Love in Tokyo

Back

2008-12-28T18:56:00.002-05:00

In case you hadn't heard, I dropped my computer a month or so ago, and it wouldn't start up. Just kept click-click-clicking and whirring --> hard drive failure. Whoops.

Well, my wonderful wonderful friend B took it to TekServe and had the hard drive replaced (quite cheaply, I might add!) as a Christmakuh present.

So I am back at my desk with my laptop, and it feels good. Though, to be honest, I managed pretty easily without the laptop. I don't really use it for much other than email these days.

I am also "back" in that I just returned from holiday family-time in Tx. It was good, but it's nice to be home. Came home to an empty house though, since B is away at a job conference. Hope it goes well for him!

Sadly, as you can see from my "Upcoming" sidebar, I feel like I don't have much to look forward to after these holidays. Well, guess that gives me plenty of time to focus on my job and the research I'm supposed to be doing.

Instant gratification

2008-10-19T14:04:00.002-04:00

I did it. I splurged and bought the remaining three books of the Twilight Saga at Barnes & Noble. I tried to buy them cheaper online, but with shipping added, there isn't much of a price difference... AND I have to wait at least 3 days!! So I'd rather pay a few dollars more and be able to read them right away (which is what I started doing).

But oh it was so hard to make up my mind. There were so many other books I wanted to buy! I will have to make a wishlist for Christmas/Hanukkah. Books books books!

I find, however, that I tend to spend my money on books I consider somewhat frivolous... the "cheap thrills." Though I have Fitzgerald and Nabokov and Asimov on my list, I never actually buy them. It's like a fear of commitment or something... Or maybe I would just feel too guilty asking other people to buy the "cheap thrills" books for me. ;-)

Okay, story time!

Books!

2008-10-18T15:06:00.002-04:00

I just love having time to read!

Last week I finished Arthur C. Clarke's "2001: A Space Odyssey," which was fantastically captivating. I took it to work with me and read a little during downtime. Unfortunately, every time I had to put it down, I was somewhat dazed and befuddled, like I had just woken up. That says something. (I felt that way while reading Haruki Murakami's "Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World" also.)

I took "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" on the plane with me on Thursday. Such a quick read, but really powerful. There's a magic to writing plays that I just can't comprehend. Anyway it was funny also because the copy I had was a very old copy of B's sister's that she written and drawn all over with marker. Very insightful. ;-)

Then, since I finished the play in Cleveland, I bought "Twilight" by Stephanie Meyers in the airport. B's sister has been reading these books, and I am hooked on HBO's "True Blood" series (based on the Southern Vampire Chronicles), and I had read "Vamped" earlier this summer, so I thought I'd try another vampire story. This is a young adult series or something, so the style is somewhat juvenile, not as mature or intense as "Vamped," but it's a lot of fun. It's a big book, but I expect I'll finish it today.

I just love having time to read!

Innocence can be lost

2008-10-08T22:26:00.002-04:00

A not-so-serious post and yet serious.

While B was making dinner, I happened to catch the end of The Cure on tv. And I remembered what a crush I had on Brad Renfro when I was 12 years old. So, wondering, "Where is he now?" I googled him and discovered that he had died earlier this year.

And I realized that, while I was not one of those oft lovestruck teenagers, of the few celebrity crushes I did have in my adolescent years,

all are dead.
Jonathan Brandis - b. 04/13/1976 d. 11/12/2003 (hanging)
Brad Renfro - b. 07/25/1982 d. 01/15/2008 (heroin)
Heath Ledger - b. 04/04/1979 d. 01/22/2008 ("abuse of prescription medications")

It seems notable, for me anyway, that Renfro and Ledger died just a week apart. Seems a rather morbid way of driving the fact that my childhood innocence is gone for good.

(Note: I don't include Nathan Chasing Horse among my celebrity crushes because he is far from a celebrity. Good thing too, apparently. And as far as I know, he is alive and well and an anti-drugs/alcohol role model.)

Things I want to do this year

2008-09-27T22:25:00.002-04:00

Assuming I start med school next fall, I have time to do a few other things this year. However, I had all these big plans in May and have yet to really begin any. The year is going by fast! Will I accomplish anything on my list?

A doula course (which includes a three-day workshop, a reading list, and participating in several births)
BLS/ACLS (Basic Life Support/Advanced Cardiac Life Support) classes
READ FOR FUN (have done a little of this so far)
Draw! (in particular, paint guitars)
Make music (including learning to play guitar)
Research (by approaching one of the doctors at work)
Work out (have started doing this)

I don't have time for all this, do I? It's hard enough to make myself go to the gym after work, and I do most of my reading on the train to and from the office. And I hate having to think of these things in terms of what will help me get into med school, but that's my life now, isn't it?

Whew!

2008-09-04T20:28:00.003-04:00

I have officially submitted 22 of 22 secondary applications. Now I just have to wait for Columbia to submit my letters, then wait to be complete. Then HOPEFULLY I will get lucky and get some interview invites! (At least one, please!!!)

Next on the list...
writing thank you cards!

Home Sweet New York

2008-09-03T00:56:00.002-04:00

So my sister is married now, and I spent a little more than a week in San Francisco preparing for and celebrating the wedding. For the past several months I had been thinking that I was ready, maybe eager to move and try something other than New York. But last night, standing in the taxi line at JFK, even though JFK is such a terrible airport, it felt really good to be back in the city. The smells, the sounds, the people... Yeah, I've really grown to like and be comfortable here. It wouldn't be so bad if I had the chance to stay. But of course, I'll make the best of it wherever I end up.

Keeping my fingers crossed.

33. Kentucky

2008-07-26T08:33:00.001-04:00

Overdue update

2008-07-14T19:57:00.002-04:00

I haven't been working very hard on my license plate list lately. Sorry about that. I'm sure you're all dying to know how long it will take me to find all 50 states. ;-) The current list is at the bottom of this entry.

Otherwise, I just haven't update in general lately. There isn't too much to tell. My new job is going well. I'm learning a lot, but there are still moments when I feel overwhelmed. I've also started my last premed class (orgo lab), which is rather painful. My only solace is that after this Wednesday I'll be able to say "only FOUR weeks left" (though actually I'm kind of confused about that because according to the academic calendar, class ends the 13th, but according to the syllabus, it ends the 6th, making it only THREE weeks left, which would be even BETTER).

Also,
I received my MCAT score today! (Just checked as I was writing this.) Not as good as I think I *could* have done (i.e. not as good as my best practice tests), but better than I was initially aiming for when I started studying. So, on the whole, success! I will not be taking the MCAT again. :-D

Back to working on secondaries. Fun fun.

New York

New Jersey

Pennsylvania

Connecticut

Delaware

Virginia

Maine

North Carolina

Georgia

Florida

Louisiana

Texas

Michigan

Minnesota

California

Ontario

South Carolina

Massachusetts

Rhode Island

Vermont

British Columbia

Illinois

Oklahoma

Arizona

Arkansas

Indiana

Colorado

Washington D.C.

New Brunswick

New Hampshire

Ohio

Tennessee

Five days a week

2008-06-21T15:02:00.002-04:00

It's been so long since I've done anything five days a week. I guess in a way I haven't done it since high school, which is also the last time I woke up at 6:30 every morning. And I'll admit, it's a struggle to get up that early, but once I get to work, it's all good.

My first week of work was a bit of a whirlwind. There are a lot of different things going on, and I can't believe I'll possibly remember it all. But I've already conquered a few things: administering ECGs, answering NotifyMD messages, calling in refills. There are kinks to work out sometimes, but I think I've basically got the hang of those things. But there's much more, and I still have to master taking a blood pressure. I think I'm 3 for 5 with that. Then there are all the stress tests and their respective machines to become familiar with, QARG, various forms, monitor reports, what to fax, what to copy, when to email or call a Dr, which Doctors don't want to be bothered at what times.......

They tell me I'll have it down in another week or so. I sure hope so.

Also hoping my ECG book arrives soon.

Also a patient praised me to another member of the staff, which was very reassuring.

No more studying!

2008-06-14T01:14:00.003-04:00

For a little while at least, and boy, does that feel weird. Monday I start my job, and I'm really excited about that. Even though it would have been nice to have a more substantial break, I'm looking forward to having coworkers and learning new things and getting real hands-on experience and really finding out what my life could be like. When I asked Brown why I didn't get in, they said "experience," that they really wanted me to be sure that this was what I wanted to do. And I got job offers as a research assistant, which sounded pretty interesting too. But this is different. I want to watch doctors interact with patients and experience it myself, because I'm pretty sure I want to go into primary care. And, in theory, that's the kind of hands-on doctor I want to be.

So, on another note,
the outpouring of love I received in the days leading up to the MCAT was incredibly touching. Considering I was about to take the biggest test of my life so far, I felt incredibly and (dare I say) uncharacteristically (for an MCAT examinee) positive. Thank you everyone for your love and support these past two, no three, years. I could never have done it all without you. :-)

And now I think it's time for bed.

Done!

2008-05-13T21:50:00.001-04:00

Sort of, but we won't worry about that right now ;-)

Race for the finish

2008-05-09T22:53:00.003-04:00

So classes are officially over. All that's left are my finals this coming Monday and Tuesday. Having gotten behind at the end of the term, I am now in uber-cram mode. I wake up, do a problem set, take a break with a shower, read a chapter, take a break with tv, do another problem set, and if there's time, take another break, followed by another chapter. If it wasn't obvious, I'm kind of also in panic mode.

Ah well... it will be over soon, and I'm very excited about that. I can't wait to move on with my life. I mean, I have to study for and take the MCAT first, but it will be something different. And then I start my job, which I'm very excited about.

I'm also hoping to take a doula workshop over the summer or in the fall and maybe work toward certification. I think that would be a good side activity while I'm in my lag year, and of course I've been interested in it for a while.

Meanwhile, I think I've finalized a list of about 15 med schools (a number my advisor suggested). I plan to update my AMCAS as soon as it opens and submit it June 1st. That's the good thing about previously applying for linkage... my AMCAS and recommendations etc are all done already. Hopefully I'll do well on the MCAT and one of these schools will accept me, but no point in worrying about that now, right?

First things first: final exams.

Another tragic loss

2008-05-06T18:54:00.002-04:00

You may recall that B and I "accidentally" went to a wedding in November. It was in Princeton, and a member of the wedding party invited us to go down and have the use of their paid-for hotel room. But when the bride heard we were in town, she asked us to attend. So we went, in jeans and boots (B wearing, literally, the shirt off his friend's back), and it was a lovely ceremony (if a bit awkward for us). The bride and groom were glowing.

Husband and wife welcomed their son, Joseph, into the world in January. He was born premature, due to complications with the pregnancy. He never left the neonatal intensive care unit, and the mother (who has looked forward to starting a family for years) spent every day in the hospital with him.

Unfortunately baby Joseph passed away yesterday, after just 110 days in this world. His parents find comfort in knowing that he will not suffer in the next.

I can not imagine a greater grief than that of a mother for her child. My heart goes out to them.

Happy Pesach!

2008-04-21T17:25:00.003-04:00

After last night's Passover Seder, B's parents sent us home with lots and lots of leftovers, including two boxes of matzoh. So today, guess what I did?

I made my first batch of Matzoh Brei ever!

And it was darn good too. B and I are going to try to go without bread, pasta, and rice this week. Wish us luck!

Daiyenu!

Night Guard

2008-04-18T10:15:00.004-04:00

I never mentioned that I finally got a Night Guard. I had bought one from the drugstore a while back, but it was incredibly uncomfortable and made things worse. So one day in January, B and I went in to see his dad for our first dental check-up in two years, and his dad kindly took a mold for me. Two weeks later I had my own, custom-fitted night guard. It fits over the top teeth, and it keeps my teeth separated at night. If I grind, I grind my teeth on the cushy plastic (instead of wearing my own teeth down).

It was a little difficult to get used to at first. It made me super-aware of how I normally clench my jaw, and indentations immediately formed in the plastic. At first I had to consciously force my lower jaw to relax and slide back a little bit. But B hasn't heard any grinding since I started wearing it, and there is less pain. Over time I have even stopped clenching so much, and I don't have to pop my jaw in the morning. I've even forgotten to put it in a night or two, and I felt my jaw slacken on its own. It's kind of an incredible feeling!

When I was taking voice lessons, this jaw lock was a major problem for me. I had to practice singing with a pencil between my teeth to force my jaw to relax. I wonder if I could do it a little better on my own now.

So in essence, praise the Night Guard! (Thanks, Dr. S, if you're reading this.) I may look like a 13-yr-old, putting my "retainer" in every night, but I don't even care. I feel *SO* much better, so the fact that it's unattractive or that it makes me lisp a little bit couldn't matter less.

Happy Bihu!*

2008-04-15T00:27:00.008-04:00

And happy birthday, Mother!
In honour of spring, the new year, and most importantly my mom,
here are some pictures from the Orchid Show at the New York Botanical Garden:

The original slideshow looks better obviously -- bigger and higher quality -- but blogspot only allows up to 100M, sorry. Hopefully you can still get a sense of it.
The song is "Sunship Balloons," by The Flaming Lips.

*I know technically I'm posting this on the 15th, and that Bihu and my mom's birthday were the 14th, but I've been a little preoccupied. Better late than never.

The best laid plans

2008-04-11T12:36:00.003-04:00

Everything is up in the air right now. I had two job interviews last week; I have at least two more this coming week (reminder: get suit dry-cleaned). One of these jobs has to work out, right?

Meanwhile I am cramming for my third orgo midterm on Monday. I had a bio test yesterday, and I'm really hoping I did alright on it. I wasn't too happy with my last bio midterm (made some stupid mistakes), so I hope I did better on this one so I can drop that one. Orgo... there may be no hope for me at this point. I am so behind on the material for this test. But I really need to recover by the final.

Only 3 weeks of class left. Boy, does that feel good. Well, I guess technically I'll be back in July for Orgo lab, but at least a month "break" (not too much of a break, as I hope to be employed). PLUS there's the MCAT in June, which I am trying to study for. My books finally arrived... I hope I can fit it all in!

And of course this means I won't be going to Vegas in June for H's birthday. Very sad. We're both turning 25 in June, so it would have been fun. We'll just have to celebrate again in the city after the MCAT.

I need a vacation. I've been feeling antsy, would like to get out of the city for a little while.

Dreamt about being back in Japan again. I had to take a Japanese placement test, and I couldn't remember how to write any kanji. I was so frustrated and ashamed and felt I had let Suzuki-sensei down.

Dis-ordered sleep

2008-04-03T10:52:00.003-04:00

I've been remembering my dreams pretty much every night for the past week. One was entirely in Japanese. Last night's involved several people from middle/high school. There's one such friend who is often in my dreams. What does that mean? Does he represent something? What is my subconscious trying to tell me, or what information is my brain purging?

I've been responding to pretty much every job listing on the listserv. This morning I had a reply from the Sleep Disorder research center. Appropriate?

Meetings today.

I didn't get in

2008-03-31T23:19:00.003-04:00

In case you hadn't heard yet, I didn't get into Brown for 2008.

The bad news is I have a whole 'nother year of applying. I have to take the MCAT; I have to take Orgo lab. I have to take an MCAT-prep course, pay thousands of dollars in application fees, and *if I'm lucky* stress over many more interviews. I have to find a job for the next year and hope it's enough to make me competitive with all the other standard admits despite my poor undergrad GPA.

The good news is I have another year in New York, particularly in Queens. I'll hopefully get a new, exciting job for the next year. And I won't have to worry about starting school at the same time as my sister's wedding. I'll get more use out of that suit I bought. Actually, maybe I'm a step ahead, having already filled out the AMCAS and dealt with an interview. Maybe maybe.

I guess I'm just kind of shocked. I thought my chances were so good, but ... it's funny. After being so pessimistic and misanthropic all through high school and college, I thought I had finally relaxed. I was optimistic and hopeful; I had such a good feeling every time I went to Brown. And it felt so good to feel so positive for, like, the first time in my life.

And then it didn't work out.

Oh well, I have to hold on to that feeling. I know it will work out in the end. Brown just wasn't meant to be, and I have to admit, I'd like to move. As much as I like New York, I'm just not an East coast person I think. And I think I've realized that after being here for the past 7 years (more or less). Plus the experience of working for a year will definitely benefit me. If I can find something good, I can definitely see being super-excited about it. So...

We'll see.

Shaken

2008-03-27T15:23:00.003-04:00

The house has been trembling a lot for the past few days. I don't know if it's the construction in the neighbourhood, or the traffic, or maybe even some strong winds in this late winter/early spring weather. When I first felt it I was lying in bed. I flashed back to my apartment in Japan and the middle of the night tremors. It had been wondrous, exhilarating. I suppose my unfamiliarity with and the novelty of an earthquake overcame my fear. It was pleasing to just lie there in the dark, with my eyes open, and *feel* it.

It's different, awake and on your feet. Here the trembling is mildly annoying. Things rattle and shake, and it gets distracting. I was in a music store in Harajuku the first time I felt an earthquake while awake. *That* was completely disorienting! It wasn't terrifying exactly, but I suddenly realized how much I take the "solid ground" for granted.

What other things do we take for granted?

We're captive on the carousel of time.

2008-03-24T04:19:00.002-04:00

In loving memory of Joo Hwa Chu. Another casualty of cancer.

May her strong will and tenacious spirit inspire for generations to come.
Best of luck to the three daughters she leaves behind, as they carry on her cause and glorify her memory. For as long as I have known A, I have watched her dealing with her mother's illness. And in the short time I have known A, I have been assured that she has inherited her mother's strength.

My sincerest condolences to Ms. Chu's family. May they find strength and comfort in their friends and loved ones.

夢

2008-03-21T10:07:00.002-04:00

Last night I dreamt I went back to Japan. Just picked up and left at the last minute. I returned to Sakura Heights, Horie-san showed me to my room, and she and I chit-chatted. I was so happy, so excited, so eager to be back, and this time nothing was going to get me down. I was ready.

Spent

2008-03-20T11:57:00.002-04:00

It feels like a lot has happened and yet not much at all. I'm feeling really spent.

B and I went to Cape Charles, VA for a few days. His friends from grad school rented a house for a few days, and it was so cheap and there was so much extra room, that they invited us down. It was relaxing. Being the off-season, Cape Charles was completely dead, we rarely saw another person (the ones we did were really local). In fact almost everything in town was closed on Tuesday, except for a restaurant in what the locals call "Jelly Bean Jungle" - the luxury, marina neighbourhood on the water filled with pastel-coloured McMansions.

I've been so looking forward to spring break for the past few weeks. I've already read two books, on top of having the little vacation in VA. But now I have to catch up on schoolwork, do my taxes, apply for financial aide... There's always something, right?

But I'm feeling restless these days, eager to get away. That urge to escape I so often felt in college. But I haven't the means to get away and so much to do in the meantime. Blah. Maybe it will pass.

Not even 25 yet

2008-03-05T21:45:00.001-05:00

I found my first grey hair today.

Very exciteen.

31. Ohio

2008-03-03T20:20:00.002-05:00

I would have added it sooner, but I thought it was already on the list.

On the road

2008-03-02T14:45:00.003-05:00

Today I saw a bumper sticker that read "Warning: Under the influence of Julie Andrews."
.
.
.
Did I miss something? I don't get it.

New York

New Jersey

Pennsylvania

Connecticut

Delaware

Virginia

Maine

North Carolina

Georgia

Florida

Louisiana

Texas

Michigan

Minnesota

California

Ontario

South Carolina

Massachusetts

Rhode Island

Vermont

British Columbia

Illinois

Oklahoma

Arizona

Arkansas

Indiana

Colorado

Washington D.C.

New Brunswick

New Hampshire

28. Washington D.C.

2008-02-25T20:06:00.002-05:00

Where does the time go?

Spent a weekend in Texas. The weather was beautiful, and I spoiled the cat while I was there, which was very nice.

Today's B's birthday. After he picked me up at the airport, we grabbed lunch together then I took a quick nap. We then went into Manhattan to explore some guitar stores for his birthday present, finding a good fit at First Flight. He seems happy with it.

I have a lot of school work to catch up on, so we put his fancy birthday dinner off 'til Wednesday. Might as well make the celebrations a full five-day affair. :)

My next tests are March 10th and 13th, in exactly two weeks. Am I freaked out? A little. Add to that the Brown interviews on the 7th, mock interviews (which I have yet to schedule), the daunting task of buying a suit, and finishing my hours at the hospital...
Ack!

Luckily there's spring break to look forward to, and it looks like we might be spending it in Virginia with some grad school friends of B's.

For now though, I'd better get to work...

27. Colorado

2008-02-17T19:47:00.000-05:00

V-day

2008-02-15T14:47:00.002-05:00

Belated happy Valentine's day, by the way. What a controversial holiday.

First thing in the morning, B gave me a valentine he'd made out of hot pink poster board. A little clumsy. Incredibly cute.
Upon checking email, I had an e-card from my dad and an email from my mom. I sent a cute picture I found online to family and friends.

I got a text message from S, "Happy dumb not real holiday day :) hope you have a great one!"
And later in a conversation with my sister, she said, "It's just a marketing scheme, one of those Hallmark holidays, isn't it though?"

Why so much pessimism people? :-P
I prefer J's take on it:
"Just another day that people use to show love... When no other day should be any different... Happy V-Day anyways..."

Tired

2008-02-15T12:32:00.002-05:00

Been an intense week. Overnight FedEx-ed the Brown application Wednesday. I really stressed over that essay, but it's finally done. Only one thing left in the process - the interview. In preparation for that, I'm planning to schedule some mock interviews with Career Services at Columbia.
First though is my first orgo exam next week. Yesterday was the first bio exam... I was feeling behind in class and hadn't spent much time on it (because of the application essay), but I think it went better than I expected.
Next week also some people from the ITO foundation will be in the city. There will be a reunion on Thursday, including a tour of an exhibit downtown followed by lunch. I'm a little nervous about it - using Japanese, explaining what I'm doing with my life, meeting new people... Ah well. I'll get through it. It should be fun.

What now?

2008-02-07T16:13:00.000-05:00

Today in the ER a man came in who'd been electrocuted. For some reason I think I heard he had been working at a construciton site when it happened. 1000V. He didn't survive. I wasn't in the ER when he arrived or when he died, but I entered in time to see four men lifting his bereaved wife from the floor (where I suppose she had collapsed) onto a stretcher. For several minutes her cries filled one side of the ER.
"No no! I don't want to live anymore! I can't go on without you!"
Shortly thereafter more family members arrived - three grown men and a young woman. They peaked into the curtain and, for an instant, my heart stopped in anticipation. The woman jumped back, buried her face in the shoulder of one of the men. She cried louder than the widow, and all three men were red-faced and teary.

This was my first time seeing (to some extent) death in the ER... or ever.

As I packed up my things to leave, I felt guilty for not staying. But practically, what could I do? The grieving have to work things out for themselves, at least for a little while. I would have no right to intrude. Yet I felt so powerless. Imagine how the doctors and nurses who couldn't save him felt.

There's a dead pigeon on the tracks at 30th Ave. It's been there for a while. Unlucky once, and now his body is run over repeatedly by thousands of Manhattan-bound passengers. I stood staring at the disfigured body, like I always do, waiting for the train home. I thought about the babies my friends are expecting this year, the baby born last month - three months premature. The weddings, the graduations, the illness. Constantly in motion, constant change.

As miraculous and powerful and efficient as the body is, all the magic of science that makes us (and pigeons) tick... over like that. There's something greater, even if it's just time.

I was helping the ladies in the admitting office with paperwork today. They are constantly answering phones, and one of them said "You know, when I get home I just want to sit in silence, by myself. If the phone rings, even if it's my mother, I just let the machine get it. I can't listen to her every day, talk about what she did, who she saw, same thing all the time. If her message sounds important, then I pick it up."

The woman sitting across from me said, "It's always important when your mother calls. What if it was the last time you spoke to her."

Think about that.

Getting back on track

2008-02-06T23:21:00.000-05:00

I am having such a hard time getting on the ball this term. Quantitatively, I don't have much more on my plate now than I had last term, but somehow I'm feeling overwhelmed. I think part of it is how fast everything seems to be going suddenly.
I found out about linkage on Jan 14th, submitted AMCAS the 25th, had a mock interview the 28th. My secondary app is due next Friday, and my interviews at Brown are Mar 7th. The essay-writing is hard, but I know the interview is going to be even more difficult. I am already psyching myself out about it.
Meanwhile class is going at a whirlwind pace. We've already finished two chapters in Orgo, just two weeks into the term. Bio is not sticking the way it did last term; there's a lot more memorization, a lot less fitting all the pieces together (which I'm much better at). Plus, the first Bio exam is next week.
I went back to the hospital yesterday after a two week break (during which I submitted AMCAS and made myself ill with unnecessary stress). I only have about 40 hrs left to do at the hospital, but to try and not freak out so much, I'm cutting down to twice a week for the rest of the month. I tried to be more "aggressive" yesterday in my role - followed one of the PAs around, looked at x-rays, asked questions. As a result I did less "go-for" work for the nurses, but I still did my duty as a patient advocate - chatting with patients and serving lunch etc.
Once I'm done at the hospital, I seriously have to find a part-time job. If the hospital doesn't have funding, I'll have to go somewhere else, as much as they love me there.
Anyway, I think I just need to slow down in my head. Last week when it was all getting to be too much, I just put everything down for a couple days. I bought a pair of shoes, had a couple fun outings with B and his bro-in-law (who was in town for a writers' conference). That "break" calmed me down a lot.
Now I just need to hang on to that while I struggle to finish my essay for Brown and prepare for the first round of exams.

One thing that's going well these days is the living situation. Y moved out in Jan with pretty short notice. Luckily, a former coworker from the Gyu was unhappy with the place she'd moved with her sister in the fall. Both of them have moved into the house. Though B and I share the smallest bedroom, things are working out well so far. We cleaned a lot and reorganized, and the room is suddenly much more livable for two people. B's parents also gave us some hand me down furniture for our living room, with lots of cabinets and stuff, so we're able to store our stuff elsewhere in the house. Best of all, it feels more like a home! Not like a random collection of furniture that people have brought and left here over the years (even though that's basically what it is). Now that it looks halfway decent, the thought of moving out makes me sadder than it did before.

26

2008-01-20T13:42:00.001-05:00

New York

New Jersey

Pennsylvania

Connecticut

Delaware

Virginia

Maine

North Carolina

Georgia

Florida

Louisiana

Texas

Michigan

Minnesota

California

Ontario

South Carolina

Massachusetts

Rhode Island

Vermont

British Columbia

Illinois

Oklahoma

Arizona

Arkansas

Indiana

Sleepless nights

2008-01-18T10:07:00.001-05:00

So I got the nomination. They didn't inform me 'til the 14th, but it's been rush rush rush ever since. Brown has a crazy timeline, including submission of AMCAS by next Friday, January 25th. So I've been working on my personal statement and ordering transcripts and badgering people about recommendations all week.
I didn't think I was that stressed out about it, but the last few nights I've been restless, dreaming about the personal statement and my unknown Bio lab grade (which was finally posted this morning). Well I finally submitted a draft of the statement to my advisor yesterday, and B read it and said it didn't need that much work actually. That's quite a surprise.
A TA from last semester is going the standard route, and he's had seven interviews so far. I consider that a success story. He said they've all focused on his personal statement, so I need to really polish mine.
But the director of the Emergency Dept at the hospital said it's the interview that really matters; the personal statement is just a foot in the door. As far as I can tell, I'm guaranteed an interview, so maybe I shouldn't be so stressed out at this point.
Now who do I go to for interview help? I guess the postbac committee will interview me at the end of the month. Maybe that's supposed to be practice?

23. Oklahoma

2008-01-13T19:56:00.001-05:00

The List

2008-01-06T23:30:00.000-05:00

Saw a couple new ones on my walks with Toby. I don't really think it matters that I saw these last two in Manhattan.

New York

New Jersey

Pennsylvania

Connecticut

Delaware

Virginia

Maine

North Carolina

Georgia

Florida

Louisiana

Texas

Michigan

Minnesota

California

Ontario

South Carolina

Massachusetts

Rhode Island

Vermont

British Columbia

Illinois

Back

2008-01-04T11:42:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year. B and I are back in the city after a sunny, food and family-filled break in TX. I wasn't quite ready to go, but it's better to leave when you're not ready than to leave when you're more than ready. ;)

Now I'll be dogsitting for H while she goes home to see her family. Meanwhile B and I have to find a new roommate. :( And I'm hoping to hear from the hospital about a possible part-time job! :)

2008 looks to be a big year: finishing my premed coursework, possibly starting med school (if all goes well), B going on the job market, my sister starting a new job, H and me turning 25 (!), B turning 30 (!!), and my sister getting married (!!!).

If it weren't for this roommate thing I'd say things were falling into place nicely.

Holiday!!

2007-12-21T12:34:00.001-05:00

It feels SO GOOD to be done with exams. I don't think, even in all my years at P'ton, I ever felt this glad to be done. But still it's been pretty nonstop since then... the fun kind though.

Tuesday after my last exam, I hurried downtown to meet B and the band. The lead singer's mom was in town and treated us all to dinner. It was so much fun! And the swordfish in wasabi sauce I had was excellent.
The next morning I woke up with an agenda. First B and I had breakfast at a nearby diner. Nothing fancy, just eggs and sausage and home fries. Hit the spot. Then I came home and jumped into...

cleaning the bathroom! If you've spoken on the phone with me at all recently, you know this has been on my mind for like two months. I last cleaned it in October. In all our time living together, B has cleaned it once, which I very much appreciated. B does lots of other housework, so it doesn't matter. Our other roommate, on the other hand, has *never* cleaned the bathroom. As we were running around so much in November, I never had a chance. Then once December started I had so much schoolwork to catch up on for finals, AND I had to put in enough hours at the hospital, it fell to the bottom of my list. Though I thought and talked about it constantly, I felt it was not important for B or I, who had so much going on before the end of the year.

I desperately desperately hoped our roommate would do it, but of course, no such luck.

So Wednesday, I gave up waiting. I had little hope that he might clean it while B and I were away, especially since he's now planning to move out in January. (Know anyone who needs a place in the city?) And it felt SO GOOD. I spent like two or three hours on it, taking my time, taking breaks, scrubbing well. Man, I don't know what exactly happens in a bathtub, but the smell was pretty bad as I scrubbed in the Ajax.

Once the bathroom(s) were done, I dyed my hair and showered. Then I ran out to meet H, who was Christmas shopping in midtown. She was on a roll! Had like six bags by the time we left. She picked up a 16th birthday present for her cousin at Tiffany & Co. It was like my first or second time in the store, so that was kind of exciting. Then we went to her place on the UWS and had dinner at a nearby Ethiopian restaurant. Yum.

Thursday I went to the hospital in the morning. It was slow at first but picked up. I wanted to leave early because I had to drop stuff off at Columbia before the offices closed. Luckily I ran into my supervisor and the new girl she's training as her replacement just before I left. She was very positive in her description of me to the new girl, so I hope I don't let her down. I ran out of there at 2:30 and headed to Columbia.

It took a little searching for the mailboxes, but I finally delivered the last to recommendation packets on my list. Then I emailed the professors to let them know. I stopped by Duane Reade for misc goods before getting back on the subway. I did a little Christmas shopping on the way home, then met B at the house.

We ordered in Thai for dinner and ate quickly before heading out for EC's show. I went to high school with EC; we were voted Most Talented together. Well he's actually doing something with his talent, and I finally got to see him perform here in the city. He was hilarious! As expected. He told us that he had been hired, trained, and quickly fired by the Blue Man Group in Chicago. How crazy is that?! I know someone who was hired and trained as a Blue Man! Very exciting.

Today's plan is to get a manicure, finish Christmas shopping, hopefully start laundry, meet MO (former server coworker) at the restaurant for dinner, then hang out with H and the band. It should be fun!

And I'm so excited about going home to TX tomorrow. I need a vacation!

One down

2007-12-14T22:27:00.000-05:00

It sure feels good to have one less exam to worry about. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be helping my concentration. Why can't I focus?! I know it's just a few more days, but somehow that isn't enough incentive for me. I'm just so ready to be done and go gift-shopping and go home.

*pout*

I have to start my AMCAS and secondary applications over the holiday. Fun fun. Oh, and we have to find a new roommate.

Catching up

2007-11-30T11:35:00.000-05:00

This weekend we've been invited to a birthday celebration in CT. Though it would be fun, it would be our fourth weekend away from home in a row. I suddenly have only one week of class left and two weeks 'til finals. Ever since we returned from Paris, B has wanted to speed up the work on his dissertation and send it to some people, but he hasn't had a chance. So we may stay home this weekend and try to play catch-up. On top of all the work to do, I need to get back to the ER and finish up 90 hours before I leave for the holiday. I submitted my linkage application yesterday, but if I don't get the volunteer hours in, it won't matter at all.

I feel like I'm going full speed ahead. There's so much to get done and so much to think about. I just want to sit and veg and contemplate my life one day. It'd also be nice to feel like I have the time to clean my room and the bathroom! To go grocery shopping and make dinner.

I guess this means I don't really have the time to be sitting here writing this... :-P

20. Vermont

2007-11-26T15:46:00.001-05:00

Got back from Humble today. Lots of work to do. The rest of the term will be packed.

Gotta Catch 'em All

2007-11-19T08:38:00.001-05:00

19. Rhode Island

Back

2007-11-13T08:34:00.000-05:00

So we're back from Paris. It was a really short, pretty uneventful trip. B was a big success at the conference, it seems. His talk went over well, and he asked good questions, and people definitely noticed and remembered him. I'm so proud.

We arrived Thursday early afternoon and took the RER B from CDG to our hotel, near the Luxembourg Gardens. Our room wasn't ready when we got there, so we left our baggage at the desk, then walked to the Ecole Superieur Normale (or however it's spelled), where the conference would be. B likes to be super-prepared and know where everything is ahead of time so there are no surprises and he's always early or on time. Then we sat in the Luxembourg gardens for a little while before heading back to the hotel. We cleaned up and dozed a bit, then headed out for some mad walking. From our hotel in the 5eme Arrondisement, we walked north along Boulevard St. Michel to Ile-de-la-Cite to see Notre Dame. We then crossed the Seine and walked West along the bank of the river, until we reached the Louvre. We walked through the middle of the museum, past the pyramid, through the Tuileries, to the Place de la Concorde, then up the Champs Elysees. We went to a brasserie on a side street for some dinner, then continued up the Champs Elysees to L'Arc de Triomphe. We paid the 16 euros for both of us to climb to the top and admired the view of the city. B was getting pretty tired, so we decided not to walk all the way back to the hotel (it had already been 2.5 hrs or so). But I didn't know when he'd get to go out again, so we walked back across the river to Le Tour Eiffel. We sat under it, gawking at its guts for a few minutes, then it began raining, and we ran for the nearest RER station. We took that all the way back to the 5eme Arrondisment and our hotel. Oh, and I had left our camera in the hotel. Sorry.

The next morning B woke up super early, showered, dressed, and had like an hour to kill before registration began at the conference. He ended up being the first one there. Most people showed up on the later side. That's pretty normal for him. I went back to sleep after having le petit dejeuner in the hotel with B, and woke up about noon. The weather was turning out to be quite pretty, so I decided to walk again. Once again I walked north on St. Michel, this time turning slightly east on St. Germain. I crossed at Ile St. Louis this time and walked northwest to the Bastille. I mean, technically it's a monument, not the actual Bastille. A French woman there, also a tourist I guess, asked me where the Bastille was. I said, "This is it, the monument. It was destroyed." And she said, "Merci" and took some pictures. I took a picture too. From there I walked and walked some more to La Republique, another monument in the middle of a great plaza. My main goal though was to reach the Basilisque de Sacre-Coeur, which had been my favourite thing on my first visit in the summer of 1999.

So I walked and walked and walked some more. The neighbourhoods were changing. Our hotel was located in a more touristy and university student area. This appeared to be where more immigrants lived and shopped - more bargain, street-side bin sales, less brand name. Had I not noticed this in 1999? Or had I come a different way? Or perhaps it was that our hostel had been in a similar area, not in the 5eme Arr, and I'd felt less conspicuous then.

After 2.5 hrs and some consulting of the map, I found myself in front of the Basilica. The sky was blue, the sun was beginning to set. I climbed the stairs, many many stairs, through the crowds of people sitting on the steps listening to a French guy play and sing Tracy Chapman. There had not been crowds like this last time, had there? I took a couple pictures, walked around the back, took a couple more pictures, sat in a garden and ate my cereal bar. Then I walked back to the front and entered the Sacre-Coeur. It was as beautiful as ever, this time with sunlight pouring through the stained-glass windows. It was warm and glorious and quiet, as plenty of people prayed and others looked. After circling the building, I took a seat in a back pew, where I thawed out and began writing a letter. I had to meet B at the Ecole at 7:30, so at 5 I stood and left the building. I stood on the front steps, looking out over Paris, remembering my first time in that spot.

A storm had been brewing, the sky was darkened, and the wind was violent. Everyone had rushed up the steps for shelter in the Basilica's front archways. My hair at that time was waist-length and loose, and it danced crazily in the wind. I remember laughing and relishing it; a man had smiled at me, and beckoned me into the shelter, but I shook my head. I'd felt so young and powerful and alive - not yet 16, not yet kissed, not yet left home, not yet failed, not yet succeeded - full of potential.

After my reverie, I once again braved the many steps, avoided a street vendor, left Montmartre and tried to find Gare du Nord. I panicked when I saw a clock on the street that read 6pm. A man saw my confusion and, walking past me, smiled and said "Ça va?" or something like it. I didn't know if he was being nice or sketchy, so I ignored him. I followed my instincts, with trepidation, and luckily stumbled upon the train station. It turned out the clock on the street had been incorrect, which was comforting, but now I was faced with the train station. I hadn't considered that Gare du Nord might be so big, but I managed to find my way to the RER underground. Half the ticket machines weren't working, so I waited a while in line, but I made it to the train and back to the hotel with an hour to spare.

I joined B at a reception for the philosophers at the Ecole, and then we went to dinner with a few of them not too far away. It had been a long, tiring day for both of us, in different ways, and we went right to sleep afterward. The next day was the day of B's talk. Again we woke early for breakfast, and he practiced a little before leaving while I went back to bed again. I woke late and cleaned up, gathered some things and went to the Jardin de/u? Luxembourg. I sat for 2 or 3 hours maybe, writing 16 postcards, then when I got too cold, went back to the hotel. There was a special dinner that night for invited speakers at 7. I got ready and waited for B on the corner of Rue Soufflot. Apparently they were all running late, so we ran back into our room so he could drop off some things.

Dinner was at Bouillon Racine, on Rue de Racine off St. Michel. The decor was entirely Art Nouveau, the upper dining room lined with mirrors with pretty, curvy frames. It was a little difficult for me at first, being the only non-philosopher there, and I suddenly felt really stressed. I was shy and intimidated and didn't know how to ask for my seat next to B back. I kept thinking of that Sex and the City episode where Carrie moves to Paris with The Russian and feels completely out of place. But then we rearranged, and I calmed down. The meal was excellent - a cassis aperetif, a bordeaux with dinner, a beautiful beef carpaccio entree with cheese and greens, salmon on a bed of cabbage and mixed veggies as a plat, and a huge creme brulee for dessert. And everyone had good things to say about B and his talk. As we were leaving a French student approached him and asked if they could talk tomorrow. It was very exciting to see B had been such a success.

The next day when I woke, I took my postcards with me, hoping to find an open Post Office. The one near the hotel was, as expected, closed, so I resigned myself to walking back to the Louvre. The 1er Arr, as I got further in, was a little less welcoming than I'd expected. A little desolate and shady, but it was midday, so I wasn't worried. At the post office, the machine wouldn't accept my card, so I went to a window, where the woman spoke to me only in French. I gave her 20 euros, she gave me change, then spoke rapidly while gesturing wildly to my left. I didn't really know what she'd told me, but figured I'd figure it out. I applied 16 stamps, wrote "Par Avion" 16 times, then wandered to what seemed to be a post box. There were a few different labels, including "Paris," "B-something-or-other," and "Etranger." I guessed and dropped everything in the "Etranger" slot. I guess we'll find out if I got it right in a week or so.

From there I crossed back to the left bank and found the Musee D'Orsay, which my sister had told me to see. I had about two hours 'til closing, but figured that was about all I could handle of a museum anyway. I paid 5.50 euros to get in and headed directly to the middle level, Art Nouveau and decorative arts etc. The furniture exhibits were quite astounding, and actually the building itself was pretty incredible. I was surprised they allowed me to keep my bag and my coat, as I'd been to other museums where they worry about you bumping into things. After finishing the middle level, including the Rodin terrace, I did a quick peek into a few rooms on the first level - pre-impressionism Degas and Monet, a couple sculptures of Mercury inventing the Ceduceus, etc etc. And then it was closing time. I walked back to the hotel in a little bit of drizzle. This time I didn't worry too much about being on time, because I knew the conference would run late. B was supposed to meet me in the room, and I hoped to have a nice dinner with the last of our Euros or go for a walk together, maybe even take a cheesy boatride on the Seine.

He came in and said the others were at a braserrie not far away and that they'd requested our presence. Again people had been praising and quoting him during the day, so I agreed. We got down there just as a couple people left. I was starving so we took a small table to the side. I felt bad that I was keeping him from the philosophy group, but he nicely sat and ate with me. His cold was getting worse, and he was exhausted from a long weekend of thinking and networking, so we went back to the hotel. He napped while I added to my letter, then we played a few rounds of hangman and went to bed.

The next morning we planned to wake at 6. I set my phone alarm. We figured we'd be downstairs at 7 to check out, and hopefully be on a train to the airport by 7:15. But my phone alarm either didn't go off or didn't wake us, and I woke and looked at my watch to see it was 7:05. We jumped out of bed, dressed, finished packing, and flew out the door. We paid downstairs, after waiting what seemed an eternity for the credit card to be approved, than booked it for the RER stop. Once again the machines weren't working, and I asked the guy at the window "deux, Charles de Gaulle." We made a 7:40am train, and made it to the airport with what seemed like time to spare. But then the line for AA was unbelievably long, and I guess we weren't the only ones bound for NY who'd been running a little late. They pushed us NY-bound passengers along as fast as they could, and we somehow made it to our gate just as they were boarding our group.

And now we're back. B's cold is worse, but we've gotten some decongestant for him. I'm still coughing, but feel alright otherwise. And it's already just two weeks until the next tests in Orgo and Bio. Where did the time go?

Updated license plate list

2007-11-05T17:03:00.001-05:00

New York

New Jersey

Pennsylvania

Connecticut

Delaware

Virginia

Maine

North Carolina

Georgia

Florida

Louisiana

Texas

Michigan

Minnesota

California

Ontario

South Carolina

Massachusetts

Actually, I'm surprised I didn't see Massachusetts sooner.

Misc

2007-11-04T23:01:00.000-05:00

The Al Arbour game was very exciting, and we won!

We leave for Paris Wednesday!

Adding Ontario and South Carolina to the license plate list.

What?!

2007-10-21T09:56:00.001-04:00

R visited yesterday. She's in the country for the month, visiting from Buenos Aires. I hadn't seen her since February, and I'd missed her. She wanted to go shopping for makeup for the first time in her life. Something very light and subtle, just to outline her features so she didn't feel so washed out on the dance floor. We spent the afternoon in SoHo, visiting MAC and Uniqlo. It was a lot of fun, especially since it was a new experience for her.

Walking down Broadway at one point, I paused to wait for her to refasten her shoe. There was a crowd of men around one of the street vendors. At least, that's what I gathered from the corner of my eye. As R caught up with me and we passed them, one of the men leaned over and repeatedly called out in my direction,
"India! India!"

I was confused. Was it someone I knew? RD used to call me "India" as a child. But no, this seemed different. I barely stopped myself from looking. I didn't want to give whoever it was the satisfaction of gaining my attention. I have to say that was a first... and very surprising to me in NY.

A funny thing happened on the way to the Coliseum

2007-10-10T23:14:00.000-04:00

The Islanders play at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Long Island. It's about a 40-mile drive from home. On the trip there and back today, B and I saw at least one license plate from each of the following states (though not in this order):

New York

New Jersey

Pennsylvania

Connecticut

Delaware

Virginia

Maine

North Carolina

Georgia

Florida

Louisiana

Texas

Michigan

Minnesota

Pretty cool, huh? There were at least two other strange plates on the road, but we couldn't read them.

Only in New York?

Harold (viewer discretion advised)

2007-09-20T22:39:00.000-04:00

This past Tuesday in lab we studied the urogenital system and began on the cardiovascular system. My friend H took a picture of my pigley Harold with her camera phone.

The End of an Era

2007-09-15T14:15:00.000-04:00

I no longer work at Gyu-Kaku.

It's sad to say, but it was time. I still love everyone there, and I am still so grateful for the experience, but I was tired of waiting tables and... it was time.

I'm trying to focus on school now. I need to keep my GPA up and live up to my potential. Meanwhile I have a freelance essay-editing job with an online company. I just finished my first three assignments, which are reviewed before they're sent back to the customer. It's a lot harder than I expected it to be, not just in the editing but in the whole professional package. I hope it pays off... once I get the hang of it.

It feels so weird to have weekends and evenings back, to have my life back! Saturday night rolls around, and I get so giddy because there's still Sunday to enjoy. And for the first time since we moved into the house, I'm around when my roommate Yaran is, and I actually get to interact with him. He's a fun guy. Who knew? It's a good start to the new year. I have high hopes.

So even though it's the end of an era, and I no longer define myself as a Gyu-Kaku employee, and my social life is about to change dramatically, I'm optimistic. There's still fun to be had with my Gyu-family, but there's lots of other stuff to look forward to as well.

牛角、昨年中大変お世話になりました。感謝を伝えないほど気持ちがあるけど、ありがとうございます！

Alaskan Cruise

2007-08-06T19:49:00.000-04:00

This is really what everyone's been waiting for, so without further ado...

I took Monday the 23rd off from work so that B and I could enjoy Happy Hour at the restaurant. And so I could do this:

Working with my hands and sweating hard every day at work made me want to splurge and pamper myself with this luxury I used to think silly. Well, I still think it's silly, but it was fun.

We boarded the M.S. Zaandam on the 25th, where one of the first things we had to do was an evacuation drill.

Arden was not too happy with her life vest, but, naturally, she was terribly cute in it.
In Juneau we took a van from the dock to see glaciers and greenery.

We also saw salmon, bears and bear cubs, but unfortunately I don't have pictures of that. Our van-driver was also the worst story-teller ever, which made for excellent dinner conversation that night.
Each night when we returned to our cabin, we discovered a new and exciting towel-animal.

We had two different kinds of elephants (this is only one), something that must have been a peacock, and even a creepy monkey thing hanging by its arms from a hangar.
From Juneau we went to Skagway where we took a three hour train ride to White Pass Summit, on the Canadian border. It was an incredibly beautiful trip, but I somehow didn't take my camera that day. You'll just have to take my word for it.
The next day we went to Glacier Bay National Park.

Eerily beautiful, we spent an entire day just floating in the bay, listening to the sounds of crumbling glaciers and seabirds. We even glimpsed humpback whales in the afternoon.
Our second-to-last night on the ship was another formal night, when I discovered the corduroy dress I'd sewn fit a little snugger than I remembered. (Probably due to the rich and plentiful food on board the Zaandam.) But that didn't prevent me from jumping up on the piano at J and O's urging.

We sang "Hey Jude" then practiced "Bohemian Rhapsody" for farewell karaoke the following night. On the trip back to Vancouver we saw dolphins frolicking beside the ship.

Lots of fun! And we had beautiful weather all but one day. Hope B's dad had a Happy Birthday celebration!

Provincetown, MA

2007-08-06T19:23:00.000-04:00

I finally found the cable for my camera, so here are some much anticipated pictures from the summer. First: the weekend of the Goldstein-Love wedding in Provincetown, MA at Steven Pinker's house.

From a morning walk on the beach behind our hotel:

The wedding:

Yael and Gabe under the Chupah; Steven Pinker prefacing the vows with a short speech on humans and language.

The bride and my date.

The sad hora danced out of pity for the Klezmer band.

The wedding party escapes to the beach.

Whew

2007-07-06T12:01:00.000-04:00

It's been a whirlwind of a week, but it was a lot of fun. First there was the convention in Boston. I saw Sid and some other friends, met a cousin of mine for the first time, walked around Harvard, participated in a "fashion show" (which was hilarious), and ate a lot. Back in the city we had dinner at Gyu-Kaku one night, spent a day at the Bronx Zoo, had dinner with my sister's fiancee's sister and her boyfriend, watched the international hot dog eating competition on Coney Island, hung out with B's parents, and all in all, watched my parents have a good time. I think they genuinely enjoyed themselves, which was really nice to see. And now I need a vacation. :-P

Gyu-love!

2007-06-28T12:10:00.000-04:00

So as you may have noticed from my schedule to the right, I'm about to begin a week of vacationing with my parents. They fly in tomorrow then we drive up to Boston for the weekend, and then we return here for a week in the city/Queens/Long Island. I think we're all looking forward to it.

But as a result, I will be, in fine family tradition, at the Convention and away from home and friends for my birthday. As many of you may know, I don't do birthdays very well anyway, so this is fine with me. I don't like plans or events or anything like that... but I do love my friends at work. So at the last minute yesterday I emailed everyone to bring drinks and food and hang out after work. I wasn't expecting much since it was so last minute. I just wanted to hang out and unwind on my last day at work (last for a little while anyway).

And everyone made me so happy! Piers, who didn't work, was super-sweet... I didn't have time to pick up any wine before work, so he brought two bottles. And he even brought me a mango! Even though he's allergic. And Cara brought a blueberry pie, and you all know how I feel about blueberries. :-) And Joji, one of my managers, carried a cake all the way from Chinatown, when the train wasn't running. And Mike, my friend from Japan who just started working in the office building across the street, happened to call the restaurant looking for me. And he left his office at 9pm, so he came for dinner and stayed for a drink with me! And the Stoli Blueberi Brett bought me was a huge success. Oh oh the funniest part was when they came out with the pie and cake with candles and sang Happy Birthday, and when they got to the name part *laughs* everyone said something different. Classic, so iconic of this period of my life. I will never forget it.

Oh how I love everyone. *sigh*

It's funny. Waiting tables one meets all sorts of people and families. Some you love, some you hate. And among those I hate are the ones who are like the person I used to be. I've become so much happier and friendlier and *nicer* since I left high school, and I like this person so much better. These pouty, angsty kids come in and I want to slap them around and tell them to be nice and gracious, to tell them that life is good and people are beautiful if only they would be too.

I hate to wax philosophic, but... it's true. And I guess I was just so touched yesterday by the kindness of my friends, I couldn't help it.

Okay, I'm done now.

Aces

2007-06-15T09:57:00.000-04:00

B and I went on a date last night here in LIC. Around 9pm we headed to a place on 36th Ave called Aces. It's probably been there about a year, and he'd read reviews online praising the bartender and his special cocktails and the "Huitlacoche" risotto. B had a caipirinha (national drink of Brazil, made from sugar cane) and I had the blackberry mojito. Though I don't really like mojitos, the bartender had said hew as making it, completely fresh etc, I thought I'd give it a try. It was certainly better than a normal mojito, and after a few sips began to grow on me.

We shared the "Huitlacoche" risotto to start. Huitlacoche is apparently Mexican corn smut - a fungus, like mushrooms or truffles. Nothing looked particularly fungal in the dish, and it was really really tasty. The risotto was almost creamy and sweet. For entrees, B had the braised lamb shank, which was also fabulous - tender and meaty and sweet - and I had the pan-seared striped bass, which came out steaming - topped with fried plantains, sitting on a bed of spinach in black bean and mango sauces. The meal came out to about $60 - about the same price as our lunch at Dos Caminos in Midtown East. However, whereas Dos Caminos was considerably overpriced, the meal at Aces was ridiculously underpriced. For the taste and presentation of everything, I would have been willing to pay much more. It's unfortunate that the fact that it's located in LIC probably means it's severely underappreciated and relatively unknown. Except for two women at the bar, we were the only people in the restaurant. And when we walked by again three hours later (after seeing Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End) there were only three men at the bar. Sad. Even the decor was really nice.

Chao Thai

2007-05-30T12:55:00.000-04:00

Monday business was slow, as I expected, so I was allowed the night off. I spent the day walking with L, looking for a handbag/purse. Yes, I've decided it's time for me to grow up and get one. I didn't buy a purse, but I did get a pair of flip-flops and a bag of dark chocolate Lindt truffles. D, the supervisor of both New York locations, met us and promised us authentic Thai food out in Queens. So after some train trouble, we cabbed out to Elmhurst, where B met us, to a place called "Chao Thai."

First of all, every single person there was Thai. Good sign. The decor was great - Easter bunnies all over the walls and a wreath with a bumble bee that said "Bee Happy." D said he'd been in April when there were Valentine's hearts all over the walls. There was also a tv in the corner playing music videos, which I must say were hilarious. D, being Thai, did all the ordering for us. First, Thai Iced Tea - he had his without milk, which I'd never tasted before. Very intense, but good. Then the food began arriving. The green curry was the best I've ever had - not too hot spicy, but incredibly flavourful. Then there was a dish of grilled pork with a spicy sweet dipping sauce. A spicy papaya salad and a *very* spicy ground chicken dish. I'd had the ground chicken with Joy and her family before, but it hadn't been that spicy! D said this was "medium spicy," but it was too spicy for me. I was so thankful for my Thai Iced Tea. Even L, who likes everything spicy, was drinking so much water. There were some greens, Chinese spinach I think, that D said would help... but they didn't really. So finally he ordered a soup with tofu and greens, which though hot (temperature-wise) was soothing. Everything was really tasty - I would have liked more of the chicken - but it was just too spicy for me! :-P The green curry was my favourite hands down. Would love to take Ba and J there and B's friend BL.

Sushi in NYC

2007-05-22T13:09:00.000-04:00

Yesterday B's band was supposed to sign a contract with Sony Publishing. For the third time, and to everyone's frustration, it was cancelled yet again. I was pretty upset as I'd asked for the day off from work just for the signing and the celebratory dinner to follow. After the disappointing news, the one upside was "thank goodness I didn't shave my legs."

So instead B and I went out for sushi. This is a task these days, as we both love sushi, but I've become very picky about it. B will eat pretty much anything - rolls, cheap nigiri, whatever. My feeling is if I'm expecting sushi, I expect good sushi, and if I'm going to pay money, I want nigiri or sashimi, attractively cut fresh fish that caresses the palate - not rolls with cucumber and avocado and other crap in them. As a result, we don't eat sushi that much, because it ends up being expensive. Although that's probably self-perpetuating as, by the time we finally eat sushi, we crave the good stuff (at least I do). We've tried a couple places around Astoria/Long Island City, but they've disappointed me. The ones we've tried in Manhattan have been good, but expensive. I'll review anyway.

Several months ago we tried Nada Sushi, on 50th between Lexington and 3rd Ave (just a block from Gyu-Kaku Midtown). We went for lunch and had some sort of set that included Miso soup and salad. Something about the salad was very refreshing and tasty. We also had a starter of negimaki - scallions rolled in grilled beef. Savory little morsels that exceeded my expectations. The sushi of course was excellent; the hamachi (yellowtail - my favourite) melted in the mouth. Most of the clientele was Japanese if I remember correctly, and the atmosphere was quiet and subdued. Pleasant for a lunch date. However, being a lunch in midtown, it came out to about $60. (We had lunch at a Mexican restaurant across the street from Gyu-Kaku a couple weeks ago, and that was also about $60, so I gather that's normal for a Midtown lunch.) Still, I have a fondness for the place, and would definitely go back.

When J, my sister's fiance, was in town for an interview in the winter, we joined him, his sister, and cousin for dinner at a place downtown called Yama, 17th St and Irving Pl. Clearly a popular spot, they don't seat until your whole party is there. And once we were, we still had to wait. The restaurant was a bit cramped; we squeezed into a table in the corner. This is the place that J and his family always go to when in the City, and he urged us to have the spicy tuna te-maki (hand roll). It was fun; they certainly have "creative sushi" down at Yama. We mostly had rolls that night, which were tasty, but not my favourite - particularly if they contain avocado. We had a discussion about how avocado affects sushi. J's cousin (I believe it was) understood how I felt. Not only do I dislike it, but I feel the texture and taste of avocado, which is soft and creamy and bland, detracts from the experience of the fish. In the end, I felt Yama was good enough, but rather overrated, particularly considering the wait and space.

Last night, after the disappointment of the day, B and I trekked out to Hasaki in the East Village, on 9th between 2nd & 3rd Aves. A Japanese coworker and friend of mine had recommended it and well, of course I'm going to trust a young-Japanese-man-on-a-similar-budget's judgment. The reviews online all said it was a great value for lunch... too bad we were going for dinner. They also remarked that the sushi wasn't very "creative," which I ignored, since I couldn't care less, as long as the fish is good. When we got there (after 9:30pm) they were only seating at the sushi bar, which of course was no big deal. We each had Mura (a potato shochu) on the rocks and examined the menu. The days' specials were a little too elaborate and exotic for my tastes. I, as always, really just wanted nigiri. There was a 16-piece sushi set, with two set rolls plus a roll of our choice. But since I didn't really want rolls and would rather save the stomach space for additional nigiri, we ordered two Sushi Eights - 8-pieces plus one Tekka maki (tuna roll) - for $4 less. Not being terribly familiar with sushi bar etiquette, I shyly addressed the chef standing near us.
--注文していいですか？[May I order?]
--いいです。[Yes, fine.]
I pointed to "Sushi Eight" and said 二つ下さい [two please]. He then pointed out the 16-piece set, to which I replied,
--でも、巻きがあまり好きじゃないんですから．．．[I don't really like rolls that much, so...]
He smiled and nodded and asked if we'd rather start with Miso soup or salad. So Miso soup arrived, which I told B to drink without a spoon (until we got to the very bottom, and then I didn't want to be vulgar), and we watched the chef make our pretty plates of sushi.
The first one I tried was the Salmon Roe - as I've never been a big fan of Roe, I figured I'd start with it and finish with my favourites (hamachi, hirame). BUT
the Roe was really surprisingly good! The hamachi and hirame were okay, not as good as I'd remembered at Nada Sushi. And I decided Unagi nigiri had dropped in my ratings. I think I prefer it as unagi-don or similar. It's too heavy and sweet a flavour for sushi. After they cleared away our plates, I again asked the chef for a recommendation. He pointed to the specials, which I wasn't interested in. As the Salmon Roe had been so good, I asked which of the four Roe (Salmon, Spicy Cod, Flying Fish, and something else) he recommended. Salmon, he said immediately. So we ordered an additional two Salmon Roe and two Aji (Horse Mackerel). It must just be the season, because they were both very very good.
The bill in the end was $80. We left $16 for the server and $4 for the chef, so a total of $100 for a satisfying sushi dinner. I feel guilty for spending so much everytime I go out for sushi. What we really need to find is a secret, local, cheap, quality place.

I've been craving chocolate lately, so after dinner we went in search of a molten-middle chocolate cake. We found something close enough at Pizzeria Uno just a block away and went home happily in food coma.

...Until a couple hours later when I realized that raw fish and fudge don't exactly complement each other. Nothing Pepto-bismol couldn't handle. ;-)

Oh!

2007-05-10T02:11:00.000-04:00

I'm really excited about this summer, by the way. First B's friend's wedding in Provincetown (Cape Cod). I don't think I'll be going to the wedding, but we got a hotel room with an ocean view. :D I plan to spend the weekend just relaxing on the beach, evening out my brown-ness. Then there's the convention in Boston; it'll be B's first. And from the convention my parents return here with us. We'll spend a couple days in the city and a couple days on Long Island with B's parents. I expect it to be fun. Then at the end of July, I'm joining B's family for an Alaskan Cruise in honour of his dad's birthday! I am so excited! They were showing me the website and pictures of the ship and scenery... Oh my god. It's going to be awesome. If my parents know what's good for them, they'll try it too!

Relief

2007-05-10T02:01:00.000-04:00

The semester is over, and I am *so glad.* On top of that, I finally quit my job in the Dr's office. I didn't do it in the best way perhaps, but I was so relieved when I woke up this morning and realized I didn't have to go there. So now "all" I have to worry about is working at the restaurant and finding a volunteer position, preferably in a hospital.

My personal summer goals: read, get in shape, and relearn Spanish. Not too ambitious, right? So far I'm off to a halfway decent start. I'm still working on Joyce Carol Oates' "Missing Mom" and I also picked up an old book of B's: a bilingual edition of Carlos Fuentes' "Aura." X at work says I sound like E.T. when I speak in Spanish. Yeah, he's not the most constructive critic. As for the getting in shape, which I guess is my New Year's Resolution too... I think it'd be easier if I found a dance or yoga class or something nearby. I've had the urge to try Muay Thai Kickboxing, but B is not very excited about that idea. Perhaps I can make good and get the guys at work to play Ultimate regularly. I could throw better than I expected a couple weeks ago in Brooklyn. Running too? I'm not so sure about that.

Quick update

2007-04-20T01:27:00.000-04:00

Okay guys. I know this is long overdue, but I can't really spend much time on it. I'm still alive and mostly well. Mostly I've been really overwhelmed lately. I started a new job in a Dr's office, which is alright. D and I are also currently in the process of finding new homes for the kittens. It's been a really bad situation the past few months - I work nights and some days and also have class; he works long days. I pretty much never go to the apartment, and D has been almost solely responsible for the kittens... which is unfair to all of them. I'll also be moving in with B in May, so I've been trying to work things out with the broker so that D and I can get our deposit back. Meanwhile I'm falling behind on schoolwork and just exhausted overall. But I can't complain too much. Sometimes it gets to me, but I'm lucky to have B in my life, and all my new friends at the restaurant. I'm able to bounce back.

Lisa's wedding last Saturday was really something. I'd never met her then-fiance-now-husband before, but he seems great. They seem complementary and very happy, so I'm very happy for them. And I'm so glad I got to make it to the wedding and be a part of it. Her brother will be having his wedding in the Mormon temple in Dallas, so their parents won't be able to go. They're pretty upset about that (as was made clear to me), which is understandable. It was also really nice to have a short holiday, even if it was just one day... and in Newport News, VA of all places. But B and I were playing at being grown-ups, with a hotel room with king size bed and pull-out couch and a rented car. It was fun, even if we didn't get to do anything exciting.

That covers it for now, I think. Good night.

Hectic

2007-04-01T11:27:00.000-04:00

Things have been pretty crazy since I returned from San Francisco. The week back I had school, got the kittens spayed, started working at a Dr's office on the Upper East Side, and got sick. Monday, the 26th, I had my second midterm in chemistry. It didn't go so well, and when I walked out of the lecture hall I was feverish and dizzy. So Sunday (the 25th) through Tuesday (the 27th) I basically spent sleeping and trying to recover. Wednesday I went back to the Dr's office, where days have been hectic and fast-paced. Friday I went back to the restaurant.

I'm pretty overwhelmed right now. I have the restaurant, the new job at the Dr's office, class of course, moving plans, and attempts to get the kittens adopted (yeah, we're trying to give them away before we move) all weighing down on me. And on top of that I've been sick. Not fun. I'm very much looking forward to Passover this week and my first Passover Seder on Tuesday at Brett's parents' house.

Hopefully work won't be too bad tonight. The last couple times I've worked Sunday, it's been an absolute mess. Actually, Friday was an absolute mess, but I'm tired of complaining about that.

Sunny California

2007-03-19T23:58:00.000-04:00

I had a great week and a lovely family reunion. I will blog in more detail once I get pictures from my family.

Tomorrow will be my third attempt to get Serena and Rorschach spayed. Everyone cross your fingers.

Japanese Restaurant Week

2007-03-11T09:14:00.000-04:00

So last week was Japanese Restaurant Week in New York. Only a few restaurants participated, including mine, and it sure was crazy. By the time I arrived for work yesterday at 5:30, we already reservations for 230 people. We had more reservations than there were tables, and we were under immense pressure to turn, turn, turn. Add on top of that my bruised foot and a shadow trainee, and things were pretty hectic. Still I think it was a success. B and his friends finally came by last night and apparently enjoyed it a lot. And though there were a strange number of injuries among the staff (Cindy hurt her leg last night and various and kitchen and bar people have suffered cuts) and Spring Forward kind of threw us off, I think we came out relatively unscathed.

Only thing is I was supposed to 1) see Rebecca at some point this week before she left for Buenos Aires, which never happened, and 2) talk to her on the phone before she left - we scheduled as a last resort 8 o'clock this morning, but when my alarm went off I was so confused as to why it was going off that I ignored it - and 3) see 300 with Darren and his friends yesterday (only I woke at 10am feeling awful and headachey and really angry, so I cancelled on him).

Well I'm looking forward to next week in California. Sounds like my sister has a lot of ideas for how to spend our time. I never get to go out or do anything here in New York (B and I repeatedly made plans to try some places for Japanese Restaurant Week, but we never made it out), so I'm really looking forward to whatever we can do... with a little relaxation on the side too.

In heat

2007-03-05T22:24:00.000-05:00

Yes, Serena and Rorschach are in heat again, for what seems like the tenth time this year. What does a girl have to do to get her cats spayed?!! I've already made three trips out to the upper west side in the hopes of getting it done, but no luck. I am so angry with Ansonia... if you live in the city and have pets, I suggest you don't go there. They just seemed intent on making things as difficult and as expensive for me as possible. I finally called K, the lady from whome we adopted, and told her what was going on, and she arranged for us to go to a different vet. So now I have an appointment scheduled for March 20th and hopefully that will be the end of that. But I'm not going to hold my breath.

In other news my Kaplan class is over. And boy does that feel good. Not sure how the kids are going to do, but I wish them the best. I still haven't received any payment though, so I am not signing up to teach anymore classes for now. I may choose not to teach any until the summer actually, just cos I have other things to do.

Looking forward to spring break.

Dreams

2007-02-28T08:42:00.000-05:00

The past two nights I've dreamt about serving at the restaurant.

P'ton & B'day

2007-02-27T13:21:00.000-05:00

First of all, the ticket is $4 more than when I was a student. What is that? Annoying. Secondly, I managed to catch a double-decker express train that only made 4 stops total (the 2nd of which was P'ton Junction). That was pretty cool.

It was weird to be back. Getting off the dinky, walking toward Blair Arch, I actually felt a bit nostalgic. Warm and fuzzy even. That was dampened a little bit by the appearance of what, in my mind, are typical-looking Princeton students. (You know the kind I mean.) I went to Sakura Express fora lunch of my old favourite - Unagi-don - until Rebecca met me. We then went to Small World and chatted nonstop until it was time for her capoeira class. While she did that, I went in search of Ueda-sensei. I discovered she was on leave (which I had suspected) and that she was going to be the undergrad representative next year. Exciting, in a way, though perhaps a little annoying for her as well (administrative work always interferes with personal goals). I need to email her.

I then hung out in Frist, preparing for my Sunday SAT class, and then browsed the U-Store bookshop. I picked Rebecca up from Dillon, and we headed to The Bent Spoon (she had two gift cards). I ran into Meg Meyer, who had been the choir's soloist at Carnegie Hall, there. Rebecca and I chatted some more (she was very excited about having received her capoeira name "Rapunzeo" that day) while eating our ice cream, stopped by a wine store afterward, walked to her apartment, stopped so she could shower, then went to her friend Roger's house for dinner. Dinner was a lovely home-cooked meal of tabouleh, mushroom and barley soup, guacamole (which was really good, and I don't like avocado!), brownie cake, mango sorbet (from the bent spoon), and red wine. It was a large-ish party of grad students, all interesting and fun. As an undergrad there, I would have felt much more awkward about going with Rebecca, but it was just lovely now.

The next morning I left Rebecca's place around 10 and walked to campus. I sat in a Kalaa rehearsal, the first rehearsal of the battle scene (they're doing the Ramayana for this spring's show). It was a lot of fun to watch and reminisce how the group operated when I was there, and then I hung out with Uma afterward. We watched clips from their show last year (which was really awesome!) and just talked about the state of the groups and plans for it etc. Then Julia called me from Frist, so I met up with her, Ryan, and Lev. After some confusion, we all decided to go to the matinee show, though Darren would have to come in at intermission. The party in the end consisted of Darren, Lev, Julia M, Ryan, Emily, Dave, Ed, Ed's girlfriend Sarah, Don, Julia R (Don's fiancee), and their friend Bry/ian. The show was alright. There were only 10 people in it, no girls. Gus is abroad, so not in the show, and no one knew where Wendy was (though her name was in the program). After the show, Julia, Ed, Darren, Don, Lev immediately jumped up on stage to juggle. I chatted with Julia R and Sarah, the latter of whom has some pretty interesting stories from her job at a publisher of Science Journals.

We then went to Tiger Noodle for dinner (I ran into Arthi on the way, who'd been a freshman in Kalaa my last year), where Lev's friend Eric met up with a us. We strolled down Nassau St, I stopped at the Princeton Record Exchange for a birthday present for Brett, while the others checked out Micawber Books (which is closing). My phone died. We stopped at Bent Spoon again so those who wanted to get ice cream could. We then began parting ways. Sarah and Ed went to Sarah's family's house. Don, Julia R, and Bry/ian headed to their car, the others went to Lev's. I stopped in the U-Store again where I picked up a Joyce Carol Oates novel, then headed toward the dinky. Unfortunately I'd just missed it by 10 minutes and had to wait another 50. I went to the lobby of the Berlind Theater across the street and plugged in my phone while doing more SAT prep.

When I got back to the city, I met up with Brett and Jordan in the lower east side, though I was tired and in an asocial mood. We found a less-crowded bar where we had a drink, then headed back to my apt. The next morning I taught SAT class, which didn't go fantastically. As the material gets harder, I definitely confuse more students. I met up with Brett afterward, we got brunch at a diner, then went back to his house. After watching Happy Gilmore, I promptly fell asleep until 9pm. Though I was so unwilling, Brett managed to wake me up. We headed back into the city to see Brian Blade at the Village Vanguard. Though people are annoying, and the place a bit crowded, the show was really really good. Afterward we got a midnight dinner at Veselka, a 24/7 Polish place at 9th and 2nd Ave.

A very full weekend.

Tired and annoyed, among other things

2007-02-16T12:12:00.000-05:00

So I've been working five nights a week at the restaurant, about 7 hours a night. It's worth it. I'm earning about $100/night, if not more, and finally making rent and a dent in my debt. That feels good. What doesn't feel good is that I no longer have nights free. A birthday dinner for Brett with his parents has to be rescheduled to a Sunday brunch that I have to leave early anyway in order to attend a staff meeting. Introductions with our future roommate (once I move into the house) have to be postponed repeatedly because he works days and I work nights. Of the two nights a week I don't work at the restaurant, I spend one teaching SAT class. Most of my other free time is spent sleeping or vegging out on Brett's sofa because I'm so tired.

Meanwhile Kaplan hasn't paid me a thing yet. And I went all the way out to Flushing a couple Saturdays ago to start my second class only to find that they'd forgotten about me completely and assigned the class to someone else. Fine, it's not worth my time to go out to Flushing Saturday mornings anyway. If anything, it interferes with my making better money at the restaurant. And if I hadn't said something, I bet no one would have come to observe me teach. As it was, someone finally showed up in Session 9 (of 12). Kind of late to give me pointers on how to check on my students' progress and get more involved. If my kids' don't do well, yeah, I'll feel guilty, but I'll also blame Kaplan. I don't have time for this nonsense, to run around after them and find out what they're not telling me.

Luckily, I'm only taking one class this term. That's not to say that I think Wednesday's test went well. It was very very different from last term's tests. We weren't allowed calculators for what little math there was. Normally that doesn't bother me too much, but they didn't use nice round numbers that are easy to work with. Everything else was very conceptual, which is something I think I need to be better at, so I'm glad they tested it, but that also made it harder for me. If anything, I now know what to expect from these tests, and they'll drop the lowest grade in the end.

In other news, I finished Yael's book Overture. I enjoyed it, better than her mom's novels (of which I've read one and a half) too. It's nothing brilliant, definitely has a pop appeal, but it was enjoyable, and once I got into it, it was hard to put down. We'll see what my sister thinks of it.

Speaking of my sister, I have purchased a ticket to California over Spring Break. Not only to see my sister, but also to be at my nephew's 1st birthday party. And Brett's band plays at SXSW in Austin the same weekend.

Test tomorrow

2007-02-13T21:26:00.000-05:00

Not really sure what to expect or how to prepare. Don't feel too troubled by the homework, but I somehow expect the test will be quite different. I've also been informed I will be observed in my SAT class tomorrow. Hmph. Finally. I think they don't know I'm around or something. I have yet to be paid a single thing. Beginning to wonder if it's really worth my time. At least the restaurant is going fairly well.

Next weekend (23-24) I go to Princeton to visit Rebecca and see the Juggling show. Then the 25th is B's birthday.

Pictures from The Engagement Party

2007-01-30T23:16:00.000-05:00

My gorgeous older sister and her fiance.

B and me.

Guess who "had" to drink the extra champagne?

My cousin and her son (my nephew). So cute!

My, how our family has grown.

Sha la la

2007-01-30T22:12:00.000-05:00

Today Darren, his friend Zhen from CFR, his friend Stephanie from P'ton, and I went to watch the taping of tonight's Daily Show with John Stewart. It was a lot of fun, and it was nice to finally meet the friends Darren talks about so much. Strange that, though Stephanie was at P'ton at the same time as us, and though she and Darren are so close, I'd never met her before. She was very cool though. I approve. ;-) Zhen also seemed very sweet, if a little shy and quiet. Or maybe she was just really really cold from waiting outside in line to get into the studio.

The show itself was of course awesome. The guest was Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium and host of NOVA miniseries "Origins." His interview was by far the best part, though Darren and I seemed to be laughing louder and more often during it than anyone else in the studio. Maybe 'cause we're nerdier than the average person. I can't believe I hadn't gone to a taping sooner. It's free, you just have to be willing to wait 2 hours in line. I am really not taking advantage of all the city has to offer. And needless to say it offers a lot. Depressing.

Tomorrow my SAT kids take their 2nd practice SAT test. Interested to see if they'll have improved at all. Saturday I begin my second SAT course, all the way out in Flushing. :-( Inconvenient, but oh well. Hopefully those kids will be as good as the ones I have now. I think I still prefer my job at the restaurant, but the kids make it fun.

Just wanted to make a quick update. My sister expressed concern that I hadn't updated.

Oh, Sunday Brett and I went to Long Island. I'd wanted to see his parents. It snowed just a bit while we were there, but apparently didn't last at all in the city. It was very pretty, if cold. Wouldn't mind a real snow some time this winter.

Killing time

2007-01-18T14:36:00.000-05:00

Leaving for work it about half an hour.

The girls' spaying has been postponed until Momotaro is completely over his cold. They don't want to put the kittens under for surgery while their immune systems might be weakened. Fair enough. I just hope they don't go into heat again in the meantime.

I proctored the diagnostic SAT test for my first Kaplan class yesterday. Only 6 (of 11, I expect) students showed up. It was dreadfully boring and freezing in the room, but I read 200 pages of Zadie Smith's "On Beauty" in the process. I'm not so nervous anymore about being at the front of the classroom, but I'm kind of dreading teaching this material. It's something I've always been averse to, and I really feel like I've sold out. I'd rather be working at the restaurant, to be honest. It's more fun, more active, and (at this point) more lucrative.

Things at the restaurant have been going *fairly* well, considering it was just our first week. I made ~$400 last week in tips. I'm hoping I can keep it up. Working 5 shifts a week at the restaurant (I'm eating a lot of yakiniku, but hey it's free), teaching Kaplan twice a week, class at Columbia twice a week... We'll see.

"On Beauty" is so far the best of the three Zadie Smith books I've read (the other two being "Autograph Man," which I enjoyed, and "White Teeth," which I couldn't make myself finish). It has less of that over-the-top "look at me I'm so clever" quality that I feel so many novels (including White Teeth) have these days, and the characters are less extreme, more real.

Brett's college friend Yael Goldstein just published her first novel, "Overture," and so far it's getting good reviews. She's having a reading the 25th at which Brett's ex will be playing violin. Still debating whether or not I want to go with him. In any case, congratulations to Yael. I read her mother Rebecca Goldstein's "The Mind-Body Problem" a little while back. I thought it good but depressing. It made me anxious, but I *had* to finish it. Heh. Trying to make an effort to read more from now on. When did I stop? It's sad that I stopped.

Can't believe my sister's 28 today, and Brett turns 29 next month. And I'll be 24 this year, and I'm teaching SAT prep to 16 yr olds!

Happy Birthday, Ba!

2007-01-18T11:56:00.000-05:00

She turns 28 today.

I thought I outgrew it.

2007-01-11T11:40:00.000-05:00

Looks like it's back.

"It is now well known that stress and anxiety play the major role in causing bruxism. If you suffer from bruxism try to more effectively manage the stress in your life. By carefully monitoring and controlling the stress you can often dramatically reduce bruxism. "

That doesn't bode too well for the next 10 years of my life.

Wine and hormones

2007-01-07T23:32:00.000-05:00

The restaurant opens for dinner this Tuesday. Finally. I have been reading and attempting to study the wine and sake and shochu lists since I got the news. I have little confidence in my ability to remember details about wine. I can tell you my personal favourites; maybe that will suffice for now. Am scheduled for lunch tomorrow (Monday), dinner Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday; may pick up another dinner shift Friday. Have my last Kaplan training session Wednesday. All this work had better start *paying* off soon.

Meanwhile Serena seems to be in heat. According to Darren she did the same thing just before I left for the holidays. I didn't notice it then, but I definitely notice it today. Strange murmuring/whining and lots of rolling around and sticking her butt in everyone's face. No, Serena, that does not entice me. Called in December to schedule spaying but was told to call back in January. Must definitely call tomorrow.

On the street

2007-01-05T22:18:00.000-05:00

The walk home from the subway is a fair distance, at least 12 blocks. Tough when one is in a rush, but generally I really like it. It ensures I do at least that much walking every day. Today I heard 4 different languages at 4 different lights in a row, and when I realized it I thought, "how cool." That's what I like about this city. That's what I missed when I was in Japan.

On another note, I never make new year's resolutions. Well, okay, except this year. This year's resolution is to lose 5 lbs (get back down to 110) and get back my muscle tone. Progress so far: none.

Jean Genie

2006-12-31T12:02:00.000-05:00

The major part of my Christmas presents were checks from my parents and sister with which to buy new shoes, jeans, etc. I've been wearing the same jeans for at least 5 years - Long & Lean flare, size 2 regular, from The Gap. One pair, having stretched so far out of shape and wearability, I left in Japan in July. The second (a dark grey-black stain I really like) developed a hole in the crotch in October. I replaced those with a pair of X2 "Skinny" jeans from Express in the same stain. The third and oldest pair in a "dirty" wash had been wearing thing at the crotch (I don't know how I do that), so I had left them in Texas while I was in Japan. I brought them to NY with me to replace the ones I left in Japan. But even those, being the oldest (though my favourites), were getting too tattered on the cuffs and thin in important places. I decided it was time to part with them. I left 'em in Texas after Christmas.

I've gone looking at jeans several times already this year, knowing I really needed to replace mine. The skinny jeans at Express are okay, but I'm not really a "skinny" person, so I can't have *only* skinny jeans. The regulars and the curvy's there didn't quite work either. I even went back to the Gap and tried my fallback Long & Leans, but something just wasn't quite right anymore. Brett always wears Levi's, and with the after-Christmas sales it seemed worth a shot. Nope. Not feelin' it. What am I to do? I hate shopping, and jeans are one thing that *have* to fit right and feel good. After all, I wear them *all the time.*

So yesterday after work I hit up the Express on Lexington Ave. They're having a $20 off all pants sale. When shopping for slacks in September I had tried their "Publicist Pant" (built for curvy women) and it had fit really well... except that it was too long. So this time I tried the jean equivalent... It was decent, but they didn't have it in my length. And well I'm kind of tired of shredding my cuffs to tatters. I considered buying them just because I was tired of shopping for jeans, but then gathered my courage and went to the Gap next door for one last look. No luck with Long & Lean or Original Fit, but the Curvy flares in 2 Regular fit well... except for the length. So the girl in the dressing room brought me 2 Ankle, and suddenly they were too tight! Argh. I inspected the other wall... Boot Cut. Grabbed Curvy 2R and 2A and... Voila! New jeans! Yay!

So after trying on 10 or 15 pairs of jeans yesterday, I finally have them. And it seems in 5 years I have gone from a "Long & Lean" shape to "Curvy." Guess I knew as much, but it's kind of exciting. And that's my boring post for New Year's Eve.

Happy New Year!
明けましておめでとうございます！

Back

2006-12-28T16:10:00.000-05:00

Returned from Texas yesterday. I had a great time, involving quality time with my family, meeting my nephew (my cousin's baby) Neil, lots of cuddling with Tigger, and (of course) inordinate amounts of food. I wasn't ready to come back, but alas, here I am.

Saturday night was my sister and Jonathan's engagement party. There was a margarita machine, all the parents (Jonathan's, B's, and mine) met, and about 80 people from the Houston and Austin Assamese community were in attendance. Most people I hadn't seen in over a year, since before I left for Japan. Pretty weird. I didn't recognize a lot of the younger kids; they change so dramatically in a year. It was an interesting event. My sister was beautiful, there was more champagne than there were people, my family drank leftover margaritas and mimosas for the next couple of days.

B and I didn't really leave the house or neighbourhood in our time there. I really just wanted to laze around at home with my family, so that's what we did. We watched movies and played "rikiki" and Scrabble and [karam] (not sure how to spell it) and went for walks around the neighbourhood after meals. B spent a lot of time in the kitchen with my mom, so hopefully he'll be serving me some Assamese home-cooking in the near future. He also played tennis with my dad our last day there.

I really wasn't ready to come back, was kind of glum the last day and very grumpy yesterday after the very early flight. It was strange to be wandering SoHo with B yesterday (in search of a power adapter for his Powerbook) afternoon when we had just been in Texas. Not sure why I'm so dismayed to be back. I hadn't been unhappy before we left. It will go away in time I suppose.

So excited!

2006-12-18T14:48:00.000-05:00

My exam is over! The term is officially over!

I am so excited about this break, I can't tell you. So excited I couldn't get to sleep last night and woke up with a slight headache. *sheepish* I've never been this excited to go back to Texas in the 5 years since I've left. But this break is gonna be different. It will be B's first Christmas with my family, and we'll be celebrating my sister's engagement. And to do that, there's going to be a party on the 23rd - to which her fiancee's parents as well as B's parents are coming. Everyone's staying at the house, including my cousin and her 9-mo old baby and her husband (whom I'll meet for the first time). It's gonna be a great big party like in the old days. My sister and I were saying last night how we used to get so excited about guests when we were little, and this is like that again. I don't care that I'll be sleeping on the floor (I hope B doesn't either). The more the merrier! I'm sure my dad concurs.

Now I just have to pack and do laundry and all that fun stuff.

Nile Deli

2006-12-14T03:18:00.000-05:00

There's a big convenience store across the street called "The Nile Deli" (for some reason, convenience stores in this neighbourhood go by "Deli"). It's our go-to place for some reason. I'm not sure how B and I picked it in the first place, but we kept going back. At first I loved it because they had this monstrous (I mean HUGE) tabby cat there who would lie on the floor between shelves and walk right up to you for petting. He hasn't been around lately, not sure what happened.

Anyway, so we were out of toilet paper, so I popped in there, picked up a few other things too, and I go to pay. I get $3 back in change, in one dollar bills.

And the top one has blood on it.

I just kind of stand there, holding it between two fingers for a moment, trying not to draw the attention of the shopkeeper while simultaneously trying to show B and ask him if I should take it or ask for a new one... but B doesn't notice at first, just thinks I'm counting change, so I stick it in my wallet and show him later.

Anyway, I thought it was pretty amazing. I showed everyone at Kaplan training* the next day and then managed to get rid of it by buying candy from a street vendor at school.

*Yes, I'm training to teach a Kaplan SAT prep course. Funny, huh?

Love love!

2006-12-11T14:27:00.000-05:00

You know that lab course I'm always complaining about? Well, it's over, which is nice. In the last day, before the written exam, we filled out evaluations. As I've heard, everyone was really critical and really ripped the course apart. (Good.)

But the first question was, "What did you like most about this class?" or something to that effect.

My answer was, "Meeting and befriending my lab partner."

And today I learned my lab partner's answer was, "My lab partner is awesome!"

*blush*

At the risk of being sappy

2006-12-05T11:32:00.000-05:00

The other day at work, R was talking about how she'd met the man of her dreams, how it had been the first time she'd been shy around a guy, how it had taken her a whole hour to approach him. C smiled and said, "That's the best part of a relationship, when it's new and exciting and thrilling. Then it just gets old and boring." I was sort of stunned... not only because it made me feel bad for C and her current relationship, but because I don't feel that way at all. B and I have been together two years now and, though there's significantly less drama now than there was in the beginning (thank God), I'm still as smitten as ever. I still get giddy and excited at the prospect of seeing him and spending time with him... we don't even do anything exciting anymore, with the exception of hockey games. Otherwise we mostly sit around and watch tv or eat or sleep. Maybe I'm just bragging and this will come back to bite me in the butt, but (heh) I think there's no reason a relationship should get old and boring. It makes me sad to know people think that. I know my way of thinking (and my experience) is the exception, but shouldn't it be the rule?

yada yada yada

2006-12-02T23:19:00.000-05:00

I feel like I should say something. I don't update this thing often enough. Maybe I just don't have that much to say anymore. But it doesn't really make sense that there should be much less to comment on in New York than in Tokyo.

Have I told you about my neighbourhood? We live on Steinway St, one of the main thoroughfares in Astoria lined with various shops and restaurants. Just a couple avenues away Brett and I discovered a pizza place called Rizzo's. It's been around for a while and is pretty well known, particularly for the sicilian/square pizza. And I must say it is delicious pizza. I'm not *too* picky about pizza. It comes lots of different ways from lots of different places, and lots of those ways are good... except Domino's. I have never liked Domino's.

Speaking of varieties... today at work we had a wine lecture. A representative from the vendor came in and talked to us about a selection of the wines we'll be selling. There was only one perhaps that I considered bad (though I can't say that to a customer of course); the rest good, though some moreso than others. And we got free wine keys. ^^ I couldn't smell or taste a lot of the things the guy was talking about, though I could taste differences. I must say though that being a sommelier or similar would be fun if for no other reason than the vocabulary - glamorous words like "voluptuous" and "tannic" and funny ones like "catbox" and "wet dog." Mmm, wet dog.

Hmm my tummy is growling again.

Random

2006-11-21T16:10:00.000-05:00

Sometimes when things are slow at work, Joe and Joji will send two of us without customers out on the street to hand out lunch menus or business cards. Today Hana and I got the job. It was a bit cold, but feeling it better business not to cover the logo on our uniforms, we didn't wear coats. Some people on the street are very nice. Today quite a few of them said, "Aren't you cold? Go put on a coat!" Some even say "thank you" after accepting the card, which I find amusing since I'm the one bothering them. And then there are those who act like the don't see me at all. I like to at least say "No, thank you" when someone tries to give me stuff on the street. And then there was one today who, when I told him "Japanese Barbecue, Sir. Right across the street," asked "Are you Japanese?" I laughed and said, "No, I'm not, but I did live there." And then he said, "Well, I'm going to this Mexican restaurant now, but do you have Geisha [which he pronounced gee-sha] girls?" ><

After work they feed us. Today I ate with Hana (a fellow server), Lightning (one of the hosts, an interesting character), and Carlos (who works in the kitchen, doing drinks and desserts right now while we wait for our liquor license). Lightning and Hana were talking about Lightning's spirituality for a bit, then after Lightning left, it got a bit quiet. "You don't say much, do you, Carlos?" I asked. He said, "Huh? I talk." "Busy eating?" I teased. "Yeah," as he took more rice and meat. Then when Hana sat back down he asked me, "Do you have kids?" "Why do people always ask me that?" I said. "No, I don't." And he asked Hana the same. "How old do we look?" she asked. "19," he guessed. We laughed and corrected him, then asked how old he was. "19. I've got a kid, a daughter." Hana and I quickly recovered. I felt ashamed, but tried not to make a big deal of it. "What's her name?" Hana asked. "Haley." "Oh, like Eminem's daughter?" "Yeah, spelled the same." "How old is she? Do you have pictures?" And he proudly showed us pictures of his one month old daughter on his PDA. A cute baby with a chubby round face. Carlos never smiles at work, but you could see just a hint of it in the pictures. After he got up, Hana said, "Everyone lives such completely different lives." I get the feeling Carlos sees us as silly and immature, but then I'm willing to bet he's matured several months' worth in the past month.

Walking home I stopped at a newsstand to treat myself to Sour Patch Kids. The guy there said, "Do you work around here? How come you never come here? Everyone else comes here all the time. I see you often. How come you never come here? Come here all the time, eh? I'm your Indian brother." ><

Why?

2006-11-20T16:31:00.000-05:00

Serena has been curled up napping in my lap for the past hour and a half. She looks sooooo sweet like this and is irresistibly cute the way she tumbles around in your lap and arms, trying to cuddle every part of her against every part of you all at once. So why is she such a troublemaker and nut when she's awake? :-P

Annoyed

2006-11-20T13:57:00.000-05:00

This girl sits in front of me in Chem lecture. She brings her iBook to every class, and during the whole lecture she chats with friends and checks facebook. I find it so rude. Why does she even bother coming to lecture?

Speaking of lecture... I think it's a pretty good class. The professor is good, which is what a lecture course really depends on, I suppose. But somehow... I don't know. He's not teaching/explaining these recent chapters as thoroughly as he did early on. I understand he's feeling pressed for time... then he shouldn't have spent/wasted so much time on the easy chapters at the beginning of the term. I just hope I don't feel like I'm missing something next term if we don't manage to get through all the material this term.

Which just brings me to my classroom experience at Columbia in general. Recitation is absolutely useless, and have I mentioned how the lab course is the worst class I have ever taken? I just hope as the classes get harder they also get better.

On another note, I spend a lot of time at Brett's house... for a number of reasons. The most recent recurring reason has been the lack of hot water at our apartment. About a week and a half ago, there was no hot water, then a couple days later, after ConEd people were seen working in the street, we had hot water... only. (Either it was scalding or there was no pressure.) A couple days later it seemed better. Then a couple days ago we lost hot water again. I've been at Brett's the last couple days, thinking it would be fixed by the time I got back, but it doesn't seem like it.

Also the heat seems really arbitrary. It comes on only when it's cold enough for Darren to put on a hoodie. That's fairly cold for indoors. And when it is on, we can't turn it up or down from our apartment.

So you know what I'm thankful for?
The holiday.

DNA

2006-11-15T20:33:00.000-05:00

Today we made... I mean, isolated DNA from chopped up onion. We got to keep our DNA. I gave mine to Brett. It was the best lab yet, but I sure am glad we have no more lab (except for the practical exam in two weeks).

In other news, I have an "audition" to teach SAT/GRE classes for Kaplan on Saturday.

And Brett's band is having a cd release party tomorrow, Thursday the 16th, at The Annex, 152 Orchard St (between Stanton and Rivington). They're on at 11pm. You can order a copy of the album online at InSound or download it on iTunes. It's called "Way Past Used," and it's about time it came out. To hear clips, check out their website and myspace.

Now serving lunch!

2006-11-02T18:12:00.000-05:00

The restaurant has opened! We're only serving lunch now, while we wait for our liquor license, but man oh man everyone has been waiting so long for this. Strangely enough, I really like this job. I like the new restaurant (it's so pretty), I like the location, I like our customers, I like my coworkers, and I love the food! Sometimes I complain about going in, but once I get there, it's great! And I get to practice my Japanese lots! Once we have the grand opening, everyone in the city must come by and try.

Fun in the kitchen

2006-10-20T23:26:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I made chicken curry for the fourth time. The second time was the best still, but I think I'm getting closer to producing quality consistently. I also made dal, which turned out just fine. Sometimes I judge the salt wrong, but not as often these days.

My chicken curry is a bit of a variation on Mother's. We buy a family pack of drumsticks normally, approximately 5 lbs. I'll use about half that at once. Darren likes the skin and I don't, so I pull the skin down and leave it hanging off the bone. Then I cut four slashes in the meat, make it easier to soak in seasoning and cook through. Salt, cumin, turmeric, crushed red chili - rubbed in, then refrigerated while I prepare the rest. First I chop up garlic, then ginger root, and I cut baby carrots into quarters. (The carrots were an accident - we didn't have potatoes the first time I did it in my apartment, and then they turned out well, so I just keep doing it.) I pour some oil into a pan, throw on some mustard seeds, whole dried red chilis, and a some more crushed red chilis. Once it gets hot and starts popping, I cover with a lid for a few minutes. Once it's settled down, I remove the lid and add the garlic and ginger. As the garlic roasts, I throw on the carrots, sprinkle some cumin over them and let them simmer a bit. I add the chicken and turn it periodically. It's normally a pretty tight fit in our pan, but it seems to work well enough. When the chicken is mostly done, I add about a cup or cup and a half of water then cover. This time the flavour didn't permeate the chicken properly, but it was so soft it was falling off the bone, which I liked. And the carrots and sauce were delicious.

Today I experimented some more. Added cumin, black pepper, a tiny bit of turmeric, and squeezed half a lime into the rice before turning on the rice cooker. I'd seasoned rice in the rice cooker once with success at Ueda-sensei's apartment two summers ago. I think I used fennel and such then. This time the lime overwhelmed everthing else. Bad if you don't like sour things as much as I do. :-(

I skinned and slashed the rest of the family pack of chicken same as always. Then mixed up some "Caribbean Jerk Seasoning" that Darren keeps in stock with a bit of soy sauce, vinegar and squeezed in half a juice orange. The other half of the orange I sliced thinly. After dipping each drumstick in the caribbean concoction, I laid each on a slice of orange then covered it with another slice. Poured the remaining caribbean stuff on top, then refrigerated for 20 minutes before putting in the oven, which had been set at 350, for 1.5 hr. It turned out pretty well. Cooked through and still moist. Basically it tasted like the caribbean seasoning with a subtle (and pleasant, I thought) hint of orange. The orange slices soaked in caribbean seasoning were a little weird though. I was pretty satisfied with it. I'm not a huge fan of chicken - it's either tasteless or dry or overwhelmed with seasoning, but this was a decent balance.

The best part of the meal was the potatoes though. One day at Brett's house, I happened to see part of TLC's "Take Home Chef," in which the Take Home Chef did something sort of like this: I boiled half a dozen small potatoes then sliced into coins and removed the skins. In a pan I heated oil, laid out a layer of potatoes flat. I sprinkled on salt, crushed red chili, and a tiny bit of turmeric. After they browned on one side, I flipped them and sprinkled parsley flakes on top. They were really really good. Darren was eating them about as fast as I was making them at first. :-)

I'm too lazy to learn recipes and stuff, but it's kind of fun to just go to the fridge and see what can happen. Relaxing too. And this way I experiment on Darren before putting anyone else at risk. ;-P

Me?

2006-10-19T20:30:00.000-04:00

Found this quiz on Ri'chan's livejournal. Hers seemed pretty reasonable. Not sure about mine. I'm not nearly that cool, right?

Which Classic Story Role Do You Play?

- You Are The Outlaw
"Sure, I'll do it. My way."

Just because you do not conform to the same laws and rules as everyone else does not mean that you are a bad guy. You travel your own path, separate from those around you, with your own reasons for doing what you do. Because of this and your own nature, it goes without saying that you are generally misunderstood. That does not matter much, though, as people love you for being who you are. You are pretty well set in your ways and have no real intention of changing. This can come across as a flicker of arrogance if your not careful. You do what is right for you, and God help anyone who stands in your way.
Take this quiz!

Quizilla |
Join

| Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

Cornell

2006-10-19T17:57:00.000-04:00

So last weekend, the 13th - 15th, I went to Ithaca to visit Ryan at Cornell - specifically, to go to his Glee Club's Homecoming concert. I'd "listened" to him on im from Japan for the past year talk about Glee Club, so before I even knew I'd be back, I'd said I'd go to the concert this year. So Friday afternoon, I packed my bags (complete with yukata for Julia) and took a train east to New Haven, Connecticut. Lev (whose a grad student at Yale) met me at the train station, where we soon learned that Julia's bus from Boston (where she's working this year while applying to med school) was late. By the time we picked Julia up from the station, it was 9:30 pm. Luckily Lev, even (or especially) when sick, drives like a man possessed. We made it to Ithaca in four hours. Picked Ryan up with sleeping bags at the CS department, walked around campus a bit, went to Ryan's house, hung out, then camped out on Ryan's bedroom floor.

The next day we had bagels and tea from CTB (Collegetown Bagels) before heading back to the CS department where Ryan showed us the systems lab where he works and watches movies with friends. We walked around campus again, much more beautiful in the daylight (particularly in fall, I imagine) and climbed into a gorge. His parents, who had driven up from Princeton, met us there, then treated us to dinner in downtown Ithaca. Then we had to rush Ryan back to campus to change into his tux for the concert. The newly renovated and reopened Bailey Hall is beautiful. It wasn't packed, but apparently the Glee Club concert is right under the football game as a big Homecoming event. There were guest performances by 1966 alum, and they premiered two commissioned pieces. They were good of course, the second half better than the first, but mostly it was great to see Ryan, Julia, and Lev again. And the drive back Sunday afternoon through the fall scenery of upstate New York was amazing. Though we spent as much or more time traveling as we did with Ryan in Ithaca, it was worth it. I only wish Lev had let me do some of the driving. He was so sick and exhausted, I felt really bad for him.

Oh, also
as we were saying goodbye to Ryan's family after the concert, his dad gave each of us a hug. When it was my turn, I said "Bye, Dr. Peterson," and he brusquely said "Larry." *sheepish* I know so many professors who want to be called by their first names, but I don't know. Somehow I'm just so uncomfortable with it. As my elders and mentors, I want to use a term of respect. I suppose you could argue that it would be more respectful to do as they ask, but I just can't get over it. Especially when they're the parents of my friends. Friends' parents since childhood have always been "Mr." and "Ms." and I just can't do it any other way. Part of the way I was raised? Part of our culture? Or maybe I just think it's more romantic.

By the way

2006-10-12T12:46:00.000-04:00

My sister got engaged 5 October. She called me the next (Friday) morning, twice I missed the call. Finally I heard the news from her Friday evening.

We're all very excited. :-)

Hello

2006-10-05T12:04:00.000-04:00

So the test is over. It went well. Lab is not going so well. It's possibly the worst course I have *ever* taken. No guidance whatsoever. We aren't *taught* anything, and then we are penalized for not understanding... not only the material, but also what they want/expect from us. But onto more fun things.

The kittens are growing. Momotaro is looking so mature these days, though still as irresistibly cute as ever. It has also become a bit obvious *ahem* that we need to neuter him soon. Serena is such a little powerhouse. Her body is muscular, her shoulders wide-set; she can jump three times her height. And he little stubby, duck-tail is *so* cute! Especially when it wiggles when she's being petted. heehee :-D Rorschach is such a little cat, as Deepa said when she was here last week, "You know how there are kids who look like miniature adults? That's what Rorschach reminds me of." She has also become very affectionate, especially with Deepa. She followed her around everywhere and was constantly meowing for petting.

so anyway, Pictures!

Rorschach likes to knead one's hair. It actually feels good, like a scalp massage, though if her nose and whiskers are right over your ear it can kind of tickle. :-) It's pretty much the first thing she insists on when Darren gets home from work every evening. And it's about the only time we really hear her purr. She and Darren fell asleep after one such session, and I just had to take a picture. Also, we couldn't figure out for a while why Rorschach always seemed to be wet in the mornings. And then we discovered that, as soon as one of us gets out of the shower, she likes to run into the tub and play with the water droplets.

And unrelated to the kittens, we have a hilarious posed picture of Darren at work in a three-piece suit and Darren cleaning off the huge bone of the bulk pork shoulder we got from Fresh Direct.

We've taken some (low quality) videos of the kittens with my camera too. As soon as I can figure out how, I plan to post them on youtube. I know you can't wait! =^..^= But for now, enjoy these...

Leshanah Tovah!

2006-09-24T15:16:00.000-04:00

Had my first Rosh Hashanah celebration on Long Island with Brett's family. Lots and lots and lots of food. Still here digesting. We may try to come back out in a week for Yom Kippur as well, especially if we can make it to temple. I'm excited to do all the high holidays. :-) Oh and I had my first Gefilte Fish last night too! (Not as good as chopped liver.)

In other news, Momotaro has been at the vet's since this past Tuesday. He'd been limping for a couple days. We thought maybe he just twisted it while playing, but when it didn't get better, we decided to do something about it. We took him to the vet of the woman who runs the adoption agency. After a preliminary exam, the doctor suggested x-rays. He guessed it was a dislocated hip and a chronic problem, but to be sure and to determine treatment he'd need x-rays. So he stayed the night and the next morning they took x-rays. They discovered that it wasn't a dislocated hip but an old femural fracture. So while he was anesthetized, they took him into surgery. Cut off the top part of the bone, polished it down to fit in the socket, etc etc. He's been at the vet's ever since, on pain medication and antibiotics. Last I heard he was doing fine and already standing up, though not with his full weight on the leg. I'm glad we caught it, as it would be a chronic problem. (And don't worry, as a pre-existing condition, the adoption agency pays for all this.) I'm hopeful that when all this is over (they suspect the lump on his side happened at the same time that his leg was fractured and toe tendons broken, so they may inspect that when they neuter him, in case it's an intestine jutting through the abdominal wall or something), he'll be like a brand new kitty. All ready to run and jump and do all the kitten things he loves to do. I can't wait.

That's all for now. Happy New Year everyone!

Internet arrived

2006-09-15T10:12:00.000-04:00

After a lot of fuss and frustration (mostly with Verizon Online... I do *not* recommend them), we finally have internet in the apartment (Roadrunner). Therefore, you should be hearing from me a lot more often.

My classes started last week. The lecture's pretty good, though it's often difficult to hear the professor (and I sit in the front of the class). Though lecture starts at 10:35, I leave home around 9 (and arrive around 10) to ensure that I get a seat near the front. It's my first experience in a class of this size with students of this type (i.e. pretty much everyone is premed and fighting over seats at the front). I've met some other postbacc students (all female) who seem nice as well. Our first exam is September 27th, over just the first three chapters. I'm on top of assignments so far, but want to do lots of extra work. I really feel that there is no reason/excuse for me to get less than an A in this class.

The professor is really cute in that nerdy way that I love. The notes in his slides (referring to the fact that equal volumes of gas contain equal numbers of particles as "Amazing!") and little side videos he adds in (a Star Wars themed story of the Big Bang and birth of the elements, the Periodic Table of Elements song) I find so amusing. Love it. :-) And the Chemistry itself is also fun. I'd forgotten how cool it was. And I'm so impressed by how much I used to know. I've forgotten most of it now, but I used to have a lot of it memorized... back in high school. Really sort of makes me wish I'd done this premed stuff right away... but then I wouldn't have had time at Princeton for either Computer Science or East Asian Studies, and I enjoyed both. No regrets.

I'm still training for the restaurant opening in midtown. Last night I received an email saying it should open October 4th (yeah, originally it was supposed to open September 1st). There have been various problems, and all the trainees are frustrated... some of them have been training since late July/early August, and now we'll be getting paid training wages and given shifts only 2 or 3 days a week until October. I don't mind the hours so much as I'm only supposed to be part-time, but I would appreciate full tips. Anyway, I went to help set up at the new location last week, and I think it's going to be really beautiful. It's at 50th and 3rd Ave in a complex called "Crystal Pavilion." It's pretty much all windows and skylights, and one of the entrances is via a narrow staircase, which really reminds me of Tokyo. I'm excited. I've been enjoying the work a lot. It's challenging in its own way, and I think I'm already learning how to interact with people of many different varieties in a way I never would have imagined before. Obviously this will be key for future clinical situations.

the BEST news!!

2006-08-30T20:49:00.000-04:00

We have kittens!
When we decided to live together, one of the first things Darren asked me was "Can we get kittens?" We planned to get two, and I looked at a lot of listings online of various shelters and adoption agencies in the area. It took a lot of headache-y research and phone calls and visits and waiting, but now they're finally home! In the end we couldn't pick just two...u8i2211111134wwwwwww (<-- that's one of them walking across my keyboard) So here they are!

Rorschach is our tortoise-shell. (Did you know almost all, including Rorschach, tortoise-shells / calicos are female?) She's the biggest of the three and slightly older. In the beginning she was a bit of a bully. She'd hiss and swipe but would run away as soon as the other kitten turned toward her. So I guess a wimpy bully. :-) She's the epitome of Cat - graceful, athletic, sleek, a little standoff-ish. She also seems to be quite bright, and she's very good at standing on her hind legs. When playing she'll just dance around on them or sit back on her haunches, and use her two front paws to bat at whatever toy we're waving in front of her. She was also the most active when she first came home. We joked it was a good thing we got two kittens for Rorschach. If we got too tired, she could play with them. And then when they got too tired, she was good at entertaining herself. She's calmed down quite a bit now; we suspect because of the rainy, gloomy weather.

Momotaro arrived Wednesday, August 23, with Rorschach. A little black and white male with a cold at the moment, he *loves* to be loved. He meows and meows for attention. Sometimes I carry him around on one shoulder while I do stuff around the apartment just to get him to be quiet. I sort of think we should get him one of those baby backpacks to hold him nestled against the stomach. He's the smallest of the bunch, but likes to get rough with the others. He wouldn't take any of Rorschach's crap in the beginning, and now they're good buddies. He's also phenomenally lazy. He'll chase around a toy for a little while, but then he'll settle down on the floor and wait for it to come to him. His style of playing is lying on his back and holding the toy to his chest and face with his front paws. Momotaro is also very trusting. You can turn him in any direction, touch him anywhere, play with his paws and make him "dance," and he just takes it, looking up at you like you're the most wonderful person in the world the whole time.

Serena, our little grey tabby, arrived Thursday, August 24th. When she was found all alone in a subway station, her tail had been stripped of hair and the nerves were dead. The woman from whom we adopted her took Serena to her vet where he amputated the tail. With the stubby tail and her narrow shoulders and high rump and powerful back legs, Serena reminds me very much of a rabbit. She also has a round little belly that loves to be rubbed. She's the most active right now and also eats the most. We suspect she was a feral kitten. When she arrived, terrified, she slinked around with her belly low to the ground and hid in whatever tight, dark spaces she could find. She also takes more interest in the mouse toys than the others and likes to grab things with her mouth. She can also jump three feet in the air and tries to climb everything (including the door frame). She's a little skittish, but once you get a hold of her, she really gets into the petting.

I love these three little guys. It's a lot of fun to watch them interact and discover their individual (and very different) personalities every day. But watching them also makes me miss Tigger a lot. Guess he'll always be my favourite kitty. Is that so bad?

Quick! Before I lose the connection!

2006-08-26T04:11:00.000-04:00

We don't have internet in our apartment yet (we've been using very weak stolen wireless), which is one of the reasons I haven't been updating. Lots of people keep asking if I will keep updating, and I guess the answer is: as long as y'all are reading and expecting updates, I will try to keep updating.

Exciteen new developments:

I have a job or two. One as a waitress at Gyu-Kaku, a Japanese yakiniku grill-your-own-food restaurant. They're opening a new restaurant in Midtown East next month and are training a whole new staff at the old location in East Village. The food looks fabulous, and I'm really excited about the job. We'll see if I can pull it off! Once things are up and rolling, I expect every one of my friends and family in the New York area to check it out (and tip well :-P ).

My other job will start in a month or so. I'll be working for some people at the Columbia Medical Science Pavilion. I'm just building a webpage, but hopefully it will result in some good contacts and references and maybe a more exciteen medical/lab-type job in the future.

And yes! I moved into my apartment with Darren. A trip to Ikea, another to Bed, Bath & Beyond, several to local dollar stores and we're pretty much set up. Darren had a massive blister from putting together Ikea furniture the first day. I still need a desk and a vacuum, but I'm feeling pretty comfortable as is.

A not-so-thorough update

2006-08-05T11:18:00.000-04:00

In NY. After a crazy flight (most of which was spent sitting on the runway while LaGuardia was shut down), the wedding in Michigan last weekend was good. Arden was the star, an incredibly adorable and good-natured baby. She'd get cranky at times, but on the whole she kept going as long as we did. The day after Brett and I returned to Queens, I went up to Columbia to meet my advisor. An agonizing, frustrating two days. It's not over, but I'm not thinking about it for the moment. Today we're meeting Jodi, Owen, and cousin Jenna for a day at Coney Island. There's a sand-sculpting competition apparently. I signed a lease for my apartment but have not moved in yet. Sorry, Darren. I'm hoping my boxes arrive soon so I can just move everything at once. They still seem to be on the boat though. The last they were heard of was the port in Japan. *sigh* Presents for friends in those boxes too, so I hope they arrive soon.

Flying again

2006-07-26T08:34:00.000-04:00

Off to New York today in this very stormy weather. Just saw Tigger off to the vet. Still no bowel movement, so they'll be giving him an enema. He'll probably be there over night. Not quite the state I want to leave Tigger in, but at least he's doing much better than before. Will eventually adjust the time settings on the blog, but for now there are other things to worry about.

Tigger's condition

2006-07-24T00:11:00.000-04:00

So
It's been 12 days of up and down with Tigger. When we brought him home the 11th he weighed about 11 lbs (he weighed 13 lbs when my parents dropped him off at the vet's Jun 28th). On the 11th the hope was that he would recover more rapidly in the familiar, comfortable, loving environment at home. I syringe fed him high-protein food twice a day and tried different combinations of dry food, canned food, and treats in his bowl to entice him to keep attempting the arduous task of feeding himself. Half of what we would put in his bowl would end up on the floor because 1) he would lick it so hard around the plate it would just fall off and 2) half of what he did manage to pick up wouldn't stay in his mouth. Kitty, the assistant at the office who had cared for him most while he boarded, told us he hadn't had a bowel movement in his last couple days there, so we kept an eye on his litter box as well. The first two days were good.

And then it got not so good: very little eating and drinking, lack of interest in food, no poop in the litter box since the 13th. My sister arrived the 19th and immediately noticed that he doesn't respond to his name. His spine and hip bones jut out, and he no longer grooms himself. That night and all the next day he followed the two of us everywhere. We cuddled and petted and tried to feed him continuously, and he even struggled up and down the stairs after us. At one point she and I were in different rooms downstairs. He climbed the stairs by himself, then suddenly we heard this terrible wailing sound. I raced up the stairs, my sister on my heels, and found him on the old sofa upstairs. He looked at us innocently, quite pleased, and we laughed, thinking he had just been whining for attention/company.

But then that night, after my sister put him in his room and went to bed, he cried on and off all night long. I was upstairs on the other side of the house, but his cries were so loud they woke me. My parents finally awoke for work and let him out of his room, but he continued to cry. Finally at 7, I took him to my bedroom and petted and slept with him for 2 hours. Then my dad and I drove him back to the vet's, 5 hours before his scheduled follow-up. They weighed him again to find he'd lost almost another pound in his week at home. Dr. Resell tried to palpate his stomach, but when Tigger tried to bite him (Tigger *never* behaves like that), he decided it might be worth x-rays. So we left him there and returned to the house to wait for their phone call.

Around 5pm we called the vet. Dr. Resell told my father that the x-rays were unusual, and they suspected there was a mass in his abdomen (unrelated to his bowels) that caused him pain. He said that left us with two options, and we as a family should discuss it. The whole house was in a gloom. I cried on and off for the rest of the day. Tigger's the equivalent of 90 yrs old. He's not young by any means, but he's always been in excellent health so this - the idea of a mass that had been growing in his abdomen for some time - came as quite a shock to us. But obviously we didn't want him to be in pain, and the idea of extra treatment or surgery or living on pain killers... well that's not such a pleasant way to live either, is it? I suppose the tentative plan was to bring him home for us to love and spoil for a few more days and then... well, you know... on Tuesday, before I leave. If that's what has to happen, I want to be here with him for it.

But the next morning when I called the vet, Dr. Resell said he was no longer convinced about the mass in Tigger's abdomen. Tigger no longer struggled when Dr. Resell palpated him and Dr. Resell couldn't feel anything anymore. So what pained Tigger that night and what caused him to lose his appetite is a mystery. But as a result we decided to stick it out a few more days. If we can get him eating and pooping again, if the pain doesn't come back, the doctor thinks there's no reason Tigger can't live to 16 or 17. (Incidentally, Dr. Resell said it would be 15 years exactly on Thursday since he first saw Tigger as a 2 lb, ~2 month old kitten.)

So he's back home. He doesn't move very far from the little hallway near the kitchen, and he still hasn't had a bowel movement, but he is definitely making a valiant effort to eat. Since we brought him from the vet yesterday afternoon, we've made it through a 12 oz can of StarKist chunk light tuna in spring water. A good deal of it ended up on the floor, yes, but I think most of it is inside him. It's not the most nutritious food, but we don't care right now. Whatever it takes to get him to eat.

The whole family is anxious and completely absorbed in Tigger's progress. We can't sleep at night for worrying and praise him repeatedly and loudly whenever he eats. There is almost always someone sitting or lying on the floor with him, watching him sleep. My mother has even gone so far as to pet him with her hand. My sister is learning to syringe feed and medicate him.

The eating offers us a glimmer of hope, but we're not out of the woods yet, especially as I leave the 26th and my sister the 30th. So positive thoughts please... let's all hope he poops.

Quick update

2006-07-13T11:59:00.000-04:00

Back in Texas. It's about 11am on the 13th. We arrived late afternoon on the 11th. I guess I'll keep blogging as long as people keep reading. Am here (in Texas) until the 26th. My sister arrives the 19th and Jonathan flies down the 23rd.

The trip with my parents was good, but the big news is that Tigger (our 15 yr old cat) had a mild stroke while we were away, either on the 29th or 30th. It seems to have affected his motor skills mainly. Luckily we board him at the vet's, so they were able to give him extra attention - gave him antiobiotics and steroids and handfed him and injected fluids under the skin. They said the first day he wasn't able to stand up without falling over, and for a while he couldn't eat - couldn't judge where his food was and couldn't get his face to it. He's much improved now (about 80% said the one who took care of him over the past two weeks), but still quite wobbly. His third eyelid on his right eye is also partially closed all the time and the pupil doesn't seem to dilate properly. When he shakes his head hard, he often falls over. He tries to eat by himself now, but I think whatever muscle control he's lost extends to his mouth. We've raised the bowls on a shoebox so he doesn't have to bend over and lose his balance, but he splatters food and can't even finish a handful at a time. He's lost quite a bit of weight. He always used to like to be escorted to his food bowl, but now he seems to do even better if someone stays with him the whole time, petting and talking to him - maybe for moral support.

I was hoping to get to Austin while I'm in Texas - mainly to see Fuji, maybe visit Jodi and Arden too, but with Tigger in this state someone really needs to be with him all day to make sure he eats and cuddle with him. I may try to get up there after my sister arrives.

I got into the postbacc programs at NYU and Columbia, and I'm leaning toward Columbia - not only because it's a well-established program, but also because they sent me a whole package of information (by FedEx no less), including Financial Aid info and the like... unlike the one page I received from NYU. It just seems clear that Columbia will take better care of me.

Am behind on email and such, so if you wrote me in the past two weeks and I haven't replied yet, I apologize. Will get back to you soon, I promise.

Love in Tokyo

Back

Instant gratification

Books!

Innocence can be lost

Things I want to do this year

Whew!

Home Sweet New York

33. Kentucky

Overdue update

Five days a week

No more studying!

Done!

Race for the finish

Another tragic loss

Happy Pesach!

Night Guard

Happy Bihu!*

The best laid plans

Dis-ordered sleep

I didn't get in

Shaken

We're captive on the carousel of time.

夢

Spent

Not even 25 yet

31. Ohio

On the road

28. Washington D.C.

27. Colorado

V-day

Tired

What now?

Getting back on track

26

Sleepless nights

23. Oklahoma

The List

Back

Holiday!!

One down

Catching up

20. Vermont

Gotta Catch 'em All

Back

Updated license plate list

Misc

What?!

A funny thing happened on the way to the Coliseum

Harold (viewer discretion advised)

The End of an Era

Alaskan Cruise

Provincetown, MA

*Whew*

Gyu-love!

Aces

Chao Thai

Sushi in NYC

Oh!

Relief

Quick update

Hectic

Sunny California

Japanese Restaurant Week

In heat

Dreams

P'ton & B'day

Tired and annoyed, among other things

Test tomorrow

Pictures from The Engagement Party

Sha la la

Killing time

Happy Birthday, Ba!

I thought I outgrew it.

Wine and hormones

On the street

Jean Genie

Back

So excited!

Nile Deli

Whew