It's really odd that just a couple weeks ago, I was pulling all-nighters practically every other day. These past couple of weeks have been pretty good for relaxing a little and getting things done. I've managed to finally complete my room, and it's clean and pretty now. I've managed to show up on time to most of my morning classes. I think I'm doing pretty well and I attribute it to my new schedule. No more staying up all night. Insteand, I go to bed at midnight and wake up really early. Maybe I still only get 3 hours of sleep a night, but it doesn't feel like it because I always think that I've had a good night's sleep since I went to bed at midnight. It's a good idea, early to bed, early to rise, makes a person (and I quote the head of our school) work smarter, not harder.
Well, I was on a roll until last night, when my Enviro homework caught up on me and I was up really late working - I attribute that to my computer crashing and me not saving, though. Must remember to save more often...
On another note, I got to call best-buddy in the world, Marlen, on the phone a few days ago, since we both now possess cell-phones. Amazing, isn't it?
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Classes
This morning, I made an effort to get to Europe's Capital Cities class on time. As it's been about three weeks since I've been there on time, and I missed two classes, I felt that I really should make more of an effort. I went to bed early - around 12:30 and then I got up at 6 to study for today's quiz. I gave up around 8 and got ready for class and left at 8:30, arriving 10 minutes early. How is it that if I leave at 8:40 I'm always 10 minutes late? Odd, isn't it? I think I've just finally reached the end of my endurance and some sleep was due.
For site, we went to Nine Mile Run. Professor Christine managed to fit 11 of us in her van. She joked that she'd better not get in an accident because killing a quarter of the class would probably get her fired. I thought that was quite amusing. At Nine Mile Run, a fascinating speaker lady took us on a tour. She was extremely enthusiastic about the restoration of the place, and told us all about the river. For example, definitely don't touch the water, because anything that was in the city sewers does not in fact go to a treatment plant. It just goes right into the river - so if you're walking your dog and you pick up the poop, don't put that into a storm drain, because it's just going to come out somewhere just as inconvenient as the roadside. Speaking of dog poop, just about everyone in our class managed to step on some at some point during the tour.
After studio, I ran a few errands and picked up my kids' homeworks. Many late ones, tsk tsk. I also handed in my time card, and slept through enviro, woke up with a headache. Guess I deserved that for sleeping in class.
And in studio, Kellen and Adam made an art installation using our studio stools and fancy lighting. Somehow they managed to balance about 10 stools on a 2x4 so it's completely suspended in the air. There was a prospective student visiting and I told them they should go and take a peek at the awesome exhibit. After studio, I found out the Adam and Kellen had caught a Sphinx moth. They're really, really large, but very pretty. People were most surprised that I didn't scream like a sissy and instead said, "Whoooooaaaa! COOOOL!" My reasoning was that it was in the make-shift chicken wire cage, so I knew it couldn't fly into my face. They are feeding it on apple juice. I'm not sure how long it will live on that. People were worried they were dead, but I seem to recall that after dying, moths loose the brilliant colors they have. It was standing in such a way, though, that seemed to say that it wants desperately to get out. Maybe we should have made a cage for the praying mantis too...except it probably would have snipped through the chicken wire...
For site, we went to Nine Mile Run. Professor Christine managed to fit 11 of us in her van. She joked that she'd better not get in an accident because killing a quarter of the class would probably get her fired. I thought that was quite amusing. At Nine Mile Run, a fascinating speaker lady took us on a tour. She was extremely enthusiastic about the restoration of the place, and told us all about the river. For example, definitely don't touch the water, because anything that was in the city sewers does not in fact go to a treatment plant. It just goes right into the river - so if you're walking your dog and you pick up the poop, don't put that into a storm drain, because it's just going to come out somewhere just as inconvenient as the roadside. Speaking of dog poop, just about everyone in our class managed to step on some at some point during the tour.
After studio, I ran a few errands and picked up my kids' homeworks. Many late ones, tsk tsk. I also handed in my time card, and slept through enviro, woke up with a headache. Guess I deserved that for sleeping in class.
And in studio, Kellen and Adam made an art installation using our studio stools and fancy lighting. Somehow they managed to balance about 10 stools on a 2x4 so it's completely suspended in the air. There was a prospective student visiting and I told them they should go and take a peek at the awesome exhibit. After studio, I found out the Adam and Kellen had caught a Sphinx moth. They're really, really large, but very pretty. People were most surprised that I didn't scream like a sissy and instead said, "Whoooooaaaa! COOOOL!" My reasoning was that it was in the make-shift chicken wire cage, so I knew it couldn't fly into my face. They are feeding it on apple juice. I'm not sure how long it will live on that. People were worried they were dead, but I seem to recall that after dying, moths loose the brilliant colors they have. It was standing in such a way, though, that seemed to say that it wants desperately to get out. Maybe we should have made a cage for the praying mantis too...except it probably would have snipped through the chicken wire...
Monday, October 10, 2005
Sissies, all of them
This weekend was spent working like a crazy person in studio. On Wednesday afternoon, we were assigned the "Midsemester Sketch Problem." In layman's terms, it means we're supposed to do a month and a half's worth of work in four measly days. I started planning on Thursday, finalized on Friday, didn't sleep at all on Friday night and continued late into Saturday. I hate to admit it, but I was working that hard mostly because I wanted to be able to spend time with my boyfriend (and my parents think that having a boyfriend would be bad for my work ethic...). I did most of everything, and left with the boyfriend, had fun most of Sunday morning and realized around 3:30 that I really had to get my act together. Sadly, I only have two as opposed to three perspectives done (they were both done in less than ten minutes - me so proud). I was very surprised when I walked in around 9 that my desk only had a couple of Waz's things on it. I half expected Laura to have plopped all her junk on it, but Waz said that she thought most people were too afraid of me to mess with my area. Mwahhah, success. On a sad note, the bread I bought on Tuesday is moldy. As I was in studio the whole time, I never had a chance to eat it. Very sad. O yes, and on Friday night there was a high school football game going on in the stadium. The people there were horrifically enthusiastic and everytime they cheered, it felt like a pulsing wave of sickening happiness roaring through the studio. At one point, Waz and I at the exact same moment in the exact same tone said, "O, just shut up!" I said it again while walking back from Entropy with my big bottle of caffeine. It worked this time - I realized that it's no good if you gulp it all down at once and should rather just take a little at a time. And on Saturday night, Meredith wanted to eat her peach from Whole Foods and screamed like a sissy when she found an earwig peaking out of it. Then Ben (not my Ben, architecture Ben) picked up the peach and when the earwig moved, he screamed like a sissy too.
My room's a mess. I need to clean.
My room's a mess. I need to clean.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Bus Stop
Today, I accidentally overslept. After pulling near all-nighters everyday so far this week, I finally crashed.
I woke up blinky and confused around 11 am before looking at the clock, yelling an expletive and dashing out of bed. I decided that since I was late, I ought to try to catch a bus, as a bus takes only 2 minutes to get to campus whereas walking would take around 20. I should have walked.
After about 5 minutes of waiting, a fellow plopped down in the seat next to me. Then he asked me incoherently (very thick accent) which bus would take him to Monroeville. I shrugged. And then he kept talking. Where are you from? I say Connecticut. Obviously his English isn't very good because he somehow thought I said some foreign country. Then he said he was from Mexico and asked if I was Japanese. I didn't assume all Hispanic people are Mexican, but apparently he thinks all Asian people are Japanese. Granted a small portion of my family is Japanese, but I myself am not. So I shook my head and said very clearly, "Chinese." Then he pointed out that I have a very pretty figure. That's when I scooted farther away from him and closer to the nice old Asian man next to me (see? I don't assume all Asians are Japanese). Sadly Mr. Mexican didn't take the hint and kept trying to talk to me. "What's your name?" Angela. "O, it's pronounced Anjela in Mexico." I know. Then he started talking about a great Chinese buffet in Oakland. I hate Chinese buffets. I just nodded a bit and then fortunately the bus came. I should have walked to school.
I woke up blinky and confused around 11 am before looking at the clock, yelling an expletive and dashing out of bed. I decided that since I was late, I ought to try to catch a bus, as a bus takes only 2 minutes to get to campus whereas walking would take around 20. I should have walked.
After about 5 minutes of waiting, a fellow plopped down in the seat next to me. Then he asked me incoherently (very thick accent) which bus would take him to Monroeville. I shrugged. And then he kept talking. Where are you from? I say Connecticut. Obviously his English isn't very good because he somehow thought I said some foreign country. Then he said he was from Mexico and asked if I was Japanese. I didn't assume all Hispanic people are Mexican, but apparently he thinks all Asian people are Japanese. Granted a small portion of my family is Japanese, but I myself am not. So I shook my head and said very clearly, "Chinese." Then he pointed out that I have a very pretty figure. That's when I scooted farther away from him and closer to the nice old Asian man next to me (see? I don't assume all Asians are Japanese). Sadly Mr. Mexican didn't take the hint and kept trying to talk to me. "What's your name?" Angela. "O, it's pronounced Anjela in Mexico." I know. Then he started talking about a great Chinese buffet in Oakland. I hate Chinese buffets. I just nodded a bit and then fortunately the bus came. I should have walked to school.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
That Feeling
Have you ever gotten that feeling during an all-nighter where you feel a coldness in you as the sun's just about to rise? I hate that feeling, it makes my muscles all weak and wibbly. Yes, wibbly. I'm going to sleep for an hour now. Good morning...
Monday, September 26, 2005
Conneaut
This weekend, I went with my Ben and his family to Conneaut. It was a wonderfully relaxing place where all I did was talk, sleep, cuddle with my bunny and grade papers. First night we were sitting around the fire with Ben's brother and his friends, and they decided they wanted to take the boat and go to some hick bar. We got in the boat, but unbeknownst to us, someone didn't refill the tank so we were stranded for a few tense minutes out in the middle of a very cold lake. One of the guys was quite drunk and made some lewd comment about me being the only girl on board, thus I would have to keep them all warm, and hoped I was limber. Ben was grossly offended. I'm just slightly disturbed.
The next day I spent some time grading papers and a lot of time napping. We had hoagies for lunch, and Ben's mom remembered I like fudge so she bought me some chocolate. Yummy. Dinner was pork and rice, yummy too. I had to get all the grading done, which took me a long time, and around 11, I finally got to go and see what Ben was up to. He, his brother and his friend were all around the fire again, so we all sat and talked. Everyone drank beers, I tried a little Mike's Hard Lemonade and decided the alcohol flavor wasn't pleasing, so I gave it away. Ben went to sleep a bit mellowed.
The next day was leaving day. Ben and I went down, ate breakfast and went back to bed. Right when everyone was leaving, we finally got up. Lazy, I am. Hope they don't think too badly of me... Since it was Ben's older brother's birthday, we stopped by his house where we saw a gigantic spider and a stick bug, as well as some of the biggest dogs in the world. It's funny, because when I first met Ben, I was scared to death of dogs. I don't mind them so much now, though jumpy ones still kind of make me nervous. At his brother's house were the two dogs we brought - Bo the Boxer and Corby the collie mix puppy, and his brother's dogs - Justin the German shepherd, Simon the golden lab and Maiza, not sure what she is, and then there was Ben's brother's mother-in-law's dog, Murphey the Irish terrier. It was fun to watch them running around, particularly Corby since she's such a wimp. I sat with Simon for a while, he's very old and slow and likes it when I scratch his ears. I like to pet a dog who sits still so we were both happy.
After that it was back home I go, where work and dance awaited. One of the dances involved horse stance for half an hour and boy did that kill. It's funny how I refuse to use the discipline to stay that way when it comes to martial arts, but when it's dance, I don't even think about the pain. Must have something to do with my mentality. I just know that right now, my thighs are killing me. Pretty soon I'm going to be trying out for Lunar Gala dance. I hope I get in - one of my choreographers for Dancer's Symposium is also choreographing this year, so maybe I'll have a chance. Four dances plus dance class, I feel fit already.
The next day I spent some time grading papers and a lot of time napping. We had hoagies for lunch, and Ben's mom remembered I like fudge so she bought me some chocolate. Yummy. Dinner was pork and rice, yummy too. I had to get all the grading done, which took me a long time, and around 11, I finally got to go and see what Ben was up to. He, his brother and his friend were all around the fire again, so we all sat and talked. Everyone drank beers, I tried a little Mike's Hard Lemonade and decided the alcohol flavor wasn't pleasing, so I gave it away. Ben went to sleep a bit mellowed.
The next day was leaving day. Ben and I went down, ate breakfast and went back to bed. Right when everyone was leaving, we finally got up. Lazy, I am. Hope they don't think too badly of me... Since it was Ben's older brother's birthday, we stopped by his house where we saw a gigantic spider and a stick bug, as well as some of the biggest dogs in the world. It's funny, because when I first met Ben, I was scared to death of dogs. I don't mind them so much now, though jumpy ones still kind of make me nervous. At his brother's house were the two dogs we brought - Bo the Boxer and Corby the collie mix puppy, and his brother's dogs - Justin the German shepherd, Simon the golden lab and Maiza, not sure what she is, and then there was Ben's brother's mother-in-law's dog, Murphey the Irish terrier. It was fun to watch them running around, particularly Corby since she's such a wimp. I sat with Simon for a while, he's very old and slow and likes it when I scratch his ears. I like to pet a dog who sits still so we were both happy.
After that it was back home I go, where work and dance awaited. One of the dances involved horse stance for half an hour and boy did that kill. It's funny how I refuse to use the discipline to stay that way when it comes to martial arts, but when it's dance, I don't even think about the pain. Must have something to do with my mentality. I just know that right now, my thighs are killing me. Pretty soon I'm going to be trying out for Lunar Gala dance. I hope I get in - one of my choreographers for Dancer's Symposium is also choreographing this year, so maybe I'll have a chance. Four dances plus dance class, I feel fit already.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
DC
This past weekend, I was in Washington D.C. On the first day, we went to the NCCP (or was it NCPC?). They're the ones that figure out where monuments go. It was kind of boring and though they talked about the memorials a bit, they spent most of it talking about what they do. When they asked if anyone had any questions, well only the teachers do. I think urban planning is still out of most of our realms, and also, most of us haven't been in D.C. since junion high, so we don't know what to ask about. I mentioned later to our teacher that I thought it would have been better to go to that place last, and she told us that in past years, the speakers would always go into detail about the memorials, but this year they only mentioned them briefly. Afterwards, I went around the western end of the mall with Waz, Ken and BKish. The Roosevelt Memorial I think, is truly an impressive memorial and a pleasant place to be. We took a lot of photos around the giant scotty dog. We went there, the Jefferson Memorial, up to the WWII memorial then to the Vietnam Memorial and then to the Korean Memorial. By then, my poor bladder was dying of overload, so I sounded the alert and we headed back to the hotel (it was already 8pm by then anyway). For the evening, we went to Georgetown with Hannah and her friend who wanted to wander. While walking there, I recalled my friend Christina transfered to Georgetown - except I couldn't call her with my nifty new cell phone because I had no internet connection and therefore could not look up her number. Very sad...It's been years since I last saw her.
After a day of walking, we weren't so much interested in wandering as in eating. We ended up eating at Unos. We were seated at the table at the highest spot of the restaurant, which was pretty cool. We ordered around 9:30 and got our food around 10-ish. I threatened Ken while we were waiting that if the food wasn't there by 10, I'd have to gnaw on his arm. He said that Kish was probably tastier, to which I said Kish was hairier. Ken's reply was handing me the butter knife. Fortunately for both of them, the food arrived in a timely fashion. The table was completely silent for a good 20 minutes while we gobbled down everything on our plates.
The second day was the work day. I spent all day drawing the Korean Memorial and in the process got burned like a lobster. At 4, I went with a few classmates to meet everyone at the National Building Museum, which is supposedly just on the other side of the mall. It turned out to be on the other side along with seven extra blocks. After an hour of walking, I was very unhappy and my back is now brown. Not my front, not my legs, not my arms. Just my back. I hope it goes away soon. After our meeting it was off to Union Square to meet Stef's cousin. He hadn't seen her in about ten years and we were tempted to line up all the little asian girls (there were four of us) and have him pick her out of the lineup. Sadly, it didn't happen. We ate at Capitol City (a microbrewery - I don't think her cousin realized we were all underage) where Cathy had the most delicious desert ever. Then, we tried to get to Georgetown before all the stores closed. Sadly, we only made it in time to glance through FCUK and the United Colors of Benetton. Waz didn't get to go to Urban Outfitters for her flask...After that we just went back to the hotel where we all sat up talking for a while.
Day three was awesome. We all got up early and slept all the way to Mount Vernon. We got free tickets to go on the boat tour which was at 10:30 leaving about 30 minutes to kill. I wandered through the craft tents and there were perfect pewter Jeffersonian cups that I would love to buy, except they were $25 a cup. Maybe when I'm rich. As it is, I bought some really nice handmade soaps - bug hater's bar (lemongrass scent), Grapefruit Tea, Peppermint Citrus, Cinnamon Oatmeal and Spiced Lime. I can't wait to use them, but for now, they're freshening up my bedroom (Ben commented the other day that the whole apartment smelled funky, except my room - I thank the soaps). The boat tour was just like 8th grade, except this time around, everyone forced me to slather myself with sunscreen. I don't know if it did any good, I know I did get ever so slightly redder. By the time the tour was done, I had literally an hour and a half to find a place, make my documentation and meet up with everyone. I speed walked most of the plantation and ended up sitting in a shade at the slave memorial. At first it was just me and Hannah drawing quietly (interrupted at one point by an annoyingly loud and shrill little girl) and then a bunch of classmates who were done came by and decided to take a nap by me. Guess I just exude sleepiness... We all went to eat lunch at the Mt. Vernon restaurant afterwards. There was chicken, summer squash and mashed potatoes - very yummy. I ended up sitting next to the third year coordinator, Christine, who commented that we were the most punctual group she's ever taken on the trip (I like to think we're just hungrier than other groups). After lunch, we went to Dunbarton Oaks, which I decided would be a great place to get married. Not that I'm looking to get married anytime soon, mind you. Still, it's a beautifully designed garden. I ended up sitting under the bright sun again, on a ledge overlooking the fountain terrace (I just happened to like the only restricted area) drawing pretty flowers. Christine came up behind me at one point and said I picked a good spot. It feels like the trip was over way too soon. We hopped on the bus and headed back to campus, and I got to hang out with Ben for a little while.
O yes, and they picked my watercolors as one of the sets to show the NAAB people. Yay!
After a day of walking, we weren't so much interested in wandering as in eating. We ended up eating at Unos. We were seated at the table at the highest spot of the restaurant, which was pretty cool. We ordered around 9:30 and got our food around 10-ish. I threatened Ken while we were waiting that if the food wasn't there by 10, I'd have to gnaw on his arm. He said that Kish was probably tastier, to which I said Kish was hairier. Ken's reply was handing me the butter knife. Fortunately for both of them, the food arrived in a timely fashion. The table was completely silent for a good 20 minutes while we gobbled down everything on our plates.
The second day was the work day. I spent all day drawing the Korean Memorial and in the process got burned like a lobster. At 4, I went with a few classmates to meet everyone at the National Building Museum, which is supposedly just on the other side of the mall. It turned out to be on the other side along with seven extra blocks. After an hour of walking, I was very unhappy and my back is now brown. Not my front, not my legs, not my arms. Just my back. I hope it goes away soon. After our meeting it was off to Union Square to meet Stef's cousin. He hadn't seen her in about ten years and we were tempted to line up all the little asian girls (there were four of us) and have him pick her out of the lineup. Sadly, it didn't happen. We ate at Capitol City (a microbrewery - I don't think her cousin realized we were all underage) where Cathy had the most delicious desert ever. Then, we tried to get to Georgetown before all the stores closed. Sadly, we only made it in time to glance through FCUK and the United Colors of Benetton. Waz didn't get to go to Urban Outfitters for her flask...After that we just went back to the hotel where we all sat up talking for a while.
Day three was awesome. We all got up early and slept all the way to Mount Vernon. We got free tickets to go on the boat tour which was at 10:30 leaving about 30 minutes to kill. I wandered through the craft tents and there were perfect pewter Jeffersonian cups that I would love to buy, except they were $25 a cup. Maybe when I'm rich. As it is, I bought some really nice handmade soaps - bug hater's bar (lemongrass scent), Grapefruit Tea, Peppermint Citrus, Cinnamon Oatmeal and Spiced Lime. I can't wait to use them, but for now, they're freshening up my bedroom (Ben commented the other day that the whole apartment smelled funky, except my room - I thank the soaps). The boat tour was just like 8th grade, except this time around, everyone forced me to slather myself with sunscreen. I don't know if it did any good, I know I did get ever so slightly redder. By the time the tour was done, I had literally an hour and a half to find a place, make my documentation and meet up with everyone. I speed walked most of the plantation and ended up sitting in a shade at the slave memorial. At first it was just me and Hannah drawing quietly (interrupted at one point by an annoyingly loud and shrill little girl) and then a bunch of classmates who were done came by and decided to take a nap by me. Guess I just exude sleepiness... We all went to eat lunch at the Mt. Vernon restaurant afterwards. There was chicken, summer squash and mashed potatoes - very yummy. I ended up sitting next to the third year coordinator, Christine, who commented that we were the most punctual group she's ever taken on the trip (I like to think we're just hungrier than other groups). After lunch, we went to Dunbarton Oaks, which I decided would be a great place to get married. Not that I'm looking to get married anytime soon, mind you. Still, it's a beautifully designed garden. I ended up sitting under the bright sun again, on a ledge overlooking the fountain terrace (I just happened to like the only restricted area) drawing pretty flowers. Christine came up behind me at one point and said I picked a good spot. It feels like the trip was over way too soon. We hopped on the bus and headed back to campus, and I got to hang out with Ben for a little while.
O yes, and they picked my watercolors as one of the sets to show the NAAB people. Yay!
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Sleep is for the Weak
Congratulate me. I pulled my first all nighter of third year. The last time I pulled a true all nighter like this was second semester of first year. That didn't happen until we were at least a month and a half into things. That's how wonderful my life is. Tuesday was Enviro - group project(group of four). Today, or rather, tomorrow for me, is Studio - group project(group of two). Tomorrow, day-after-tomorrow or Thursday is Site - group project(group of three). Due to slackers, I couldn't even finish Enviro until 4 am on Monday. Then, with our extended Enviro class today, we couldn't start studio till 10pm. And now it's 8am. I'm going to go shower. Life sucks. Martyrdom is all there is.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Dance!
I had a horrible tryout on Saturday. It was bad. The dance was more hip hoppy than I would have liked. On the upside, I got into three dances, one of which I never thought I would. On the downside, I didn't get into the one that I really, really wanted. That's got me sort of down. O well, maybe next year.
On this semester's menu, we have one quirky Abby dance, one awesome Jess hip hop dance and one studio jazzy Kelly dance which looked fun in a high school dance team way. Still a little hurt Steph didn't want me. I did see a lot of super ballerina-like girls this year, so I guess all the ones she picked were freshmen. I don't think she'd pick friends, she's very professional about that. Most other choreographers only pick friends though. I suppose it's refreshing that she picks those who can best handle it. Still, I kind of wish I got a chance at it. I think I've definitely improved since spring, a lot about not worrying so much about the look and worrying more about the stretch, since stretching is what gives you the energy to bring motions through to completion. I wonder when Dancer's Light is auditioning...
On this semester's menu, we have one quirky Abby dance, one awesome Jess hip hop dance and one studio jazzy Kelly dance which looked fun in a high school dance team way. Still a little hurt Steph didn't want me. I did see a lot of super ballerina-like girls this year, so I guess all the ones she picked were freshmen. I don't think she'd pick friends, she's very professional about that. Most other choreographers only pick friends though. I suppose it's refreshing that she picks those who can best handle it. Still, I kind of wish I got a chance at it. I think I've definitely improved since spring, a lot about not worrying so much about the look and worrying more about the stretch, since stretching is what gives you the energy to bring motions through to completion. I wonder when Dancer's Light is auditioning...
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Which Do You Want First? The Good or Bad News?
I'll save the good news for last and tell you the bad news first. It isn't really that bad, more like an annoyance, a bad ending to an otherwise great day. I was all set and ready to drift off into the land of deep slumber when my cell phone rings. Fancy that, someone is calling me. So I answered and someone with a fake Indian accent starts telling me that I won $200 and that I should give him my social security number and no, it's not studio, it's just his parents like to laugh. Haha, thanks for waking me up Kiko. Nice of you to lend him your phone just for the occasion, Ben Saks. Always appreciate ruining a good nine hours of sleep for a laugh at my expense.
On the good side, the studio drawing of our section looks fabulous. Mine is so-so next to Josh's and Waz's. I should have used their methods for drawing trees. Darn. Also on a good note, my Ben went to a job interview today. He hasn't heard from them yet, although the lady said, "I see no reason why you wouldn't get hired." It sounds like an awesome job, and he gets out of work at 3:30-ish so I get to still have time to hang out with him. Yay!
On the good side, the studio drawing of our section looks fabulous. Mine is so-so next to Josh's and Waz's. I should have used their methods for drawing trees. Darn. Also on a good note, my Ben went to a job interview today. He hasn't heard from them yet, although the lady said, "I see no reason why you wouldn't get hired." It sounds like an awesome job, and he gets out of work at 3:30-ish so I get to still have time to hang out with him. Yay!
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Trees
This week, I spent more time outdoors than I have in my entire life. Well, that's what it feels like anyway. Studio this semester is very much landscape architecture, so we have to go out and learn about trees and why we're supposed to love them. On Tuesday I hiked up to Chatham (couple miles from campus, all uphill) and had to pick out an area to document. Then my classmates and I went out to Schenley Park to document our areas for studio. On Friday, we went to both places yet again, though the trip was a little more fruitful this time. On Saturday, I was at Ben's house and I was regaling him with my adventures in the wild. I suppose he decided that since I spent all week in the woods, I wouldn't mind taking a look around his woods. I don't mind so long as its bug free, but sadly it wasn't and I'm totally covered in mosquito bites. Oddly, not a one bothered Ben. How does he do it? He said, "I think you'll like it a lot better, honey, when everything's dead." How right he is.
Saturday with Ben was very nice. His parents were up at Conneaut closing up the cottage so it was just us and the dogs. His parents bought a collie/lab/retriever mix and she's only about six weeks old. Very small, very adorable, very tiny bladder. She peed all over the house. It's amazing how she has perfect bladder control when we're outsides, but the moment we let her in, she pees. It makes Ben very upset. I got paranoid towards evening, and everytime I didn't see her in the room, I'd go look for her just to see if she had ruined yet another portion of the carpet. On a nice note, I found that just sitting in the back patio with Ben and watching the dogs is very peaceful and satisfying. I think I enjoyed that even more than driving around and watching movies.
Saturday with Ben was very nice. His parents were up at Conneaut closing up the cottage so it was just us and the dogs. His parents bought a collie/lab/retriever mix and she's only about six weeks old. Very small, very adorable, very tiny bladder. She peed all over the house. It's amazing how she has perfect bladder control when we're outsides, but the moment we let her in, she pees. It makes Ben very upset. I got paranoid towards evening, and everytime I didn't see her in the room, I'd go look for her just to see if she had ruined yet another portion of the carpet. On a nice note, I found that just sitting in the back patio with Ben and watching the dogs is very peaceful and satisfying. I think I enjoyed that even more than driving around and watching movies.
Friday, September 02, 2005
The Cleanliness of Man
Everything's starting to come together here in Pittsburgh. The homework is starting to pile on, I now have internet, all my furniture is put together, if not quite organized, and pretty soon, I will have tastefully neutral curtains hanging on the openings. I spent all evening working on my room, finishing around 9:30 and talking with Ben for an hour. Then I spent the rest of the evening cleaning the kitchen. I always thought of myself as relatively messy, but today, I met the true kings of messiness. The nice thing about my apartment is that when the people who lived here before us left, they also left behind a lot of furniture and utensils. While I like most of the furniture (my desk is both hideous and uncomfortable at the moment, but that's my only furniture related complaint), the kitchen things were...lacking. We brought our own pots and pans, so in reality, we didn't need anything at all. What we got was a cabinet filled with about ten pens, three pots and miscellaneous other things. After Christi pulled a crud-covered Foreman Grill out of the cabinet, she decided to go no further, and up until today, it remained the cabinet of disgusting, stomach curdling ickiness. And then I had free time and a strong urge to clean and polish.
Today I learned just how disgusting college boys can be. I can understand a fleck of food here and there, accidentally left on the pan. I can understand a heap of dirty pans in a sink. What I find absolutely incomprehensible is putting the pan away while it's still dirty. Four of the pans were covered in so many layers of food and grease that I couldn't even figure out if it was teflon coated or not (as in, can I use the brillo pad to scrape away all the gunk?). After serious debate and consultation from Christi, we decided that by the time I brilloed all the gunk away, there would be nothing left of the surface of the pan. In the trash they go. It makes me wonder what condition their scrambled eggs were in after using those pans...It makes me wonder how they didn't all die from food poisoning...
I also found a very old, 70s-esque waffle maker complete with the crummy leftovers from the last time our former tenants made breakfast with it. Year old waffle crumbs...yummmm... I couldn't figure out how to wash it without damaging the electronics (apparently, neither did they) so I opted to toss that too. I topped it all off with a liberal scrubbing of the kitchen floor and a splash of antibacterial. If that doesn't work, I don't know what will...
Today I learned just how disgusting college boys can be. I can understand a fleck of food here and there, accidentally left on the pan. I can understand a heap of dirty pans in a sink. What I find absolutely incomprehensible is putting the pan away while it's still dirty. Four of the pans were covered in so many layers of food and grease that I couldn't even figure out if it was teflon coated or not (as in, can I use the brillo pad to scrape away all the gunk?). After serious debate and consultation from Christi, we decided that by the time I brilloed all the gunk away, there would be nothing left of the surface of the pan. In the trash they go. It makes me wonder what condition their scrambled eggs were in after using those pans...It makes me wonder how they didn't all die from food poisoning...
I also found a very old, 70s-esque waffle maker complete with the crummy leftovers from the last time our former tenants made breakfast with it. Year old waffle crumbs...yummmm... I couldn't figure out how to wash it without damaging the electronics (apparently, neither did they) so I opted to toss that too. I topped it all off with a liberal scrubbing of the kitchen floor and a splash of antibacterial. If that doesn't work, I don't know what will...
Monday, August 29, 2005
Internetless
I have no internet! It's driving me crazy! We tried to set up the router today, but the computer is being stupid, and the router is being stupid. It's a huge conflageration of anger and frustration and I feel like murdering daddy-dearest.
I need internet...
I need internet...
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Mommying
Today I was almost like a mommy. May and Daddy went out at around 10 am to get May's furniture from Ikea. We didn't hear anything at all from them until they got home, less than half an hour ago. By that time, Mom and I had been sitting with the phone nigh on an hour, waiting to hear from them, calling all the relatives in the area. When they finally got home, I told May we called A-Bei, Shu shu, her landlord, two of her roomies, as well as the Chinese restaurant they usually go to and a friend of mom's who lives over there. Over and over. Like an angry mother.
O yes, and daddy hit a tree with the car we borrowed...oops...
O yes, and daddy hit a tree with the car we borrowed...oops...
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Picky Panda
Today was nice. I hung out All day with Marlen. We went to Denny's at 10:30 and then hung out at my house until 11 p.m. We chatted in the living room, we chatted on the stairs, my sister's room, the kitchen. We talked about her brothers, my boyfriend, our families, mutual acquaintances, classmates. We talked more about movies and books, ideas in general. We coined a new phrase after the species that won't screw to save their species - "Picky Panda." We had her try more Chinese cooking, loquat syrup (great for soar throats)and pound cake. Oh yes, we made some smashingly good pound cake, today. Hopefully her brother won't eat it all this time. Just in case, she has the recipe. I do wish I call and hang out more with her often. Somehow there never seems to be time. I'm either too far away or I just don't have time. It was so much easier way back in high school. Must learn to drive eventually so I don't have to beg rides off the parentals...
Something I felt bad about today. Daddy's been in a sad mood lately. I think he realizes he procrastinated too long, so now he has no Honda CRV. May needs the Toyota for school, Mom needs her Toyota for work, and Dad needs his Honda for work. Unfortunately, he only ordered the Honda a couple weeks ago despite May's badgering him all summer. He also knew what he wanted from the get go so it's not like he had a big decision to make. Cell phones also (yes, we're actually getting them). The cells won't get in till Friday, and being that I'm leaving on Thursday at 7 am, I won't be there to get my phone, and thus, daddy's going to have to send it to me via mail. Today daddy went and borrowed my uncle's car. It's a gas guzzling tank, but we need it to get everything from Ikea. May and daddy have to take all that stuff to her new apartment and assemble it. I hope he doesn't hurt his back in the process...
Something I felt bad about today. Daddy's been in a sad mood lately. I think he realizes he procrastinated too long, so now he has no Honda CRV. May needs the Toyota for school, Mom needs her Toyota for work, and Dad needs his Honda for work. Unfortunately, he only ordered the Honda a couple weeks ago despite May's badgering him all summer. He also knew what he wanted from the get go so it's not like he had a big decision to make. Cell phones also (yes, we're actually getting them). The cells won't get in till Friday, and being that I'm leaving on Thursday at 7 am, I won't be there to get my phone, and thus, daddy's going to have to send it to me via mail. Today daddy went and borrowed my uncle's car. It's a gas guzzling tank, but we need it to get everything from Ikea. May and daddy have to take all that stuff to her new apartment and assemble it. I hope he doesn't hurt his back in the process...
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Good bye, New York
Today was my last day of work. It makes me very sad to think that I won't be seeing Nestor or Jonathan for a very, very long time. They took me out to lunch at a relatively expensive restaurant with Amazing food. I had some sort of salmon on some sort of rice with some sorts of vegetables on all of it. It was wonderful and perfect and $20. Well worth it. Can't wait to be rich some day so I can afford food like that more often. I got them both pottery because I only give people I like very much pottery. Nestor gave me his card holder because I kept playing with it and he probably felt he needed to give me something, even though he already bought me lunch. Now if only I had some business cards...
I do wish I managed to make some friends. Being the workaholic that I am, I can't really make friends with people outside of the workplace. The few girls near my age in the office are very very different from me, so I ended up being alone pretty much the whole time. I look at the list of bookmarks the other interns left, and I feel like a bad architect because there's all these sites that list what exhibits are going on where, what shows are good, all sorts of cultural things. I guess I just lack the curiosity to go out...
Still, there were thing that I have learned during my stay in the city:
1) Egg creams are neither eggy nor creamy. Sadly, it is just seltzer with some chocolate or vanilla ice cream and a bit of syrup for extra flavoring.
2) Museums are expensive. O sure, a lot of them call it "donations," but you feel like some horrible cheapskate if you don't pay. I have to work on losing my soul before I go visit one again so they can't guilt me into paying a penny.
3) This world is filled with dirty old men. I pretend to not notice their cat-calls and they pretend that they're their sons' ages.
4) That sugary smell in the streets comes from the peanut stands. The peanuts, sadly, don't taste nearly as good as they smell. But then, I've never liked peanuts.
7) Contemporary furniture is awesome. Looking around ABC Co. is awesome, and shopping there in stilettos is quite all right because you can sit on the furniture.
9) Visit parents are great until you realize mom's walked off with your floss.
10) Knocking is a skill foreign to many New Yorkers. Fortunately, the lock on the bathroom door is very sturdy.
11) The view out my window is the Empire State Building. The one on 42nd Street with the sunburst pattern is the Chrysler Tower. For some reason I always thought it was the other way around. Shows you how great an architect I'm going to be...
Well, tomorrow I'll be going home. I have to start packing. My sister is at an Anime convention with friends, but when she comes back, we're all going to Todai. Japanese buffet...yummmm.
I do wish I managed to make some friends. Being the workaholic that I am, I can't really make friends with people outside of the workplace. The few girls near my age in the office are very very different from me, so I ended up being alone pretty much the whole time. I look at the list of bookmarks the other interns left, and I feel like a bad architect because there's all these sites that list what exhibits are going on where, what shows are good, all sorts of cultural things. I guess I just lack the curiosity to go out...
Still, there were thing that I have learned during my stay in the city:
1) Egg creams are neither eggy nor creamy. Sadly, it is just seltzer with some chocolate or vanilla ice cream and a bit of syrup for extra flavoring.
2) Museums are expensive. O sure, a lot of them call it "donations," but you feel like some horrible cheapskate if you don't pay. I have to work on losing my soul before I go visit one again so they can't guilt me into paying a penny.
3) This world is filled with dirty old men. I pretend to not notice their cat-calls and they pretend that they're their sons' ages.
4) That sugary smell in the streets comes from the peanut stands. The peanuts, sadly, don't taste nearly as good as they smell. But then, I've never liked peanuts.
7) Contemporary furniture is awesome. Looking around ABC Co. is awesome, and shopping there in stilettos is quite all right because you can sit on the furniture.
9) Visit parents are great until you realize mom's walked off with your floss.
10) Knocking is a skill foreign to many New Yorkers. Fortunately, the lock on the bathroom door is very sturdy.
11) The view out my window is the Empire State Building. The one on 42nd Street with the sunburst pattern is the Chrysler Tower. For some reason I always thought it was the other way around. Shows you how great an architect I'm going to be...
Well, tomorrow I'll be going home. I have to start packing. My sister is at an Anime convention with friends, but when she comes back, we're all going to Todai. Japanese buffet...yummmm.
Monday, August 15, 2005
Complaints
The imperceptability(is that a word?) of men: I got my hair cut yesterday. It was shoulder length before, and now it's above my ears. Today my boss came in and spent half an hour going over things with me. Then he went to lunch, returned and mulled around for another few hours before tentatively asking me, "Did you get a haircut?" Well, it's only about eight inches shorter than it has been for the past week. Yes, Jonathan, I did in fact get a significant amount of my hair lopped off this weekend. At least Keith came back from vacation and noticed it. After loudly declaring how nice it was, John finally noticed and said, o, it's shorter? It's not like I had butt-length trimmed to back-length hair. It's much more significant!
The futility of mani/pedis: After months of watching Sex & the City, I finally decided to try a manicure and pedicure. The process of getting them is great, I got to sit in a massage chair, and my feet were soaked and the nice lady got rid of the calluses on my feet. Of course what mani/pedi is complete without nail polish? So I got some pale color that isn't too obvious. I sort of suspected I'd ruin everything in less than ten minutes. Sure enough, I have nicks and scratches all over my nails now. O well, who cares. My calluses are gone. Not quite worth the $35 though, so I doubt I'll ever get any of those done again.
The profusion of admirers: I always thought that at least in Flushing, I'd blend in enough that no one would notice me. No one ever noticed me there, before, why should they start now? But no, when May and I went to the TenRen Tea House on Sunday, the guy at the counter was definitely flirting with me, and then when we were heading back to Main Street to find Mom and Daddy, one of those annoying people with the fliers called me "zhen piao liang de xiao jie," which means "such a pretty young lady." To which I made a very disgusted noise which he didn't hear and hurried May along. It's amazing how just a year ago I was craving that attention and now it makes me horribly disturbed and annoyed. May told me the other day that she was watching a television show where a woman went to France and had a total and complete stranger who didn't even so much as make eye contact with her ran his hand up her inner leg almost all the way up under her skirt and just continue on his merry way. Must remember never to wear a skirt in Europe. Also must work on spitting skills.
The futility of mani/pedis: After months of watching Sex & the City, I finally decided to try a manicure and pedicure. The process of getting them is great, I got to sit in a massage chair, and my feet were soaked and the nice lady got rid of the calluses on my feet. Of course what mani/pedi is complete without nail polish? So I got some pale color that isn't too obvious. I sort of suspected I'd ruin everything in less than ten minutes. Sure enough, I have nicks and scratches all over my nails now. O well, who cares. My calluses are gone. Not quite worth the $35 though, so I doubt I'll ever get any of those done again.
The profusion of admirers: I always thought that at least in Flushing, I'd blend in enough that no one would notice me. No one ever noticed me there, before, why should they start now? But no, when May and I went to the TenRen Tea House on Sunday, the guy at the counter was definitely flirting with me, and then when we were heading back to Main Street to find Mom and Daddy, one of those annoying people with the fliers called me "zhen piao liang de xiao jie," which means "such a pretty young lady." To which I made a very disgusted noise which he didn't hear and hurried May along. It's amazing how just a year ago I was craving that attention and now it makes me horribly disturbed and annoyed. May told me the other day that she was watching a television show where a woman went to France and had a total and complete stranger who didn't even so much as make eye contact with her ran his hand up her inner leg almost all the way up under her skirt and just continue on his merry way. Must remember never to wear a skirt in Europe. Also must work on spitting skills.
Friday, August 12, 2005
Charlie Horse
I have the great honor of having two Charlie Horses all at the same time. One in each calf muscle so I can't flex my feet without them pulling. Which means I have to gimp around everywhere. I feel like a penguin...
Yesterday, my aunt and uncle as well as my aunt's parents decided to go over to the apartment. They never let me know that so I didn't really clean up. Not that I'm particularly messy - my roommates will testify to the fact that I wash the dishes everyday. I do have a bad habit of leaving my clothes all over the place. Yesterday morning when I was leaving for work, I cleared all my clothes out from my dance bag and left it in a little heap by the entry thinking no one comes over, and therefore, no one will care. How wrong I was. I can only wonder what they thought when they noticed clothes right by the door...
Yesterday, my aunt and uncle as well as my aunt's parents decided to go over to the apartment. They never let me know that so I didn't really clean up. Not that I'm particularly messy - my roommates will testify to the fact that I wash the dishes everyday. I do have a bad habit of leaving my clothes all over the place. Yesterday morning when I was leaving for work, I cleared all my clothes out from my dance bag and left it in a little heap by the entry thinking no one comes over, and therefore, no one will care. How wrong I was. I can only wonder what they thought when they noticed clothes right by the door...
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
Otherworld
Have you ever wondered what would have happened if you picked a different path in life? What if I took the easier road and applied to engineering school? What if I went to MIT or Cornell or some other ivy leaguer instead of CMU? I had a strange dream last night where I took back a decision I made a year ago. I woke up very disturbed, and what's most annoying is that the only two things I can remember from the dream is that I didn't like it and what decision I changed. I think this has something to do with Mom nagging me on the phone yesterday about how I should go work in a civil engineering firm next summer. I told her no, of course. I had everything I needed to go and be a great engineer and go to practically any school I wanted, but obviously there's a reason why I chose to go to architecture school instead.
Also, I just read in the newspaper that there's a little puppy dog in Korea named Snuppy. Snuppy is the first cloned dog in the world. Snuppy. Snoopy? Nope, Snuppy.
O yes and last night at 11:30, just as I was about to enter REM, my boyfriend woke me up because he was upset and needed to talk. Apparently his brother and sister-in-law went to get a check up on their baby and the stupid technician lady told them the baby would be born with down syndrome because she had calcification around her heart. If I recall biology class correctly, down syndrome happens when a baby's DNA gets double the information its supposed to get, so basically, from the moment of conception a baby either has down syndrome or doesn't. I don't know too much about babies, though... Well, we'll find out soon enough. The doctor told them that that was no indication at all whether or not the baby has down syndrome. I wonder what that technician was thinking, and can't she get fired for making up things that traumatize future mothers? I don't think their even authorized to make that sort of diagnosis...
Also, I just read in the newspaper that there's a little puppy dog in Korea named Snuppy. Snuppy is the first cloned dog in the world. Snuppy. Snoopy? Nope, Snuppy.
O yes and last night at 11:30, just as I was about to enter REM, my boyfriend woke me up because he was upset and needed to talk. Apparently his brother and sister-in-law went to get a check up on their baby and the stupid technician lady told them the baby would be born with down syndrome because she had calcification around her heart. If I recall biology class correctly, down syndrome happens when a baby's DNA gets double the information its supposed to get, so basically, from the moment of conception a baby either has down syndrome or doesn't. I don't know too much about babies, though... Well, we'll find out soon enough. The doctor told them that that was no indication at all whether or not the baby has down syndrome. I wonder what that technician was thinking, and can't she get fired for making up things that traumatize future mothers? I don't think their even authorized to make that sort of diagnosis...
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Gramma's Hands
Today was a pretty nice day. I woke up at 11:30 and at 12:30, I went with Gramma to my favorite Flushing restaurant - roughly transalated, it's "South North River." We had deep fried crullers, soy milk and beef noodle soup. Yum! Afterwards, Gramma wanted to just walk around a bit, so I suggested we explore the stores going up Roosevelt since we both always walk past them and never enter. One store sold home goods - mugs for $1, plates for $2, relatively cheap furniture. Another store sold accessories. All the girls that worked in there were Japanese and they kept following us around telling us about the 20% discount on all purses. Gramma bought me a nice new bag to put my sketchbook in, and with the discount, it was $9.50. Then we looked at a store that was filled with lingerie and Gramma-esque clothing, except the sound system was blasting Shakira. I don't think Gramma appreciated the choice of music. Then we went home and sat around a bit, reading and napping. Then we made jiao zi (dumplings). Hundreds of them. Gramma's hands have been giving her a lot of trouble. Since she usually complains no one pays much attention. Today she told me she split the skin just under her index finger open this morning, right where she grips the knife when she chops things for cooking - I told her she should wash dishes less because it makes her hands too dry. After dumpling making, she amazingly let me wash the dishes. Then we sat around all day some more and then she started making dinner. While she did that, I fixed the string thing that makes the shades open and close with the use of my trusty paperclip. Right before dinner, she was talking about how much her hands hurt and I told her she ought to put some anti-bacterial ointment on it and a bandaid, since all her fiddling around rubs it off. So she went and put on some ointment and I insisted I help with the bandaid.
And then I realized what horrible condition her hands were in. For the most part, her hands were whispery dry and badly in need of lotion. The lower half of her left index finger, front and back, as well as a sizable portion of her palm is covered in blisters. Not like the normal big puffy ones. There were hundreds, and they were all below the skin and the way her skin was torn away makes me think that not very much is keeping the top layer of skin attached to the rest of her hand. I'm not sure what it is, but it looks more like some sort of extreme eczema. Needless to say, I had trouble eating dinner. She said that she got it recently, and it comes and goes. But it's always just in that one spot. Which has me profoundly worried. So, under the pretense of asking about my sister's fabulous new living quarters, I called daddy and explained about Gramma's hands in English so she wouldn't be worried and I told him just how worried I was. I think he got a bit of an idea of how much this is bothering me, so he promised he'd look at it tomorrow. I really think she should go consult a dermatologist.
And then I realized what horrible condition her hands were in. For the most part, her hands were whispery dry and badly in need of lotion. The lower half of her left index finger, front and back, as well as a sizable portion of her palm is covered in blisters. Not like the normal big puffy ones. There were hundreds, and they were all below the skin and the way her skin was torn away makes me think that not very much is keeping the top layer of skin attached to the rest of her hand. I'm not sure what it is, but it looks more like some sort of extreme eczema. Needless to say, I had trouble eating dinner. She said that she got it recently, and it comes and goes. But it's always just in that one spot. Which has me profoundly worried. So, under the pretense of asking about my sister's fabulous new living quarters, I called daddy and explained about Gramma's hands in English so she wouldn't be worried and I told him just how worried I was. I think he got a bit of an idea of how much this is bothering me, so he promised he'd look at it tomorrow. I really think she should go consult a dermatologist.
