owned by it. I remember people doing loads of scary stuff, like Superman style, or this one kid standing on two chairs at the same time, or hearing "You're a freakin' idiot!" I totally held out until the very end, when I caved in under peer pressure - plus it did look really fun. I saw this other girl do it before me, and she slowed down by braking with her sneakers a bit. However, when I tried to do the same, my flip-flops were not quite up to the task. Needless to say, I just went faster and faster and the whole time I was like OMGOMGOMG and then I couldn't get into the right position quickly enough to kick off the corner wall so I slammed into it (cue chorus of OHs from the spectators). Then I fell off the chair, skidded a couple feet, and got bruises on my hip, hand, elbow, knee, etc., but it's okay. Pain is temporary, glory lasts forever!

We all left for the sodium drop, but then it got postponed to Thursday because there was construction on Longfellow, apparently. (I just found a video of last year's - I like how the cameraman says "Oh shit, let's get the fuck out of here," and hangs around for the rest of it.) There was a pretty cool fire show at East Campus though - one of my counselors from FLP was in it!

Today...basically I woke up late -_- I planned on going to Core Blitz at 1:30, but I ended up sleeping until 2. I caught the end of it, then went to the Academic Expo where I picked up more free stuff. After a great dinner with my adviser, our dorm had a scavenger hunt instead of in-house rush. Tracy, Melissa, and I totally went crazy and ran around like maniacs, but it paid off because we won. No prize, just pride. Following our victory, there was a little Taste of Cambridge thing, then a Yoga and Fondue thing. I did the yoga, skipped the fondue, went swimming, came back and chatted, nabbed a load of graham crackers and milk, helped Joanne move her stuff out of storage, and now I am so going to bed. I'm going to have my Freshman 15 by the end of Orientation from all this free food - I'm probably halfway there already!

/*Edit: we never changed to Boston time, did we? I'm gonna do it now.*/

In-House Rush

2007-08-29T23:05:00.000-04:00

So a while ago when I first decided that MIT might actually be the place for me, I took a look at the website and read a bit about the whole choosing a dorm process. Actually, that might have been what really hooked me... so much freedom instead of the usual filling out a questionnaire and leaving the rest up to some committee. I read about the whole huge process, and I remember appreciating how much time you had to change your mind and then decide which entry/floor/whatever you wanted to live in. At that time, I thought it was cool.

I just finished going through MacGregor's in-house rush tonight, and it was so much better than what I had imagined. Better as in gave me a really good idea of where I wanted to live, not better as in, well, any other sense. It was a lot more tiring than I had imagined, though, so I'm not really sure I'm entirely coherent right now.

We got divided into groups, and then we toured all nine entries and spent a while with the Housemaster. Fifteen minutes in each place, I'm sure you can do the math. So by the fifth or sixth entry, everything started blurring together and I wasn't quite sure which questions I had asked and which I hadn't. And I didn't really plan out my stomach too well; by F and G entries, I was so stuffed that I couldn't take advantage of their pasta and Subway sandwiches, which made me immeasurably sad. Met a lot of nice (and social! I don't understand the anti-social stereotype) people, and I'm really excited about living here!

However, I am not excited about packing everything up again and moving tomorrow morning.

(And yeah, Grace, I'm also kind of surprised by the... attractiveness? trendiness? of people here. The Hollister to free tshirt ratio is a lot higher than I expected.)

And how come I still cannot figure out how to do anything with this "Continue reading..." thing? (Maybe MIT really isn't the place for me, after all...)

crank dat soulja boy

2007-08-28T16:54:00.000-04:00

Watch me crank it watch me roll. Lolgangsta.

So the weather here in Boston is actually splendid to the maxxx right now!!! It's warmer than I expected really, even sometimes a little too much so. I'm sitting in my room with the door open (my tower's pretty quiet though, I've barely seen anyone), as well as the window. My Ikea LILL curtains flutter rather prettily in the breeze, and the music of passing cars floats up to my window. Ahahaha actually, I hate the cars, but that's okay.

Another pleasant surprise for me was that there are actually some really attractive guys here. Not that I thought they would be fugly or that I was planning on checking them out, but seriously, I wouldn't have thought that it'd be better than Plano. Most people are so normal, too! I can't wait for the year to start. Actually, my outlook might turn a little more dismal after I have 4 problems sets to do per week.

Today, I went to take the Math Diagnostic after less than 3 hours of sleep. It was still cool though, the diagnostic was pretty much as easy as the provided practice modules, only half of which I took advantage. I actually took the test in the very same room I started out in, 9 hours prior, for the Orange tour. It was pretty interesting, even though I couldn't hear a lot of the stories that the Jack Floreys were telling on the way to Baker since they had to whisper. The best part was definitely when we were in the Tomb of the Unknown Tool, and after squeezing in between these two guys by the wall, I managed to scribble my name on the wall behind my back with the keychain Sharpie I got from Course 20 (Biological Engineering, which is what I'm currently planning on doing) at the Academic Expo during CPW. HEHE.

Diagnostic over, I came back to McCormick and discovered some really good free food at the Women's Orientation. After stuffing my face and excusing myself hastily, I passed out on my bed for a couple of hours. Then I went downstairs, played the grand in the living room for a bit, did another 500 yards in the pool (hopefully I can make this a daily routine!), and now I'm back! I noticed on the way back from the Z-center a lot of yummy-smelling food in front of Kresge, and my Hitchhiker's Guide says the free food starts at six. Yay!

MyMIT

2007-08-28T12:35:00.000-04:00

Okay, so Grace is a lucky duck because she had a blast at her FPOP while I come back and my butt has bruises all over it and I have scrapes up and down my legs and I am pretty sure there was at least one living creature in my hair when I washed it for the first time after five days in the mountains...

BUT OTHER THAN THAT, it was well worth it. Because now I know that I am never ever going to hike the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine (omg you would not BELIEVE the number of people I met who are doing that... they've been on the AT since March. WHAT?!). Seriously, though, I'm glad I had the experience, because it was so hardcore and I definitely would not (could not, really) have done it on my own. I hiked with Eric and seven other people, and we got pretty close after five days of depending on each other.

And now I am in my dorm being very glad that I've finally set up internet and skipping out on some keynote address...

MIT's the place to be!

2007-08-27T09:16:00.001-04:00

So basically, I love it.

FLP was an incredible experience, and we are such a cult now with our games and chants. GO BANANAS!!! I can't really describe it all - it was mostly discussions, games, and such, but then again, it was so much more! Words are unworthy for the emotions and bonds it engendered. Actually, in the whole MIT crowd, we're sort of crazy and obnoxious but umm...yeah. Also, I got sunburned for the very first time evar =( My nose was all red and peeling. I always thought I was impervious! Now I know better.

Anyway, after we got back and parted ways, my parents and I took a taxi to Target and bought some food, a fan, a lamp, shampoo/conditioner, laundry hamper, Clorox wipes, and a memory foam mattress topper. The last one was definitely a great investment - it made for the best night's sleep I've had in a week. After they left, I was supposed to set up my lamp, get my internet working, put the sheets on my bed, etc., but I went to return some shoes.** On the way, I met some FLP folk, who lured me to the party at the Student Center. A lot of us FLPers ended up at there that night, so it was mighty fun. It's so great to be able to go anywhere and have someone who's ready to give you a hug and accept you. For most people, that's pretty much true anywhere, anytime, but especially at the beginning of college when you're fresh and eager to find friends, you want to fit in somewhere. I just have to remember to keep myself open to others and not let my mind become limited by what it already has.

My room is amazing, 4th floor east tower with a gorgeous riverview. I can always see people running by the bridge, and yesterday I even saw a family of ducks (or geese?). The only thing is, my room is pretty warm right now even with my fan, but if I open the window, I won't be able to sleep with all the cars passing by on Memorial Drive. It's okay though, I expect it'll cool down soon enough! I took pictures of my single, but that was before I moved the desk and the bed around, so I'll post pictures of it afterwards.

Yesterday, Orientation officially started so I went to the Convocation, our Dorm Brunch, and then basically started setting up my room. I'm glad I'm in McCormick, so I don't have to think about changing buildings or rooms. After Dorm Dinner, I went to the Orientation Kickoff (they had a really good R. Kelly tribute) and met up with Eric. When it was over, we decided to go to a party, but West Side party hadn't started yet. We walked over the East Campus, where it's soooo crazy. I can't believe they built all that in a week! They also had this laser graffiti thing, I don't even know how that worked. Maybe there was some kind of screen on the side of the building? Anyway, it was psychedelic. Walked over to Stata to check out Jazz Night, then the Marriott where my parents were staying. The rooms are soooo nice. I got like 9 hours of sleep on fluffy sheets, and now I'm back here in my room! I saw the admissions office while walking down the Infinite, as well as loads of people going to take their Math Diagnostic on my way back. Mine is tomorrow - I hope I haven't forgotten everything!

**Story: the night (read 11:30 pm) before we left for FLP, I realized that I'd packed my sports shoes into one of the suitcases that my parents were bringing and we needed them for the island! I totally freaked out and started frantically trying to find out where I could buy some or borrow some. I emailed my entire dorm, and my CPW host/Plano friend emailed Kappa Alpha Theta for me. I got up early anyway so I'd have time to go to Target if need be. I was so delightfully surprised when I got a whopping 6 offers in the morning before 7! This was when there was barely anyone on campus, too! I love people.

FLPFLPFLP

2007-08-25T17:42:00.001-04:00

OMG I'M BACK AND IT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!

MITMITMIT

2007-08-20T22:03:00.001-04:00

OMG I'M HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

departure?

2007-08-18T21:55:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I know that I'm leaving for MIT in two days, but somehow the enormity of that has not sunk in yet. I still have a room full of stuff to be packed downstairs, and I think I'm trying to pack all of my clothing... even the however-many-pounds of superfluous summer clothing. Damn, I hate packing. And cleaning. And generally organizing myself and my surroundings. (Here I could say something about the second law of thermodynamics.)

I am also sad about how I am completely not taking advantage of tax free weekend.

Okay, packing is calling.

Poor doggy =(

2007-08-18T15:10:00.000-04:00

Here are some before and after shots of pauvre doobs. In the one on my bed, he's wearing the aforementioned shock collar that doesn't really work anymore. My mother insists it helps. I couldn't bear putting these on facebook and submitting him to the humiliation! As nobody reads this anyway, I can document his pitiful state here (and only tell people who are understanding and kind, and skyj).

Post 156

2007-08-18T04:51:00.000-04:00

o hai i made you a lolcat

So I finally managed to start cleaning my room (sans lachrymal gushing! thunderous applause). Now it looks somewhere between a war zone and a tornado-ravished office supply store. It turns out most of those boxes I shamelessly nicked from Karen Dillard's will be put to some other use - I've succeeded in transferring their contents to suitcases. Soooo...I'm taking some of my belongings with me as checked baggage, and my parents are bringing the rest when they go up. Still, I'm shipping 3 boxes of books (Surprise: I'm taking 11 non-academic books with me and 9 of them are written by a certain JKR), notebooks, paper, and cds by the USPS media rate. Then, if my room is too small, my parents will bring back some of my clothes. =(

I can't believe I am leaving this place for more than three months in just a couple of days!! I feel like I should be more excited, but this whole cleaning thing is getting me down. If only I'd done it last week and could spend my last days playing. Or if only my mother didn't insist that, in addition to packing up what I'll need, I also get rid of all traces of myself in my room in order to prepare it for the habitation of my hated sibling.

Now, if you please, you can amuse yourself with the following:
LOL 1 Lolcats and editorial fashion, together at last.
LOL 2 USNews and hokum, together as always.

/*EDIT OMG I FINALLY BY A LUCKY ACCIDENT DISCOVERED A WAY TO GET RID OF "CONTINUE READING..." AT THE END OF MY POSTS AWESOME BLOSSOM!!!!!! I'd forgotten to add the /span to the end of the html and it didn't show up. This serendipitous occurrence merits a Monty Burns "Exxxxcellent" replete with sinister skeleton fingers and shifty eyes. VICTORY!! Now to go back through my last couple of entries and fix it. TEDIOUS. Anyway, obviously there's more to read.*/

I just did the Big Sis/Lil Sis questionnaire for McCormick - I just hope they won't think I'm as banal as I sound on paper.

"In 100 words or less, please give a blurb to introduce yourself to your big sis:
I am: a packrat, a Potter fan, a procrastinator. I wish I were: fierce, fashionable and funny. I like: alliteration, lists, sleeping, Goldfish Guilty pleasures: dark chocolate, Veronica Mars, America's Next Top Model, Facebook, Draco/Hermione, Pepperidge Farm Pirouettes Slightly scared of: birds and fish

**Help us please!**
In order to give you the best first year at MIT, we are planning several events for you and your big sis.
Please give us suggestions of what you would like to do with your big sis:
Go see a movie, have a pajama party with others"

I also wish I were: more consistent with my punctuation and somehow able to stay inhumanly energetic at 4:00 am.

All right, I could try to squeeze out a witty paragraph about how lame epicanthic fold surgery is even though I secretly wish I had a fold on my right eye (to match the left) or the current state of affairs between America and the rest of the world, but I am feeling a general malaise and digestive discomfort right now, most likely due to the combination of
1) sleeping in too late
2) eating nothing but 2 Chipotle BBQ Wraps, broccoli and ranch, half a can of Neo Neo Pearls (what's happening to me? I used to love those things), and a couple of these really squishy small sweet potato things, also from Asia World Market, (read: nothing healthy) and
3) cleaning, my worst enemy.

Honestly, I don't think it's so much cleaning as having to go through everything in my overfilled room. In fact, I plan to have a steady supply of Clorox wipes and Febreze, as well as a Swiffer sweeper in my "coffin" at McCormick.

In other news, Dooby got almost all his fur shaved off because of the matted tangles, except a little on the top of his head and at the end of his tail. POOR BABY he seems so timid now. At first, he was even scared to jump on and off the couch. omgggg I'm going to miss him so much. I'll try to post a picture of his nekkid state. He's still cute to me and always will be.

brill

2007-08-15T04:35:00.001-04:00

Don't try to tell me that brill's not gonna happen. I'm gonna make it happen.

Anyway, I had a genius idea which I'm sure other individuals have had too, but still. I could be a SET card for Halloween.

Although...I did just find my Harry Potter glasses. I thought they had been lost forever, but they were actually wedged in between Prisoner of Azkaban and the side of the shelf. Huzzah!

I have way too many boxes, and I've decided that I want to fill up some large cases of luggage before boxing up all my clothes. Unfortunately, I've already done the latter =( Everything fits so perfectly too! Now I'll have to undo all that work. Oh well, maybe the seventy dollars I'll save on shipping might be worth it.

I hope to find a really cute rug when I get to Boston. Less than a week!!

I am really reconsidering taking the bio and physics ASEs...maybe it'll be better just to take the basic courseload. I don't want to overwhelm myself in the first semester! In other words, I'm too lazy to have studied yet.

Things I want:
self-discipline
a ulexite keychain
Taboo
I thought of two things earlier today, but I've forgotten them.

Guess what?

2007-08-13T00:07:00.000-04:00

My mom's coming home tomorrow...and I still haven't cleaned my room.

However, I have seen Rush Hour 3, The Bourne Ultimatum, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (again). Should I feel ashamed of movie-hopping or vindicated for thwarting Cinemark's exhorbitant ticket prices?

Hilarious: Harry Potter and the COSATHSOWAW

Question: What is fmk?

Answer: Google it - really. The first thing that comes up is a Wikipedia article entitled Fuck, Marry, Kill - and that's exactly what it is! Get a random group of 3 people and you're forced to choose which to fuck, marry, and kill.

Now, if you're super bored, you can read my senior paper. It's not anything awesome, so I would suggest fourfour( if you want to laugh at Tyra Banks & Airheads) or HP fanfic instead, but not Night Zephyr - Points of No Return. I just finished it last night. It was horribly excruciating, but I couldn't make myself stop. Why do I do these things to myself?

(I named this something so awful and cheesy I'm leaving out the title.)

In the turbulent social zeitgeist of the twentieth century, many writers attempted to define ethics or clarify the delineation between good and evil amidst the pervasive moral confusion and prevailing psychological uncertainty. Using organic backdrops, they isolated humans in order to explore the nature of the mind without the constant influence of society. They found a primordial attraction to atrocity, or a sort of beast within the spirit, that becomes unleashed when faced with the unknown. Journeys into the wilderness often result in confrontations with the primitive fascination with darkness inherent in the human psyche, which must be willingly met but ultimately controlled.

Joseph Conrad explores this idea in Heart of Darkness, venturing to the Congo in a climate of ambiguity and doubt, where images of savagery and the horrifying vision of reality that Kurtz relays force protagonist Marlow to reevaluate his own values. Likewise, Barbara Kingsolver investigates the wickedness that surfaces in the character of pious Reverend Nathan Price as seen through the keen eyes of his family in The Poisonwood Bible. William Golding’s delving into the complexity of the subconscious is especially provocative in Lord of the Flies, as the individuals he takes into the jungle are young British boys who should be capable of “civilization” but quickly turn towards barbaric bloodlust and cruelty. All of these characters are drawn inexplicably into worlds of violence, hypocrisy, and death. Some embrace or succumb to the atavistic appeal of darkness, while others attempt to suppress or sublimate the repulsive attraction.

The innate “fascination of the abomination” (Conrad 37) is undoubtedly embedded into the human consciousness: taboo is exciting and violation of rules, sadistically interesting. If not satisfied personally or vicariously, these deep-seated, often repressed or veiled yearnings, can lead to terrible consequences. Nathan Price’s desire for spiritual security, augmented by his insecurity arising from his survival in the war where his platoon died, starts out harmlessly enough. He, like the colonialists, manages to delude himself into believing that his task of converting all the people of Kilanga is purely altruistic, but an irrational obstinacy turns his drive into a destructive force. Already controlling and unyielding, Nathan becomes even more stubborn in the face of failure, attempting to bend the will of the village to his personal control. His family suffers for it, enduring his physical abuse as well as suspicion and isolation from a majority of the villagers. His method of dealing with his inability only exacerbates the problem: he fanatically refuses to accept it, fighting blindly but furiously against what he believes is wickedness in the villagers, even after his wife and daughters finally take the drastic action catalyzed by Ruth May’s death and leave him. The reader sees his desperate battle with this purported evil through the eyes of his family and never through his, just as any understanding of Kurtz comes not from a direct insight into his mind but is filtered through Marlow’s perspective. DeMarr points out the fact that Marlow is away from Kurtz during his transformation, and “so too the women are separated from Nathan during the time of his greatest change by Africa and are finally left with a mystery” (par. 18). Once his tenuous connection, the presence of his family, to his former life is severed, Nathan “penetrates deeper into the jungle, apparently sinking into madness, as he journeys farther and farther into his own ‘heart of darkness’” (par. 24). Like Conrad, Kingsolver portrays Africa as “a strong and ambiguous force,” simultaneously being exploited by colonial powers and “corrupt[ing] the agents of those powers” (par. 11). One such agent, of course, is Conrad’s enigmatic Kurtz. In the absolute freedom of the wilderness, Kurtz takes advantage of the natives without restraint, succumbing to the darkness within him. Almost paradoxically, this complete liberty forces Kurtz to recognize his kinship with the savages, spurring him to “gratify his primitive lusts to their absolute full” (Ridley par. 3). Without the external dicta of society, he cannot resist the temptations of darkness, instead surrendering to them wholly. Kurtz’s fall is triumphant in a way: he rejects the European façade of concern for the natives in favor of the dismal truth: that the imperialists are in Africa simply for selfish gain and profit. However, because he is hollow and has not even a fabricated ideal to support himself, this solipsism consumes him entirely. After entering the literal “heart of darkness,” the wild African tangles, he cannot help but discover that the latent darkness “lodged deep within him...[will] erupt due to intimate contact with the lawless wilderness” (Brown par. 12). Similarly in Lord of the Flies, Simon finds that the beast which frightens the boys is actually within each of them. The fly-ridden sow’s head explicitly says, “I’m part of you” (Golding 143), echoing Simon’s tentative suggestion to the others that “maybe it’s only us” (89). However, the other boys cannot accept Simon’s revelation, and when he tells the other boys that the beast is human, they murder him. Like the prisoners of Plato’s cave, they are trapped by their self-imposed mental limitations and “fear the bearer of the truth” (Hynes par. 24). Nevertheless, the beast within surfaces as more and more boys leave Ralph’s camp of civilization for Jack’s society of fear and violence, where the fascination of abomination goes unacknowledged but satisfied.

The collective fates of the characters point towards an uncertain path of treating this fascination. After Nathan’s family leaves, he falls deeper into the clutches of the Congo, ultimately dying in a “boss tower” with the reputation of being a “witch doctor” (Kingsolver 582). The boss tower is a fitting place of death for Nathan, who tried his best to subjugate others to his will. There, “the Belgian foreman would stand watching all the coffee pickers so he could single out which ones to whip at the end of the day” (583), just as Nathan closely monitors his family and Kilanga for any action he could deem heretic or undemocratic. The twice-removed reader only learns of Nathan through the shadowy rumors of the forest, passed along by his family, adding to a mystical sense of his dark destiny. This insulation can also be seen in the telling of Kurtz’s death: the unnamed frame narrator only relates what Marlow passes on, leaving Kurtz still a mystery. What the reader can grasp, though, is that Kurtz cannot fight his fascination with abomination. Too much freedom brings him to realize the ruthlessness and cruelty of which he was capable, and this knowledge consumed him in the end. His famous final words, “The horror, the horror!” perfectly describe the monster which overtakes Nathan, himself, and many of the deserted island boys (Conrad 111). However, the fates of the latter are different. The boys who die, Piggy and Simon, generally represent the intelligent, introspective facet of the human mind, whereas the abomination does not fully take over the boys who represent disorder, Jack’s crew. However, this ending is somewhat ambiguous as the appearance of the naval officer is clearly a deus ex machina, and if he hadn’t shown up, Jack would have killed Ralph. Chaos would have triumphed over society in their tropical microcosm, and sooner or later, the marooned boys would have turned on each other, leaving Jack dead or alone in the end.

In the novel, the victimized boys represent the annihilation of others by those who fall into darkness. An alternate, optimistic scenario that could have happened on the island would have the boys continuing to follow Ralph, managing to maintain their human integrity and fighting against the forces of anarchy, but based on the natural inclinations displayed, the chances of that happening are inconsiderable. Of course, if the situation had changed (e.g. if the boys thought they were being watched by adults, if girls had been on the island with them), perhaps added inhibitions would have prevented the savagery perpetrated by Jack’s degenerate camp. Additionally, if they were older, implying more societal influence and further removal from basic instincts, they might have better seen the necessity of Piggy’s intellect. As it is, Piggy’s hard refusal to meet the darkness in any way leaves little room for compromise and therefore little room for him in Jack’s group. This rationalist in him “looks for logical cause and effect and [is] unwilling to recognize the inherent evil in human nature” (“Lord” par. 5). His unfortunate, prescient nickname makes dehumanizing him easier for the boys who treat him as prey, much like the sow they murdered earlier. Simon’s moral position is a little more ambivalent, but he also stays inherently good throughout the novel. However, he takes steps to understand the darkness, often taking the initiative to venture on his own in search of the beast. The darkness destroys him too, but this time it is not the darkness growing within him. On the contrary, it is the darkness externalized by the other boys and intensified by the wilderness, showing that the impulse toward savagery is stronger than the impulse toward civilization. Their externalized evil takes a physical form in the sow, and when they kill her, the boys “enjoy…a temporary cessation of fear” (Dick par. 7), for in the adrenaline rush of the hunt, they do not realize that they can never kill the true beast. After they kill the sow, they mount her head, “the apotheosis of evil” (par. 6), on a stake and offer it to the beast. Clearly, the boys in some way believe that “the sow is both the beast…as well as an offering to the beast” (par. 4). When Simon visits this totem, it is swarming with flies, symbolic of filth and darkness, reminiscent of the “continuous shower of small flies stream[ing] upon the lamp…so beastly, beastly dark” (Conrad 112) when Kurtz dies. Golding characterizes it as “a vast mouth… blackness within, a blackness that spread” (144). By confronting this evil face to face, Simon achieves “the embodiment of moral understanding” (Hynes par. 20), even though he ends up “inside the mouth” (Golding 144). As he is swallowed by the Lord of the Flies, the darkness consumes him, but his redemption comes in realizing the darkness for what it is: a part of everyone.
Marlow also confronts the darkness, trekking into the heart of the forest to meet its incarnation in Kurtz. Marlow, in a profound parallel to Simon’s vision, imagines him “opening his mouth voraciously, as if to devour all the earth with all its mankind” (Conrad 116). Soon after Kurtz dies, Marlow falls victim to illness and barely escapes, perhaps sustained by work or a “deliberate belief” (69) that Kurtz’s name should be kept alive. Additionally, Kurtz has an overwhelming effect on individuals somewhat analogous to that of the Lord of the Flies. While the latter causes Simon to have a fit and believe that the head was expanding, the former makes the Russian feel as if his mind was becoming enlarged (92). He also has the essential ingredient of belief, breathed out in his final cry, “the expression of some sort of belief; it had candour, it had conviction, it had a vibrating note of revolt in its whisper, it had the appalling face of a glimpsed truth” (113), but, as critic Florence Ridley argues, his lack of restraint consigned him to death. While he goes through the same recognition of humanity and understands the same temptations in a land where no external controls exist, “Marlow does precisely the opposite [as Kurtz], does not succumb, does not ‘go ashore for a dance and a howl’” (par. 3). He finds salvation in his deliberate choice to reject the primitive lust that is a “moral shock…altogether monstrous, intolerable to thought and odious to soul” (Conrad 105). In the macabre scene where he discovers Kurtz crawling to escape from the boat, he glimpses the intrinsic bestiality in man, mirroring the dehumanizing of a “dog-like” Jack, “nose only a few inches from the humid earth,” “on all fours,” crouching in “the semi-darkness of the undergrowth” (48). Although he recognizes the darkness, the fascination of the abomination within himself, he refuses to be seduced by it, demonstrating discipline and self-possession. In this way, he passes his “moral test” (Ridley par. 2), while the darkness devours Kurtz.

Nathan Price’s family also passes the moral test, while Nathan himself festers in an even more pathetic state than Kurtz, who at least is worshipped by the natives. The African villagers reject Nathan outright, but he cannot accept his failure and belligerently marches on, vehemently believing himself to be a vessel of God. His chauvinistic, egomaniacal need to dominate perpetuates an uncomfortable spirit that invades his home, and the women in his family seem to be simultaneously languishing in the heat of the jungle and on edge in fear of his wrath. Indeed, his pride and ignorance blind him from letting any human be equal to him, let alone be near him. Even Orleanna, his once-devoted wife, feels disillusioned and distanced. His personal quest for salvation, redemption for surviving the war while his comrades did not, even leads him unabashedly to take advantage of the sky crying at his youngest daughter’s funeral, where he baptizes Kilanga’s children in the rain as he was utterly incapable of leading them to the river. His family, even Rachel, the oldest but least astute of his daughters, realizes what he is too obstinate to accept: “You can’t just sashay into the jungle aiming to change it all over to the Christian style, without expecting the jungle to change you right back” (Kingsolver 619). Her particular belief – “stick out your elbows, and hold yourself up” (620) in a crowd – serves her well, and even though she continues to live in the literal heart of darkness, it never manages to get a grasp on her. Adah perhaps embraces the darkness in her soul more than the others do. Like Kurtz, she recognizes hypocrisy in the supposed bringer of light, the savior “Our Father,” but unlike Kurtz, she stays grounded, never “kick[ing herself] loose from the earth” (Conrad 107). In fact, she stays closer to the ground than many for most of the book, as her limp causes her to drag one side of her body. Her way of seeing things slant brings shrewd, incisive observations about her father, and despite her cynicism, she gives the most accurate portrayal of Nathan. Leah also chooses to remain in the heart of darkness, but after observing Nathan’s deterioration, she develops her own strong beliefs, filling herself with the light of knowledge and renouncing the darkness represented by her father. Orleanna and the three of them watch his decline with distaste while accepting their complicity, knowing “they are responsible in some way for the horrors…and they seek forgiveness” (Ognibene par. 14). By observing his moral decay, they avoid the same fate, walking consciously away from sorrow, from Nathan, and from darkness. The figure who does not leave with them has already been liberated from darkness in a quick strike of a sky blue mouth: that split-second gaping abyss again recalls the voracious aspect of the Lord of the Flies and Kurtz. Ruth May “would have made mistakes caused you pain eaten the world in one bite” (Kingsolver 641), but because of the darkness in man’s heart, she never had the chance. Her obsession with the green mamba snake and the resentment of the local witch doctor for Nathan throughout the novel foreshadow her fate, and when the innocent daughter finally encounters the serpent, she releases herself and her family from the captivity of horror.

Under societal pressures, self-awareness offsets the inherent devolutionary tendencies, but even without any constraints, humans must maintain their convictions and stay in command of their psyches. They must accept the fascination with abomination but cannot let themselves be consumed by it. Instead, they must fight it with self-restraint, with a belief, and with the light that dwells side by side with the darkness in their hearts.

ARE YOU BORED TO DEATH YET?

UPDATE! Still have not cleaned my room.

2007-08-10T02:40:00.001-04:00

So I'm going to make a list of things I do/places I go to avoid doing things I don't want to do:
make lists
youtube
fourfour
overheardinnewyork
icanhascheezburger?
random clothing sites
play f/m/k with dgo's and my mutual friends on fb
random home decorating sites
read HP fanfic or look at HP fanart
google delicious things like crepes and chocolate
facebook (A propos, FACEBOOK TOTALLY SAVED MY LIFE!!!

Setting: 2 am Central Time, August 1st, 2007, Grace's room

Grace has not received, to her knowledge, any mailings, postal or otherwise, about a statement or negative balance so she has no idea fall term tuition is due. She is, as usual, procrastinating and trying not to clean her room. Of course, Facebook is there for her in her dark time of need.

Ok I give up attempt at writing a short play, 3rd person me is not fun and the whole thing sounds idiotic. Anyway, I randomly decided to check up on the MIT 2011 Facebook group and BAM! Something like **FALL TERM TUITION DUE TODAY** falls under my glance. OH MY GOD. I LOVE FACEBOOK!!! Anyway, got my dad's credit card and used MITPAY omg so convenient and fast. <3)

/*Edit 8/15: I just saw a brochure today in the heap of mail from when we were in Taiwan that described how to view statements, etc. -_- */

Since I am hosting a party tomorrow, I probably should unpack my suitcase from two and a half weeks ago...we'll see if that ever gets done. Back to f/m/k!

I don't want to clean my room.

2007-08-08T02:27:00.000-04:00

Jes sayin. However, I have put it off for years, and the inevitable day when it becomes unavoidable fast approaches. In other news, I've been scheduled for work like 5 days a week every week, plus I'm tutoring this girl for extra cash whenever I can. Busy bee me. I'm going to miss Dooby sooooo much!!! =( He's so cute and furry, but the neighbors who took care of him didn't groom him very well so we might have to cut his fur really short because a lot of it got horribly tangled in terrible little messes.

I have rediscovered the pleasure of HP fanfic/fanart!!! I pretty much love ArtDungeon.net and all the fic it links to and The Sugar Quill and all the characters especially Draco and the Weasley Twins and Harry and Ron and Hermione and Sirius and Remus and Severus and James, just to name a few. (How's that for polysyndeton, eh?)

Now, I'm going to finish Corner with Love, possibly pack books and journals (how much bubble wrap should I use to protect my HP books?), read a couple of short fics, and facebook a bit - my true love. Also, it's now Wednesday so xkcd. What a fascinating life I lead! There's nothing to continue reading...I should really find out how to vanquish that when I don't need it.

/*Edit: Speak of the devil! http://xkcd.com/300/*/

China, Super Condensed

2007-07-30T12:35:00.000-04:00

I am ridiculously jealous of Grace's gift for being able to make anything sound exciting and interesting. Anyway, my China trip was not nearly as eventful (thank goodness).

First went to Kunming, which is up in some mountains that I don't know the name of, and played around for a week and a half. I went to China with the preconceived notion that all the girls would be superwhite because of all those whitening cream ads (and the superwhite girls) I saw the last time I was there, but apparently the same does not hold true for mountain cities. The people there were, to put it bluntly, butt ugly. I was v. amazed. And the girls there don't wear camis, I guess, because I wore one out one day and I got so many incredulous stares. Or maybe it was because I was a head taller than pretty much every other girl on the street. Kunming has some pretty awesome mushrooms. Yum.

Then I went to Nanjing, which was ridiculously hot. I stayed inside with the AC and my grandparents most of the time. Went to all the usual shopping places, but after four trips to China I think I've finally gotten over the allure of the cute but useless pieces of random crap they sell on the streets. Yay! Ate way too much and definitely peed in too many hole-in-the-grounds.

Finally, spent my last day in Shanghai with Jack as my guide. Got to play gawky tourist, which was fun. The heat was also ungodly. Stayed with his aunt and uncle in their supernice house. Then flew back to Dallas! YAY HOME.

OMG

2007-07-24T04:52:00.000-04:00

I am so ready for the fourth time through HP7. I really want to reread the other ones first to see all the hints that she dropped (finally, gleam of triumph answered!) but another reading of this one seems more pressing. Anyway, don't want to go into the actual content because I don't want to spoil anyone's reading, it is too precious to touch (I can't help it: "Look at me" CRY CRY CRY), I could never do it justice, and there would be too much to write about. Luckily, most people at work have read it and we can talk about it for hours and hours!!

In other news, I MISSED DOOBY SO MUCH!!!

I'll blog about the rest of my trip later.

more on why i'm going to hell

2007-07-13T07:00:00.001-04:00

Well one thing I learned is that tuna fish are actually really enormous. Not like megalodon enormous, but I had always imagined them to be roughly salmon-sized fish. Not so! One of the Japanese game shows had these two guys who had to eat an entire tuna, and it was a rather small tuna, about the size of an 8-year-old Dudley Dursley I'd say. Then I found out that they can grow to 2-4 meters long.

In other news, Taiwan is so omg cheap. Like I said with the HP voodoobaby, you can find about anything for $100 NT when on sale($3 here), so I bought a bunch of $3 t-shirts, tanks, and camis. How am I going to buy anything in the U.S. ever again? Bubble tea is also really cheap, like 60 cents for a cup that would cost upwards of $3 here. They also have Dunkin Donuts here, and the donuts are soooo much cuter - they have little flower shapes with the hole still in the middle - and much chewier in a good way (what they call QQ - just say the letters).

At the Miramar movie theater, they practically have a museum exhibit for all the new movies. The exhibit for Secret (Jay Chou's new partially autobiographical, or so I've heard, movie) even had one of those pianos that is programmed to play by itself with the keys moving up and down. Of course every exhibit has a screen that plays a trailer of the film. I'd say about three-quarters of the movies were American, and the rest were evenly split between AZN and foreign movies. The popcorn also comes in "sweet" (basically, lightly caramel covered) and "salty," what we're used to here. Medium is a giant bucket, and they all have clear plastic tops for the Flavorshake.

You know how at Starbucks they have those dispensers with vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, chocolate, etc.? Flavorshake is a couple of those dispensers with stuff like chocolate, seaweed, cheese, and other stuff I can't remember. You shake it on the popcorn, close the top, and shake the bucket. Oh, and some of the escalator railings have Ratatouille coverings on them, pictures of which I'll probably put on Facebook since nobody reads this and I want to share it with the world.

And now for the part in which I am a terrible, terrible person...and possibly the worst sister in the world. I swear I would never do it to anyone but my brother though, and he deserves it because he's the spawn of Satan!!

Basically one day he left his gmail open and gave me permission to use MY OWN COMPUTER for 30 minutes before he had to chat with his little girlfriend. So he was pretty much asking for it. >=) I read through their correspondence and tried to not laugh my head off. Disgustingly sappy, but here is a choice selection from my brother:

"hmm. tempted to put a psychoanalysis in here (to return the favor for that very very goofy-grin-inducing psychoanalysis... which we should abreviate to psycho-anal from now on xD), but i'll save it for after a confession =D"

LOLLERSKATES. Psycho-anal!

OH MY GOD PLEASE KILL ME

2007-07-11T09:54:00.000-04:00

So I thought we were all coming to Taiwan to play, shop, visit family, etc. As it turned out, I WAS WRONG. Instead, the rest of my family came to do just that, and I came here to suffer a painful fate worse than death. Yes, my friends. My mom, without asking me, authorized an ARMPIT SURGERY. I did not know how much this would hurt, or its lasting effects, or else I would have fought tooth and nail to get out of there. As it was, I thought it would make a pretty interesting blog post at the time, and it would be over in a day. Plus, the doctor made it sound way less invasive than it really was. Alas, I was young and innocent then! Basically, my mom thinks I inherited axillary hyperhidrosis from my paternal grandmother, so she found this surgery in the paper to remove sweat glands. Embarrassing? Quite. Excruciating? VERY MUCH SO. Let me tell you...

What they did, according to the doctor who explained it to me afterwards, was slice open my skin in an armpit fold - like an inch - stick a laser in there, and cut out the glands. At least that's what I gathered...my medical Chinese is none too awesome. The worst part of the actual surgery was the local anaesthetic. Try sticking 3 needles into the tender, sensitive, pitiable skin of each of your armpits, and that might be the beginning of the pain. Then a bunch of almost-as-painful crap happened, and I couldn't really tell what was going on (but I heard a lot of stuff). When it was finally over, I was really angry at my mother, but what can an 18-year-old adult do these days? That night, the anaesthesia wore off, and it was hell.

Pretty much, I've had to hold my arms in an approximately akimbo position for a week, literally. This includes sleeping (I wake up every day with a terrible stomachache - either the food here does bad things at night or I'm really not used to sleeping on my back), showering (the area of surgery isn't allowed to touch water anyway), and yes - peeing. I'm in for another week, apparently. The doctor says I'm healing nicely, though, and today I managed to contort my arm in a way in which I could take some pictures of my own arm. However, I don't have the link from my camera to the computer yet, so I can't upload them =( Anyway, more on this new form of torture when I can get the pictures.

In other news, I think that girl who got eliminated off Canada's Next Top Model, Mika, does a commercial here for Vanish detergent, but I'm not completely sure it's her. Also, they have MTV! With mostly Chinese songs, but they have Avril Lavigne, Mika, and other western bands, as well as this super cute French song - I think it's called Le Papa Pinguoin by Pigloo (maybe from a movie or tv show?). Whenever they play Umbrella, they have three little Rihannas holding umbrellas that pop up on the bottom of the screen when she sings, "Eh eh eh" and glide off to the right.

Most everything here is cute, but there's still some scary stuff. First off, the air outside smells like smoke and gasoline, sometimes with food mixed in. Once I almost walked into a dead rat on the sidewalk. There are also lots of dogs just running around. Umm...I saw them cook a live fish on tv - they placed a live fish on the cutting board, made a couple of slices on each side, and held it by the head and tail over steam. When they put it on the plate, its gills were still moving. If you know me, you know how I feel about fish. If you don't...long story short, birds and fish REALLY freak me out. I don't like eating animals when I can see their eyes and mouths. Anyhow, the pain that the fish feels probably approaches the pain I am feeling as much as 1/x approaches 0 in the positive infinity direction. On a not very similar note, the girls here are so thin, their arms are like sticks, but they don't look unhealthy. Maybe they exercise in school or something...

So far, I've been to Danshui, Fisherman's Wharf, and the night markets. They sell VoodooBaby-like things here for around 100$ NT, which is about $3 in the US, so I got one a couple days ago that sort of resembles Harry Potter (which I saw with my cousin today, 7-11, omg awesome!!!). Speaking of 7-11, they have them eeeeeverywhere. Sort of like Starbucks in America, but with a cute little mascot with his own line of products and tv commercials. They are waaay better than 7-11s in the US, though - they sell a ton of cute stuff, delicious drinks, and tasty snacks - like baked pudding, strawberry pudding, blueberry gum - not blue razzberry or other artificial stuff like that - and all kinds of chips, including chicken- or seafood-flavored Lay's. Clothes on the street are also really cheap, and my mom bought me a bunch, probably to assuage her guilt.

The uncle and aunt I'm staying with are the best!! I've probably gained like 7 pounds from all the food I've had, but now is not the time to count calories! I think my favorite breakfast so far is dou jiang you tiao (soy milk and fried dough sticks), but the fruit milk and yang le duo yogurt drink (which comes in larger bottles, not the tiny ones they have back home) are good, too.

Only a few more days until my brother leaves, after which I will be extremely delighted. The more time I spend with him, the ruder and more selfish he seems to me. He's been hogging the computer for the past week, which is why I had to remember everything until now to post, and is so vain and egocentric I can hardly stand it. Anyway, to spite him, I purposely left my camera at home when we went to Taipei 101 (Technology! Art! Innovation! People! Environment! Identity!) so he couldn't take pictures of the tallest building in the world, or something like that. When he found out, he was infuriated and I was very pleased with myself. >=) I had ice cream 3 times there, as well as a classic oyster omelette and shabu shabu hot pot. Lucky me! Wait...not lucky. Ugh. My mom took off the bandages to let the wounds air out a bit and I keep getting poked whenever I let my elbows down a little by this stitching, which I swear is stiffer than fishing line. Yes, come join my pity party! You couldn't pity me more than I pity myself if you tried.

Day One

2007-07-03T13:35:00.000-04:00

So today began our journey to the land of cuteness. I know, Japan is arguably cuter, but Taiwan is supacute too.

(Oh yeah, yesterday I watched 4/5 of Notting Hill. Aww Hugh Grant. He intensifies the anglophilia inside me and makes me want to speak with a British accent.)

This morning I woke up and when I went to take off my contacts...well, I still use the little suction cup thing. Everyone has to have some kind of disability right? I can't get out my contacts without that. So, first thing that happened to me was that the little suction thing fell down the drain. I had to unscrew the little pipe thing and get it out and it was muy disgusting. I was sort of frantic because if my mom found out, she would start complaining about how I can't take care of myself, blah blah blah, how am I gonna survive in college, etc. Luckily, I got it out in about 10 minutes and it was quite a travail, but I won't go into that. Basically, it was gross.

While we were waiting at DFW, this weird balding guy with a combover was staring at me. Whenever I looked back at him, he would keep staring for like 3 seconds, which was the really offputting part. 3 seconds of staring at a stranger is actually a very long time. Usually if I'm caught looking at someone else, I look away immediately. Not this guy. Say what you will about the male gaze - this one was freakin creepy.

At both airports, Jeff was being sooooo annoying and clingy to his little girlfriend on the phone. More disgusting than the crap that came out of my drain. That load of sap seriously sickens me. (Nice alliteration, right?) Them and their gross little nicknames...mmk don't want to go into this either. Main point: he's a needy moron.

Today was not all gloom and doom, however. The overseas airplane was flossy flossy compared to AA (we rode Eva Air). Well, it was the nicest airplane I'd ever been in. That's not saying a lot, but there you go. It had more amenities than all the others, probably because the flight was 13 hours. All the flight attendants had cute pastel aprons with flower-shaped buttons. On the flight, I watched Disturbia, In the Land of Women (<3 Adam Brody), Reign Over Me (which turned out to be a lot better than I expected), and a bunch of Candid Camera-styled shows only in Canada/Europe. I thought they would be lame, but some of the pranks were actually pretty funny. There was also this reeeeally cute and campy version of the Nutcracker, except it had nothing to do with Christmas. There were people dressed up in Hello Kitty and flower costumes with really high-pitches voices dancing and singing in Japanese. Apparently, Hello Kitty and Dear Daniel were celebrating Hello Kitty's 30th anniversary.

Also, I had to go to the bathroom on the airplane (they had Apricot facial spray? and eau de toilette "to counteract the effects of the bathroom") and once I had to stand there for like 10 minutes while the person inside tried to get out. It reminded me of the TXFS bus.

POOOOOO

2007-06-29T00:58:00.000-04:00

Okay I changed it now so that you don't have to type anything in a specific place unless you want to do the show/hide thing...but I don't know how to get rid of "Continue reading..." on the bottom of posts in which there's nothing else to read. =(

talons and tea leaves

2007-06-27T19:19:00.000-04:00

I like drinking honey in water with crushed ice.

Today my mom told me to clean off my bunkbed soon. My darling bunkbed, with its nostalgia-inspiring decor and handy top bed for which to put unwanted items, is being given away to her friend.
Me: Oh...so where am I going to sleep?
Mom: On the floor?

Haha but I think she's actually going to get a full-sized bed for my room. I found out I have a lot of stuffed animals and many post-it notes from that time I tried to put a phylogenetic tree on the wall. Alas, I did not find the goldenrod yarn that I lost when I was knitting my (still-unfinished) Gryffindor scarf two winters ago. What am I going to do with all my crimson yarn? What I'm doing with the rest of my yarn...leave it on the top of the cabinet. If only I could do that amigurumi stuff:

Who knew poop could be so cute?

大白兔奶糖

2007-06-26T19:53:00.000-04:00

OMG I LOVE WHITE RABBIT CREAMY CANDY. Especially when it's still soft.

I also immensely love all flavors of Pocky, and I am totally head over heels for the cute Decorer ones that are meant to look like cakes. This guy in the commercial, however, just looks like a fruitcake. Note his effeminate giggling when there are about 9 seconds left.

Yesterday I read a story about some nurse in Japan being accused of (and jailed for) ripping out her patients' toenails. Nasty! This is worth a click in my opinion: Ice cream that tastes like chicken wing or fish or wasabi...and more!

Today I set up a free checking account at WaMu (rewards on the debit card), but now I think I might close it and go to Bank of America (closer ATM - I think I saw one in the student center...), which I had originally suggested to my mom. Or maybe have an account at both. oOOoooOo. I'll ask Joanne.

In other news, I am sad that I will be missing the 3:00 barbeque for all the FPOPers =( But I got into my first choice, FLP! Thompson Island, here I come. In almost two months.

BUT FIRST, WHY OH WHY DID I TELL MY MOM YESTERDAY I COULD CLEAN MY ROOM BY THE END OF THE WEEK? I was young and foolish then.

My mom didn't believe that I was under 110 pounds when I told her why I couldn't donate blood anymore. Whatever, mother.

HOME YUM

2007-06-26T00:57:00.001-04:00

Oh jaaaaysus, I'm so glad to be home. I have missed Plano so freaking much, and I think I am mightily sick of being with the same four people day in and day out.

Hmm it was a really fun trip on the whole, but it was about a week too long (even though I loved Italy), and lots of art museums! Happy. No sales! Sad.

I have not much to say right now. It is almost 6am in London right now, and I think I should sleep before I try to actually compose a post.

So! Ecarg, let's do something before you go to Taiwain/I go to China!

And poor Dooby. And omg that is suuuuuuuch cute underwear. And don't be anorexic. Your mom stoopit. I think you look beauuuutiful. And I want to see your new haircut! SO LET'S GO SHOPPING! Or ice-creaming. Or anything fun! (aka let's do SOMETHING together.)

AND WTF THIS NEW BLOGGER IS CONFUSING ME.

Witold Lutoslawski

2007-06-25T22:53:00.000-04:00

Paganini Variations for Two Pianos - I have to learn the 2nd part, which is easier but more boring than the 1st, before I leave for MIT. I don't like playing 2nd, but I got to play 1st for 11 years while my brother had to play 2nd so I'm giving him a chance to have the melody for once! I know, I'm so generous. And too lazy to learn 1st.

Today, I set my alarm for 12:30. When I woke up, I kept adding minutes until it was 2:30 and I finally decided to get up. I was supposed to go open a student account at the bank, but my mother didn't take me. So I just went to UTD, where we finally moved on to simulating water permeating nanotubes.

Then I came home and saw Dooby's new collar that makes a high-pitched noise the first time he barks, the noise and a small shock (ergo, we have the "BEEP! ZAP!" in the photo) the second time in 30 seconds, and progressively stronger shocks after that.

He didn't realize what it was at first, and when he barked twice, it started shocking him =( Which only made him bark more and omg it was soooo terrible he looked like he was being painfully tortured in mid-air, the way he was writhing and jumping. I was so scared! Finally he just sat there and shivered. POOR DOOBY!!
"whether it's worth the increasing pain"
Reminds me of the good times in Magavern 1st period Macro.

Then 1010 and I went to the mall! Where I spent like $23 on real clothes, $1 on a pretzel, and...dun dun dun!! $35 on underwear haha.

cute, right? Those are the ones I did not have enough on me to get =(

And only if your name is Sunshine and you find vicarious pleasure in seeing other people's purchases, you can click on the permalink to see the ones I did. (I added some script to the template html to get the short/long functionality! YAY ME SO PROUD! But I haven't figured out how to do the expand/collapse thing yet...that's for another time.)

So basically to use the show/hide thing, put part of your post where it says "Short post here" and the rest of your post in "Extended post here." But if you don't like it, I backed up the original template so we can just change it back =\

last wednesday

2007-06-24T23:17:00.001-04:00

before 5:30

after 5:30

The hair will be shipped off to Locks of Love tomorrow! Of course, not all the hair that I cut is in that little bag. She cut off the hair, which left it shoulder length. Then my mom decided layers would be good, and the lady was like yeeeeah! She found out that we were going to Taiwan next month and decided to help me "blend in." Of course, when I return, I will be all fobby.

I look like a boy, but it'll grow out. Besides, androgyny could be sort of in.

icanhascheezburger?

2007-06-24T16:41:00.000-04:00

Today I went swimming swimming (as opposed to playing-around-in-the-water swimming) for the first time in many moons. Many hundreds of moons. Thus, I discovered how woefully out of shape I am. Whereas I could do 700 yards straight in my heyday, now swimming 450 with many breaks in between (I was at the pool for almost an hour) leaves my arms sore. At least I know I can pass the swimming test! When I come back from Taiwan, I must go swimming 2-3 times a week, at least. This is my new goal (in lieu of the old goal, learning how to skate and play the guitar). Feasible? Most definitely. Probable? Not really, because for so many years, my philosophy has been

but I'll try.

things i love

2007-06-24T01:02:00.000-04:00

strawberry yogurt chex
skim milk
juice
spinach
sirius black
sleep
xkcd
angry little girls
free stuff
delicious stuff
seeing my weight go down with virtually no exercise
puppies especially dooby the cutest dog in the world
buying stuff
tv
internet
lolcats
White Rabbit Creamy Candy
Pocky

whachoo lookin at?

2007-06-22T03:37:00.001-04:00

Ummm so I pretty much love this video of a dramatic chipmunk.

things i hate

2007-06-21T02:13:00.001-04:00

hey yall. yall being my one-, maybe two-person, non-commenting readership. regression to middle school approaching:

THINGS I HATE

not having a car
people telling me what to do in general
people who just started working this summer but act like they know more than me and try to tell me how to do my job even though i already knew
people who tell me to sit/stand up straight i'm gonna fix my posture when i feel like it so shut up
people who say they want to keep in touch but they don't even try (this one is slightly hypocritical...but only slightly)
people who are too judgmental. watch out LEST YE BE JUDGED.
people who think they are soooOOOooOOoo clever and then always explain their jokes and puns as if nobody else understood them, then carry on with a superior air
people who are clingy
people who spell things on aim like "ur kot is so wrm n fuzzi!!! ken i ware it? lol! i lub u!" unless they're making fun of people who do that
people who pretend to be nice and innocent but are bitchy and conniving inside all the time
people who are selfish and conceited and egocentric as my brother. there will probably eventually be an entire post about how much i hate my brother.
when people write "per say" instead of "per se"

basically this list has evolved into a list of people i hate. at the moment. i should not be so full of hate. =( i am a bit ashamed. but i will append whenever i think of more things

THINGS I LOVE. coming soon.

ana mia

2007-06-18T19:07:00.000-04:00

Sometimes when my mother tells me I'm fat, I'll wish I was anorexic. That'll show her. When I'm on my deathbed with my fragile and malnourished bones piercing through papery skin of a greenish pallor, I could say, "Look at what you did to me, mother. Thanks for all the support."

Too bad I love food so much.

Sexxxxxxy.

In Pink Slip, a beach book that I read and gave to Sunshine and would not necessarily recommend to anyone, the girl stopped eating because her heart was broken. Maybe I should get my heart broken, too. Haha, I know, that's a good one. Chances of that happening are pretty much the same as those of me giving up food.

I can't wait until Taiwan next month! I just hope I don't get eaten by the mosquitoes.

I wish I could drive. Or my friends that can drive weren't all away in far away places =(

I think taking French fiddled with my intuition about tenses...things just used to seem right or wrong...which is basically how I got through SAT writing, but now I look at some sentences that I write and wonder if they're supposed to be futur anterieur or whatever.

Umm time to watch AUSNTM S3! Or keep reading OOTP. I could always clean my room, which I have put off for half a year. But...everyone knows that although hard work pays off later, laziness pays off now.

urbandictionary

2007-06-16T19:52:00.001-04:00

has a definition for wooblet:

Usually used in online chatting or gaming communities, wooblet refers to a wobbly person who oftens falls and makes careless mistakes. Wooblets are normally thought of as being like the small Fischer Price plastic people that do not fall down.

person a: Oops, I forgot my wallet at the checkout!
person b: You stupid wooblet.

me love sale.

2007-06-16T18:57:00.000-04:00

I lead a rather materialistic and mundane life. It's comfortable.

So I went to the Paul Frank store today and I dragged Tenn along because I needed a ride. I am shameless =( And he was injured (pulled a muscle) and I didn't know and I felt soooo guilty so I tried to buy him gelato but he wouldn't let me and gave the cashier a 20...short story even shorter, he ended up driving me down to the DART station, walking in pain, and paying for my gelato. I'm going to hell. So...I tried on the shoes and the small size fit. (I ordered them when I got home.) And then I was like uhhh yay that took like 3 seconds. So I decided to shop around a little. SALE!!! 5 dolla flip flops, so I bought these multi dots (yes they match the rain boots):

I also saw these and they were cute but I don't need that many flip flops:

and then I saw these scurvy green check ones! and I was like omg Sunshine would loooove these. So I got them too.

I also got a krab sushi tee in black:
it was XXS so I wasn't sure if it would fit so I tried it on. And while I was taking it off, I saw a little screen print inside!!! It was sooooo cute. Anyway...all for $22 because they were all half off. Yes!

//Edit: I found a picture of the krab sushi on white so you can sort of see the screen print inside...it's krab saying, "oh dude, that's so dope!"

lol

2007-06-15T04:49:00.001-04:00

locks of love. ahhhh i am getting more and more attached to my hair, but i also can't wait for the time when it comes off next wednesday, 5:30ish! in veronica mars, veronica has long hair at shelly pomroy's party (signifying a youthful sort of innocence), but after the party (during which she was raped), all the scenes show her sans long hair. what will this new era mean for me????? tis a time of great change. as evidenced by my first entry in here in a looong long time.

you know what i feel slightly guilty about? the multiple admitted student questionnaire plus surveys i chose not to do. but the first one took so long! my personal contribution to response bias. my room is a complete mess but i feel so reluctant to clean it. i reeeally should though. i should also exercise and stop being so self-indulgent.

i watch way too much tv for my own good. and when i watch, i often feel compelled to watch every episode ever.

The Office
Desperate Housewives
Grey's Anatomy
Ugly Betty
Beauty and the Geek (S3, but only because I can't get the others)
Veronica Mars
ANTM (well, most of the cycles at least) which has led to other NTM's - hopefully this ridiculous appetite will be curbed soon, but making fun of them is pretty amusing.
Heroes
Alias (in the past)

Gossip Girls looks sort of enticing in a fascination-of-New-York kind of way...and also a Kristen-Bell-narrating kind of way.

I feel so unmotivated. But at least I'm working about 28 hours a week, plus a tiny bit of research on the side that I am quite sure will be inconclusive since all we've been doing is following a tutorial for this protein-modeling program. Oh well, something to do that sounds like it's productive.

Also: a B on light for Rhythm & Police!

So I went downtown to West Village with 1010 and Dgo on Tuesday...and we missed our movie, The Valet (La Doublure). Sad! 1010 called me during research and I couldn't pick up. AHH we had already made detailed plans the day before! Why would I ditch at the last minute? Without telling anyone? Why did I switch to proper capitalization? Carrying on. We got to the Magnolia half an hour after the movie started, so we decided to watch The Lives of Others instead. Before that started, we had some time so we trolled over to Paciugo, where I had Fragola (very sorbet-y, Mediterranean Sea Salt Caramel (surprisingly good), and Chocolate Hazelnut (deliciously rich, wish there had been a tiny bit more hazelnut).

//Warning: Wow this following paragraph was the most pointless paragraph ever. Don't read it folks, just look at the pretty picture.

Then random window shopping ($55 for a rope functioning as a belt at Polo RL wtf? Doggy polos were cute though.) At the Paul Frank store, we saw
for $32. I considered getting them but 1) I did not have $32 on me and 2) I thought maybe I still wanted J.Crew wellies. Little did I know how enamoured I would become with these! Today I looked them up and they were $17.95 on Amazon/Karmaloop. Plus about $7 of shipping. Then I did more digging around and after several sunlit days of effort (I tried like 6 or 7 codes and I had to enter in my information each time!! Tedious to the maxxxxx), I found a promo code that actually worked. $3 shipping. I am so asian. And used to not capitalizing that. But then they had Small (5-6) and Medium (7-8). Too bad I'm 6 1/2!!! What if the smalls cramp my feet? What if my feet slide around in the mediums? Ugh. Why didn't I try them on when I was there? I even thought about it...What if the shoes get sold out soon? Must take action quickly. The plan is to go downtown, try on the shoes, get gelato, and come back. I know, ridiculous to go all the way down there just to try on shoes. But look at how cheery they are!!! So happy. I want them. I want them bad. I suppose I'm somewhat used to not getting what I want though...but seriously. $21 for these cute things? That's like 2 hours of tutoring. Easy peasy.

I should sleep.

until midnight

2006-11-13T01:03:00.000-05:00

I have five minutes to midnight (according to my watch). I will take these five minutes to write a post, after which I will go take a much-needed shower and work on my sts essays, which I have yet to start and need to finish before 6pm monday.

So my hair is a lot longer than I thought it was. I think about a month ago suddenly people started telling me my hair was long, and it was a pretty sudden onslaught. It was very dramatic. It wasn't just a few people here and there; it was a lot of people here and lot of people there. So I wonder. Do people subconsciously have a standard for long? Probably. Wow. Question and answer.

Instead of sleeping at nine last night, I reached up above my head and randomly grabbed a book. Usually I have pretty boring stuff stuffed in my bedstand (aka Jackie's beach books from a few years ago) for times when I would like to get to sleep quicker than it would otherwise have taken me, but yesterday I grabbed New Moon, the sequel to Twilight. Also from Jackie, btw. So I started reading and finished the book at two. I've reconnected to my love for vampire romances. Sigh. My favorite vampire book is probably still Sunshine. Even without the totally awesome title. =)

Now I will go shower and do what I should have done yesterday. Or actually, Friday evening.

waiting for november to be over.

2006-11-10T22:49:00.000-05:00

Holy moly why am I so horrible at getting work done. Finished. Whatever. I've realized that with the amount of work I have every night, I could actually sleep by midnight if I just used my time wisely instead of playing minesweeper or reading Harry Potter fic or reading the MIT blogs or... I don't even know what I do. Check my email. Put off emailing my professor. (Who by the way wrote me a recommendation with 17 hours' notice. I love her so much.)

I have been seriously neglecting this blog. What if one day way in the future I decide to read what my high school life was like and all I come across is a freaky picture of me, Yini, and Didy. Oh. And ten gazillion twin day pictures. I can't believe we've forgotten/neglected to record two twin days!!

Okay. So yesterday I woke up at 7.30 without an alarm clock (amazing, isn't it) and got to school relatively early. I forgot what I did. Maybe physics. Or the econ worksheet. Or maybe I looked over my stats equations. Who knows. Then Didy came and I was not in a talking mood so I continued doing whatever it is I was doing. I think she got kind of ticked so she went off to find the guys who "only talk to me to ask me about homework." Okay. Then I went to econ and touched up my half-life lab for chemistry during the lecture. I remember this because Grace asked me what I was working on when I went to put it back up in my bag.

In chem there was more awkwardness between me and Kailing. There is everyday. I talked to Whitney and Christina about shopping and clothes. Whitney was horrified at the realization that "I'm repeating clothes already! I need to go shopping!" She was also wearing a top with a button that did not have a corresponding hole. That really irked me. Then we did our... something lab. Something that's supposed to teach us hybridization, I think. I'm not sure it did a very good job of it. Ning and I kind of guessed our way through it, but I think we picked up what hybridization was somewhere along the way because when we went up to show MSG our packet she said everything was correct. Hooray. Two hours not wasted.

In English we read Hamlet. It was pretty fun. I realized I've missed Shakespeare. I much prefer Shakespeare to Greek/Roman poetry. I would like to get back to some prose, though.

Gabriel sat with us at lunch. We played musical chairs because Gabriel was not supposed to have been there taking up a chair. Since Grace loves me so much, she made me scoot over so I was sitting next to Gabriel and she sat between me and Amy. Thanks, Grace. I appreciated the opportunity to get more Gabriel cooties.

Then I took the stats test which was pretty damn ridiculous. Those random numbers at the bottom got me so confused... and the simulation. What the hell. I'm going to stop thinking about it.

Physics... more Gabriel. He really needs to stop patting my head. If he pats my head at TJSHS, I'm going to throw something at him. Maybe accidently on purpose stab him with a fork when we eat.

French was boring as usual.

Then I had to go run to catch the DART to SMU. I read Act II on the way there. I talked to my professor, who gave me the rec. Aww. I've already said how much I love her. Then she walked me to the new lab (they relocated to the biology building because the basement is getting renovated). I looked for Hongmei but she was in the library preparing for a presentation. So I talked to Weihua and Dr. Hua some more. They are some kind of awesome. They're so supportive.

Then I caught the bus to Mockingbird. On the way there, I conversed with some white guy who decided to go back to college to get a chemistry degree. I went to GAP to look for Jackie. Waited around for half an hour but she didn't show, so I caught the 6.27 train back to Parker Road. I went to Chipotle to meet up with my parents and we had dinner, then I came home and called Jackie to make sure she was still alive (because she had my problem bank, you see), and a phone call that was supposed to last about two minutes, "Hey were were you?" "Driving." "Hey can you give my problem bank to Ning in zero tomorrow?" "Sure." "Thanks. Bye." "Bye." ended up taking almost two hours. So then I decided I really did not want to study for physics (there's stats, after all) and I went to sleep.

SIGH. I'm tired.

chortle.

2006-11-07T02:29:00.000-05:00

I fail

2006-10-31T21:28:00.000-05:00

I always knew I was really good at procrastinating, but I'd always thought that I would be able to get important things done in a timely manner.

Naw. I really fail. I can't believe I procrastinated so horribly on college apps. I finished caltech is pretty much one day. same with chicago.

oh well.

december 15.

MMM shrimp flavored chips

2006-10-28T02:57:00.000-04:00

calbee baked! you know what i'm talkin about right. the one with pink dots. in case you don't...

yeah this stuff is good. that's what i'm eating right now. i can't make the picture go to the right spot so whatever. facebook is so freaking addicting. and evil. i swear, i spend more time on facebook than...a lot of other things. anyway, pretty good day today, except my econ grade is absolutely abysmal. asian failing by a lot. i like fei yu qing's voice. omg the card is so cute =)))

squeeeeeee

2006-10-24T00:44:00.000-04:00

my westinghouse letter came in the mail today. =) eeeeee I can't believe it's true!! one little happy spot in my dim life right now.

and now there's another physics test on wednesday... my life is measured in physics tests.

txml, french movie, english project... does this mean I'm going to have to study physics TONIGHT?? two nights before the test?? woooooowwwww.

There looms a physics test.

2006-10-12T23:23:00.000-04:00

Sarsly, goddamn that bullseye lab. Those people in fourth period are really spiteful/jealous. That's my take on things.

My mom really annoys me.

and still alive

2006-10-12T01:51:00.000-04:00

man the person who read my essays had zero helpful suggestions. holy god. =__= just pointed to stuff and said "interesting." well, great. sigh.

holy god it's so difficult to plan twin days T__T.

my foot really hurts for some odd reason... but probably not as much as ecarg's toe hurts. =(

fridays are so horrible! why do we have pep rally + physics test alllllllways. why why whyyyyy. and econ timed writing. >=(. he's so anal.

mmkay. maybe I should try studying BEFORE the night before the test....

....nah.

still alive

2006-10-05T01:34:00.000-04:00

blogger decided to eat my picture post three times already so I have given up on it.

sorry y'all. no boston pictures.

in other news, still alive, even though the blog is slowly dying, and really pissed, so should probably go to sleep so hopefully anger will dissipate quicker.

yup. bye.

WOW COOL LOL 9/12 - 9/26

2006-09-28T00:37:00.000-04:00

SEPTEMBER 12

SEPTEMBER 14

SEPTEMBER 18

SEPTEMBER 20

SEPTEMBER 26

=(

2006-09-24T19:26:00.000-04:00

i'm pissed at two people right now. so if you're one of those two people, don't talk to me in a happy mode. because i'll try to be happy for you but inside i might get even more resentful.

being pissed really lowers my productivity. but i can't help it.

and chocolate has lost its effect on me i think. at least for now.

seriously?

2006-09-24T05:19:00.000-04:00

seriously. i've done less work than you FOR SURE. i watched john tucker must die again, as well as the break-up on youtube, bane of my life. in addition to blogspot and wikipedia which is often helpful but also easy to get sidetracked on. but oh well. I WISH YOU WENT WITH US TODAY!! wth. anyhow...per the agreement we will be matching tues/thurs next week.

we still have...
ae slub tee
express pink cami/shrug
express sequin cami
ny&co
gap lace tank
cami w/ satin + gap stripe shirt...and that pretty much takes us through non cold-weather clothes

bah humbug, but that's for holidays. i need to get a long-sleeved white t...
a ton of jackets/coats
cream/white blazer
pocket sweater
thick striped sweater
plum/pink kangaroo sweater

and of course a load of plano shirts.

I'LL TAKE IT ON THE SIDE

2006-09-24T00:21:00.000-04:00

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

I can't believe it's already saturday night! I have so much unfinished homework left. =( including those GAY GAY GAY chemistry problems. boooo. I am the master of atrocious time management. I am like the poster child. uh. poster... something. w/e. you get what I mean. SO ATROCIOUS. I have finished maybe two hours' work of homework so far this weekend. in two days! boooooo.

I am soooooo remarkably sleepy right now. I had to get up so early this morning. =( got two hours of sleep. and then my parents got mad at me. =__=. because my dad's still jetlagged, so he knew I didn't sleep until super late. so I was forbidden from taking a nap today. sigh.

but then on the way home from the arboretum yini's mom took us to starbucks where I got so filled with caffeine I couldn't sleep even though I tried to. I just fell into this semi-conscious state.

anyway. now I am rather sleepy.

but I must show you my super pretty picture!!

aaaaaaaaaah it's so pretty. and best of all. IT TAKES UP SO MUCH ROOM!! eeeeeeeeeee.

lol I'm inordinately proud of that little table. hahahahaha. it took me so freaking long... =__=.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeee so pretty!!

okay twin day! later. i can't remember what day I stopped posting pictures at.

I WOULD BE PROUD TO PARTAKE OF YOUR PEEEKTURES

2006-09-23T04:05:00.000-04:00

twin day twin day la la la la la la

grey's anatomy!!! <3333 dude derek was weird to george when he was in quarantine. but yeah mostly <33333 dude when they showed the ny scene of derek and addison i was sooo OMGSAD
why do i get attached to things so easily

WHERE IS MY LOVE IS IN THE AIR SHIRT?! DAMMITI'MMAD!!!

dude air hockey mucho fun! dr. a can't even say anything about me wasting steak dinner since he told us about playing squash blahblah. and let's not even think about the physics of air hockey.

me bake cookies

you post pictures

WE GO TO WB

YAR?

dude...the math thing today. -_- is all i have to say about that. mhm.

and i feel gross and sticky right now but it's too late to shower =(

LOOK AT ME

2006-09-22T18:17:00.000-04:00

you may think you seeeee who i really am
but you'll never know me
every day, it's as if i playyyyyed a part
now i see if i wear a mask i can fool the world
but i cannot foool my heeeart

AHHH DISNEY SONGS I LOVE THEM. dude i have like these disney revivals every year. more like every semester.

eeee tomorrow better be super great!

sleeeeeepy

2006-09-15T02:20:00.000-04:00

man this week has seemed like the longest week ever.

these teachers really ought to plan to give tests before the last week of a six weeks.

I'm so glad it's friday. mmmmm. I can go to sleep after the football game and not have to worry about homework....

sounds so blissful.

wooblets! I like the title.

2006-09-10T23:43:00.000-04:00

=))))))

you know what really sucks, y'all.

regret really sucks.

even more than life does right now.

too bad I have a lot of regrets. =__=

OHM-(MC^2)S!!

2006-09-08T03:30:00.000-04:00

http://www.vdbaby.com/store/73700.html

dude...i could totally use one of these. yeah so instead of studying for econ t.w, which i really should b/c my grade in that class is not too great, i looked through the entire vdbaby website...

CUTE =DDD

TWIN DAYS 8/28 - 9/7

2006-09-08T01:43:00.000-04:00

AUGUST 28

ae henleys

AUGUST 30

yini just happened to be wearing the same shirt that day. she needn't've looked so put out. =(
ae echo canyon

SEPTEMBER 1
plano shirts

SEPTEMBER 5

ae give love

SEPTEMBER 7
urban outfitters skulls and unicorn (and scissors and teapot and mecha)

WAIR EES DEM?

2006-09-07T23:17:00.000-04:00

WAIR EES DEM...PICTURES???

huh huh post post post!!!!

dood...school, what a drag. why are there so many people at our lunch table. i liked the days when i didn't have to worry about having a spot to eat at the table...

and i ain't gonna finish my resume today....oh well. she'll have to deal.

lalala when are we gonna wear africa necklaces?

september

2006-09-04T22:36:00.000-04:00

boo.

wow I am so ridiculously sleepy right now.

THE END.

SUMMER RAIN

2006-08-29T02:46:00.000-04:00

on next tuesday? 60% chance, says weather channel. EHEHE time to wear GAP =)))))) ok? ok!!!

dude...SCHOOL SUCKS T-T i wish we didn't have assessments. then everything would be okay. except i wouldn't learn as much. but still...so much less stressful! and maybe i still would learn a lot if it were like the norm for everybody to learn without being forced to. b/c then i would have to conform and get myself educated. BUT HATE TESTS/TIMED WRITINGS/QUIZZES.

i need to shower

grace is such a great friend

2006-08-29T01:45:00.000-04:00

april 30, 2006

my boring boring boring day

2006-08-27T02:22:00.000-04:00

was really really really booooooring.

ahahahahahaha.

it was all eat solitaire solitaire minesweeper solitaire homework homework homework life sucks! homework homework really lame joke homework homework homework eat shopping! homework delaaaaaaaaay homework solitaire solitaire solitaire minesweeper minesweeper minesweeper fruitee spice solitaire solitaire minesweeper homework solitaire solitiare solitaire solitaire minesweeper homework magazines.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

man I am really really really bored.

WHERE DID I GO WRONG
I LOST A FRIEND
SOMEWHERE ALONG...

damn type too slowly.

LALALALALALALALALALA.

LAST I CHECKED GAP.COM WAS DOWN. AHAHAHAHAHAHA.

okay fraaaaaaaaaaaaaanch.

I would really like to sleep...

2006-08-23T03:03:00.000-04:00

but I don't feel like I've studied enough. boo.

some state park in the middle of nowhere. my mom hates water (even more than I do). notice my brother is oar-less. what a lazy bum. plus he's sitting in the steering seat. >=(

beavis and butthead. and the calculus book. and I was showing them the poster of the largest known prime as of now.

my mom in her office. she has a stereo system, three computers (including a laptop which is not in these pictures), and three printers. how much could she possibly have to print?

lulu, yini, and jackie being themselves. aka retarded.

schedule pick up. before we had feeseeks tests... too bad we both look retarded in this picture.

OKAY IT'S TWO I NEED TO SLEEP.

I'll post more pictures later. maybe.

HE DOESN'T LOOK A THING LIKE JESUS

2006-08-23T01:36:00.000-04:00

DILAPIDATEDSHACK (12:04:16 AM): I FAIL AT STUDYING
DILAPIDATEDSHACK (12:04:17 AM): AAAAAAAH
fruitee spice (12:04:42 AM): me too....
fruitee spice (12:04:45 AM): T-T
fruitee spice (12:04:57 AM): maybe we're too used to not studying for physics
fruitee spice (12:05:02 AM): pre-ap totally did not prepare us...
DILAPIDATEDSHACK (12:05:57 AM): yeah...
DILAPIDATEDSHACK (12:08:54 AM): everything looks so good on skinny ppl
fruitee spice (12:09:01 AM): srsly =(
DILAPIDATEDSHACK (12:09:02 AM): except I dunno
DILAPIDATEDSHACK (12:09:05 AM): maternity clothes?
DILAPIDATEDSHACK (12:09:06 AM): =__=
fruitee spice (12:09:12 AM): lol
DILAPIDATEDSHACK (12:09:53 AM): dude banana republic is so polished
fruitee spice (12:10:13 AM): OMG you bad
fruitee spice (12:10:36 AM): baaaad bad bad baaaad
DILAPIDATEDSHACK (12:10:37 AM): that made me actually laugh
DILAPIDATEDSHACK (12:10:38 AM): hahahahaha
fruitee spice (12:11:17 AM): lol
fruitee spice (12:11:22 AM): b/c you knew you were bad
DILAPIDATEDSHACK (12:11:29 AM): you just sounded so shocked
DILAPIDATEDSHACK (12:11:30 AM): hahahahaha
fruitee spice (12:11:31 AM): actually i looked at ae and gap yesterday
fruitee spice (12:11:33 AM): hahaha

lalalala

fruitee spice (12:26:06 AM): hmm i like the plain stretch t's they're really comfortable
fruitee spice (12:26:10 AM): well i only have one
fruitee spice (12:26:12 AM): but it's really comfortable
DILAPIDATEDSHACK (12:26:41 AM): from gap or ae?
fruitee spice (12:26:50 AM): gap
DILAPIDATEDSHACK (12:26:55 AM): hehe I have one
DILAPIDATEDSHACK (12:26:57 AM): in carmine red
DILAPIDATEDSHACK (12:26:59 AM): ehehehehehehe
DILAPIDATEDSHACK (12:27:09 AM): that was my first carmine red article of clothing
DILAPIDATEDSHACK (12:27:14 AM): bought it for 9.99
DILAPIDATEDSHACK (12:27:19 AM): back when I still bought shirts for 9.99
DILAPIDATEDSHACK (12:27:20 AM): =__=
fruitee spice (12:27:36 AM): lol
fruitee spice (12:28:49 AM): OMG
fruitee spice (12:28:51 AM): you baadd
fruitee spice (12:28:52 AM): =(
fruitee spice (12:28:59 AM): must...do physics
DILAPIDATEDSHACK (12:29:01 AM): =(
DILAPIDATEDSHACK (12:29:04 AM): me good
fruitee spice (12:29:07 AM): you bad
DILAPIDATEDSHACK (12:29:15 AM): ME GOOD
fruitee spice (12:29:18 AM): YOU BAD
DILAPIDATEDSHACK (12:29:21 AM): ME GOOOOOOD
fruitee spice (12:29:35 AM): YOU REALLY BAD
DILAPIDATEDSHACK (12:29:41 AM): we so mature
Auto response from fruitee spice (12:29:41 AM): YOU BAAAD x 1000000000000000000000000000

ahahaha one day I will look at this and laugh at how retarded we are.

small consolation

2006-08-23T00:54:00.000-04:00

who cares about physics?