nearing that which we paid in high school.
*******************
Cynthia Wang's iPhone
cynthiawang@nyu.edu
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Unbelievable!
I just filled my near-empty tank for less than $25. Gas prices are
nearing that which we paid in high school.
nearing that which we paid in high school.
Friday, December 19, 2008
The heart and soul of the Scoobies
As most of you know, I'm a huge fan of Buffy. I wrote Buffy into I think 4 or 5 papers this semester. Anyway, I've been doing something I haven't done in about 4 years - I'm watching all of Buffy again, but I'm doing it in reverse, starting with Season 7. It's amazing that even after so many years, Buffy still speaks to me, and, if possible, I feel even more profoundly about the characters and their situations today than I did back in college.
I just finished Into the Woods, the episode where Riley leaves, and Xander just has some beautiful lines at the end of it. This is from show transcript.
XANDER: (angrily) If you don't wanna hear what I have to say, I'll shut up right now.
BUFFY: Good, 'cause I don't.
Then, the second to last scene (after Riley flies away) - Xander and Anya...
XANDER: I've gotta say something...'Cause ... I don't think I've made it clear. I'm in love with you. Powerfully, painfully in love. The things you do ... the way you think ... the way you move ... I get excited every time I'm about to see you. You make me feel like I've never felt before in my life. Like a man. (Pause. He shrugs uneasily) I just thought you might wanna know.
And the scene after Dawn realizes that she's not a Potential in Season 7...
They'll never know how tough it is, Dawnie, to be the one who isn't chosen. To live so near to the spotlight and never step in it. But I know. I see more than anybody realizes because nobody's watching me. I saw you last night. I see you working here today. You're not special. You're extraordinary.
I just finished Into the Woods, the episode where Riley leaves, and Xander just has some beautiful lines at the end of it. This is from show transcript.
XANDER: (angrily) If you don't wanna hear what I have to say, I'll shut up right now.
BUFFY: Good, 'cause I don't.
XANDER: I lied. See, what I think, you got burned with Angel, then Riley shows up.
BUFFY: I know the story, Xander.
XANDER: But you miss the point. You shut down, Buffy. And you've been treating Riley like the rebound guy. When he's the one that comes along once in a lifetime. (Buffy looks dismayed) He's never held back with you. He's risked everything. And you're about to let him fly because you don't like ultimatums? If he's not the guy, if what he needs from you just isn't there, (shakes head) let him go. Break his heart, and make it a clean break. But if you really think you can love this guy ... I'm talking scary, messy, no-emotions-barred need ... if you're ready for that ... then think about what you're about to lose.
Then, the second to last scene (after Riley flies away) - Xander and Anya...
XANDER: I've gotta say something...'Cause ... I don't think I've made it clear. I'm in love with you. Powerfully, painfully in love. The things you do ... the way you think ... the way you move ... I get excited every time I'm about to see you. You make me feel like I've never felt before in my life. Like a man. (Pause. He shrugs uneasily) I just thought you might wanna know.
And the scene after Dawn realizes that she's not a Potential in Season 7...
DAWN
What's up?
XANDER
Aw, I'm just thinking about the girls. It's a harsh gig, being a potential. Just being picked out of a crowd, danger, destiny, plus if you act now, death.
DAWN
They can handle it.
XANDER
Yeah. They're special, no doubt. The amazing thing is, not one of them will ever know, not even Buffy.
DAWN
Know what?
XANDER
How much harder it is for the rest of us.
DAWN
No way. They've got—
XANDER
Seven years, Dawn. Working with the slayer. Seeing my friends get more and more powerful. A witch. A demon. Hell, I could fit Oz in my shaving kit, but come a full moon, he had a wolfy mojo not to be messed with. Powerful. All of them. And I'm the guy who fixes the windows.
DAWN
Well, you had that sexy army training for a while, and—and the windows really did need fixing.
XANDER
I saw what you did last night.
DAWN
Yeah, I— I guess I kinda lost my head when I thought I was the slayer.
XANDER
You thought you were all special. Miss Sunnydale 2003. And the minute you found out you weren't, you handed the crown to Amanda without a moment's pause. You gave her your power.
DAWN
The power wasn't mine.
They'll never know how tough it is, Dawnie, to be the one who isn't chosen. To live so near to the spotlight and never step in it. But I know. I see more than anybody realizes because nobody's watching me. I saw you last night. I see you working here today. You're not special. You're extraordinary.
At least NU shoveled the snow for us...
It's so nasty here today that weather.com doesn't even have a proper name for it. They're calling it "wintry mix", which sounds less like weather and more like a snack food. Like Chex Mix.
My boots are leaking. I need new boots. I haven't gotten a pair of new boots since I bought those two freshman year at NU. And from the looks of it, I'll need a pretty hefty pair here. Northwestern would shovel the snow for us. They don't do that here, so much of the time you're slushing through half-melted snow which turns into Lake New York at each intersection.
It is beautiful though.
My boots are leaking. I need new boots. I haven't gotten a pair of new boots since I bought those two freshman year at NU. And from the looks of it, I'll need a pretty hefty pair here. Northwestern would shovel the snow for us. They don't do that here, so much of the time you're slushing through half-melted snow which turns into Lake New York at each intersection.
It is beautiful though.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Response to last post
I received a comment from someone named "Tammy" on my last blog, and would like to respond, and appreciate her (I'm assuming Tammy is a her) for righteously kicking my seemingly discompassionate and arrogant arse.
Here's her response:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I was looking through blogs about street musicians and came upon yours.
After reading it, I developed the same reactions as you claimed to have experienced after hearing the man ply his trade. Yes, ply his trade, because I have run into street musicians like him before, and instead of rushing by I have actually conversed with them. None of them would have been there if they did not have to. The winter wind gives them chronic joint troubles that eventually develop into arthritis, the passersby can spit and curse at them, and yet they keep up. That is not because the petty humiliations inflicted upon them by people like you, who rush by with annoyance and contempt writ clear across your face, are too sophisticated for lowly, untalented beings like them to appreciate. No. It's because they need the money. Between impoverishment and begging, and doing something so that their dignity is a little better off, this is the choice they made.
And for all the time it took you to write an entry that offers up the misery of these people as amusement to your friends and acquaintances, I suggest you give this person $5 and ask him to take a rest indoors. That way, you would get rid of an offense to your ears while unintentionally bestow a token of kindness on a cold night.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I'd have to say first, thank you for writing a very scathing response to my blog, which caused a very humbling emotion within me - I'm not going to defend what I said, because I wrote it at the spur of the moment, and probably should not have been published at all. I guess I just assume no one actually reads anything I post - hence, the illusion of privacy online, which is sorely misplaced. I will, however, try to explain my thoughts on this, and hopefully give whoever actually DOES read my blog faith that I'm not a horrible person at the core.
I admit, I do feel uncomfortable around those who are drastically less fortunate than I, and being in New York City after spending most of my life in nice white picket fence suburbs and college campuses, I probably don't have the street smarts to interact comfortably and easily with them. This does not mean I lack compassion for them, however, nor do I feel contempt for them, as Tammy suggests, though I can see how my blog may have been read in that way.
A little bit in my defense, I think Tammy makes a couple huge unfair and incorrect assumptions about me in her response. I did not, physically or otherwise, inflict any humiliations upon him or anyone else I have encountered - that's just wrong. I simply walked past. I can see, though, that Tammy may see ignoring them, then blogging about it, as inflicting humiliation. I'll expand more on my thoughts on that in my next paragraph. I give money regularly to street musicians in subways and around the city, knowing that even if I can't necessarily afford to do it TOO often, they need it more. I, too, have conversed with many a street musician. There was one that was always at the street corner where I lived, and giving him a couple dollars walking home became routine. My blog post was supposed to be my private inner thoughts I felt I could freely share, just on how I was feeling at that particular moment. I realize, though, that my blog is not a private journal, and I should screen what gets published. I see what Tammy is saying, however, in that even thinking these thoughts, or feeling these feelings of elitism is a social problem - that people like me think this way about those less fortunate than us. I get it.
I think, really, there are two different issues at play here. One is my snobbery for music, which I admit, is elite, and probably drilled into me from a very early age. I can't help what I feel, and my blog was how I felt - merely about the music itself. I suppose I treated the blog the same way I would critique and share my thoughts about a bad play or film I saw, or a bad concert I went to, separate from the socio-economic implications of the situation. The other is questioning my compassion for those less fortunate than I, and the means by which they subsist. I blogged about the first issue. Tammy attacked me for the second. Perhaps my mistake here is not making a clear separation between the two. Perhaps Tammy does not think they are mutually exclusive, and perhaps my mistake was feeling that they could be. For that, I apologize.
I feel my inadequacies to enter into conversation with those who have lives drastically different than mine most acutely at work - I tutor at an inner city high school. I remember the first day I went to class, and left completely disheartened that these kids will ever care about bettering their lives through education. I went home and wrestled with the question of whether I wanted to continue working there. I could find a financial aid job anywhere else, and one that does not put me in positions of potential physical harm or sexual harassment (both have happened), or just plain constant discomfort. I decided to stick with it - on one hand, in an admittingly self-serving way to learn from this experience and develop myself personally; but on the other, to hopefully gain an understanding of those who have lives completely different than mine so I can enter into a dialogue with them. Ultimately, I stay because it would break my heart to walk away.
I don't want these kids to end up like the man in the subway station. Undoubtedly, and very unfortunately, several of them will. What I feel for them is never contempt, but heartbreak. And I'm very sorry that my blog post may have misrepresented that.
Here's her response:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I was looking through blogs about street musicians and came upon yours.
After reading it, I developed the same reactions as you claimed to have experienced after hearing the man ply his trade. Yes, ply his trade, because I have run into street musicians like him before, and instead of rushing by I have actually conversed with them. None of them would have been there if they did not have to. The winter wind gives them chronic joint troubles that eventually develop into arthritis, the passersby can spit and curse at them, and yet they keep up. That is not because the petty humiliations inflicted upon them by people like you, who rush by with annoyance and contempt writ clear across your face, are too sophisticated for lowly, untalented beings like them to appreciate. No. It's because they need the money. Between impoverishment and begging, and doing something so that their dignity is a little better off, this is the choice they made.
And for all the time it took you to write an entry that offers up the misery of these people as amusement to your friends and acquaintances, I suggest you give this person $5 and ask him to take a rest indoors. That way, you would get rid of an offense to your ears while unintentionally bestow a token of kindness on a cold night.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I'd have to say first, thank you for writing a very scathing response to my blog, which caused a very humbling emotion within me - I'm not going to defend what I said, because I wrote it at the spur of the moment, and probably should not have been published at all. I guess I just assume no one actually reads anything I post - hence, the illusion of privacy online, which is sorely misplaced. I will, however, try to explain my thoughts on this, and hopefully give whoever actually DOES read my blog faith that I'm not a horrible person at the core.
I admit, I do feel uncomfortable around those who are drastically less fortunate than I, and being in New York City after spending most of my life in nice white picket fence suburbs and college campuses, I probably don't have the street smarts to interact comfortably and easily with them. This does not mean I lack compassion for them, however, nor do I feel contempt for them, as Tammy suggests, though I can see how my blog may have been read in that way.
A little bit in my defense, I think Tammy makes a couple huge unfair and incorrect assumptions about me in her response. I did not, physically or otherwise, inflict any humiliations upon him or anyone else I have encountered - that's just wrong. I simply walked past. I can see, though, that Tammy may see ignoring them, then blogging about it, as inflicting humiliation. I'll expand more on my thoughts on that in my next paragraph. I give money regularly to street musicians in subways and around the city, knowing that even if I can't necessarily afford to do it TOO often, they need it more. I, too, have conversed with many a street musician. There was one that was always at the street corner where I lived, and giving him a couple dollars walking home became routine. My blog post was supposed to be my private inner thoughts I felt I could freely share, just on how I was feeling at that particular moment. I realize, though, that my blog is not a private journal, and I should screen what gets published. I see what Tammy is saying, however, in that even thinking these thoughts, or feeling these feelings of elitism is a social problem - that people like me think this way about those less fortunate than us. I get it.
I think, really, there are two different issues at play here. One is my snobbery for music, which I admit, is elite, and probably drilled into me from a very early age. I can't help what I feel, and my blog was how I felt - merely about the music itself. I suppose I treated the blog the same way I would critique and share my thoughts about a bad play or film I saw, or a bad concert I went to, separate from the socio-economic implications of the situation. The other is questioning my compassion for those less fortunate than I, and the means by which they subsist. I blogged about the first issue. Tammy attacked me for the second. Perhaps my mistake here is not making a clear separation between the two. Perhaps Tammy does not think they are mutually exclusive, and perhaps my mistake was feeling that they could be. For that, I apologize.
I feel my inadequacies to enter into conversation with those who have lives drastically different than mine most acutely at work - I tutor at an inner city high school. I remember the first day I went to class, and left completely disheartened that these kids will ever care about bettering their lives through education. I went home and wrestled with the question of whether I wanted to continue working there. I could find a financial aid job anywhere else, and one that does not put me in positions of potential physical harm or sexual harassment (both have happened), or just plain constant discomfort. I decided to stick with it - on one hand, in an admittingly self-serving way to learn from this experience and develop myself personally; but on the other, to hopefully gain an understanding of those who have lives completely different than mine so I can enter into a dialogue with them. Ultimately, I stay because it would break my heart to walk away.
I don't want these kids to end up like the man in the subway station. Undoubtedly, and very unfortunately, several of them will. What I feel for them is never contempt, but heartbreak. And I'm very sorry that my blog post may have misrepresented that.
Ode to Bananas
Bananas and I have an interesting relationship. I don't really like them. It might be more accurate to say that I really don't like them. But I eat them a LOT. Especially when I worked for COPE. It was so easy to grab a banana, hop in a car, and sit in meetings for hours and hours. That banana packed a lot of punch and gave me enough energy to last almost the entire day. The perfect snack food until you put it in your bag and put a very heavy book on top of it.
The combination of eating bananas in a car led to some very interesting, albeit somewhat disgusting, experiments. For instance, if you take a banana fiber and leave it on your dashboard for, oh, a few weeks, its appearance doesn't change much, but it becomes as crispy as really thin bacon left too long in a skillet.
And, if you leave a banana peel in your car (on the dash - that's where I usually kept my bananas), well, after a day, it turns black. Completely black. And you get a little high off the fumes as you drive back home in the hot hot southern California sun. They weren't kidding about smoking banana peels...
Bananas are great though. They're full of potassium and other wonderful vitamins that're supposed to do a body good. Like milk. My mom likes to make banana milkshakes too. That should be a secret ingredient for strong, healthy bodies. Anyway. I wonder if you can overdose on too much banana goodness. Cris and I were on our way to Idaho a couple years back, and my mom, being the banana enthusiast she is, packed 4 bananas for me. 4 really big bananas. And Dana and Kim were on the plane with us! But alas, no one would take these 4 bananas off my hands, and I certainly wasn't about to let food go to waste! Especially when it represented my mommy's love for me...and my friends (who refused to take them). So I ate all four of them in about an hour. I swore I wouldn't ever eat bananas again.
But I still eat them from time to time. Even though I don't like them.
The combination of eating bananas in a car led to some very interesting, albeit somewhat disgusting, experiments. For instance, if you take a banana fiber and leave it on your dashboard for, oh, a few weeks, its appearance doesn't change much, but it becomes as crispy as really thin bacon left too long in a skillet.
And, if you leave a banana peel in your car (on the dash - that's where I usually kept my bananas), well, after a day, it turns black. Completely black. And you get a little high off the fumes as you drive back home in the hot hot southern California sun. They weren't kidding about smoking banana peels...
Bananas are great though. They're full of potassium and other wonderful vitamins that're supposed to do a body good. Like milk. My mom likes to make banana milkshakes too. That should be a secret ingredient for strong, healthy bodies. Anyway. I wonder if you can overdose on too much banana goodness. Cris and I were on our way to Idaho a couple years back, and my mom, being the banana enthusiast she is, packed 4 bananas for me. 4 really big bananas. And Dana and Kim were on the plane with us! But alas, no one would take these 4 bananas off my hands, and I certainly wasn't about to let food go to waste! Especially when it represented my mommy's love for me...and my friends (who refused to take them). So I ate all four of them in about an hour. I swore I wouldn't ever eat bananas again.
But I still eat them from time to time. Even though I don't like them.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Don't mean to be mean but...
..there's this Chinese guy who plays er-hu at the 42nd St station who is just AWFUL. And I think in the spirit of the holidays, he plays Jingle Bells. Very badly. And only the chorus. Dude. 5 notes. He swoops on the 4th note of the chorus ("mi"), undoubtedly to make it sound more "ethnic" (vomit - Jingle Bells isn't SUPPOSED to be ethnic), and plays the "fa" an ENTIRE HALF STEP SHARP. Actually, it's worse. It's not QUITE that half step. Dude. And the WORST part about it is how long this horribleness stays in my head. I deliberately try to walk away far enough so I don't hear him anymore.
He's been there every time I've been to that station.
Cringe cringe cringe...
I don't know why this creates such a strong reaction in me...so much so that I feel like mild violence or silent screaming into a pillow whenever I hear it.
He's been there every time I've been to that station.
Cringe cringe cringe...
I don't know why this creates such a strong reaction in me...so much so that I feel like mild violence or silent screaming into a pillow whenever I hear it.
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Songs from a Window interview/performance
I was fiddling with my old iPod today, and found an hour-long podcast interview/performance I did about a year ago for a radio show called Songs from a Window.
Here's how you can get it:
1. Download iTunes
2. Install iTunes
3. Open iTunes
4. Go to "ADVANCED" on top menu
5. Go to "SUBSRCIBE TO PODCAST"
6. Type in this address: www.songsfromawindow.com/lamecast.xml
7. Click on the "Get" button next to "Cynthia Wang"
8. Enjoy!
Here's how you can get it:
1. Download iTunes
2. Install iTunes
3. Open iTunes
4. Go to "ADVANCED" on top menu
5. Go to "SUBSRCIBE TO PODCAST"
6. Type in this address: www.songsfromawindow.com/lamecast.xml
7. Click on the "Get" button next to "Cynthia Wang"
8. Enjoy!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Jawbone
Hmm. I left my jawbone in my car, which would have been fine as my dad
could use it, except I have the charger. Oops.
could use it, except I have the charger. Oops.
*******************
Cynthia Wang's iPhone
cynthiawang@nyu.edu
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Subway
I hate riding the subway when there are so many people that you don't
even have a pole to hold. Becomes an exercise on balancing.... Guess
where I am.... Work those calf muscles!!
even have a pole to hold. Becomes an exercise on balancing.... Guess
where I am.... Work those calf muscles!!
*******************
Cynthia Wang
cynthiawang@nyu.edu
Cynthia is writing to you from her iPhone. Please excuse weird typos
and conciseness.
Tummy
I picked up people magazine at the airport where I discovered that
jennifer aniston has a baby bulge. Why can't it just be because she
might be bloated or just had a large meal?
jennifer aniston has a baby bulge. Why can't it just be because she
might be bloated or just had a large meal?
*******************
Cynthia Wang
cynthiawang@nyu.edu
Cynthia is writing to you from her iPhone. Please excuse weird typos
and conciseness.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
For the love of dogs
Before Sabi, there was Scout. And Charlie.
Between Scout's overprotectiveness, and Charlie thinking he's a lapdog and just draping himself over me, or just having two furry, warm pillows around, I might cry when I see them, I miss them so much.
Is this silly?
Between Scout's overprotectiveness, and Charlie thinking he's a lapdog and just draping himself over me, or just having two furry, warm pillows around, I might cry when I see them, I miss them so much.
Is this silly?
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Back to NC
One of the best vacations I've ever had was visiting Cris in North Carolina last year. And, it's been just about a week or two over a year since I've been there. I'll be there for the last few days of the election (Sunday thru Wednesday), getting out the vote for Obama. And enjoying Mom's cooking and playing with the dogs, I'm sure.
I figure, the other Cynthia (though she calls ME the "other" Cynthia), who can't even vote in this election, is going to her nearest swing state (NV or CO...?) to get out the vote, what's my excuse, when I'm a grad student with a relatively lax and flexible schedule? I just need to look up 12 articles on Facebook while I'm there...
Besides, NC just feels very recuperative. I think I could use that after being burned out by all the midterm-y type of things the last few weeks.
I figure, the other Cynthia (though she calls ME the "other" Cynthia), who can't even vote in this election, is going to her nearest swing state (NV or CO...?) to get out the vote, what's my excuse, when I'm a grad student with a relatively lax and flexible schedule? I just need to look up 12 articles on Facebook while I'm there...
Besides, NC just feels very recuperative. I think I could use that after being burned out by all the midterm-y type of things the last few weeks.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Forensics question
If my fingers are wrinkled and pruned from being in the shower too long, will I leave fingerprints?
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Creepy Facebook...
I just posted on my Facebook status that I "smell like coffee" (because I was just at Think Coffee with Sara earlier today). Suddenly, on my news feed, out pops Tania's status, who is "having a coffee kind of day" (4 hours before my post), and Mikella, who "wishes she had coffee" (two minutes after mine). Note, while Mikella's status may have been a response to mine (though possibly unlikely), I certainly didn't see Tania's status before posting mine. And it certaintly wasn't on my news feed.
Coincidence? Or am I being stalked by the Facebook gods? I guess an easier explanation is that Facebook will push whatever It (yes, I believe It should be capitalized) finds up to visibility on your news feed, so you can find...friends...doing...similar things as you?
Facebook smart? Or Facebook creepy?
Coincidence? Or am I being stalked by the Facebook gods? I guess an easier explanation is that Facebook will push whatever It (yes, I believe It should be capitalized) finds up to visibility on your news feed, so you can find...friends...doing...similar things as you?
Facebook smart? Or Facebook creepy?
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Unexpected Joy
It's been a hard transition to New York. I'm home in LA this weekend for what I'd hoped, and what is turning out, to be a recuperative weekend (NYU thinks we should sit at home on Columbus Day and repent about Western colonization and the horrible things done in the 15th century).
Juliana and I made caramel apples yesterday for Game Night tonight at Casa de Patel. The caramel didn't turn out perfect. We burned it slightly, and when we dipped the apples in, the caramel was still hot, so it blistered on the apple. Not the prettiest caramel apples, but they sure were good, though after trying it out, realized they were probably the worst party food ever. One bite glued your teeth together. We might have overdone it on the caramel bit.
People seemed to enjoy them tonight though. And we played Celebrity and Werewolf, then sat around and watched Chris Rock talk about the only time it's appropriate for a white person to use the word "nigger". My voice is almost completely gone, which might be why I kept getting killed off in Werewolf --- because I was "quiet".
More people than expected showed up - many familiar faces - people I've gotten to know through these game nights, people to whom I may not be very close (and actually some I've only met once or twice), but who are just fun and relaxing to be around. And an unexpected feeling of camraderie in trying to figure out who to kill off next. Or trying to figure out what modern day writer looks like a zombie.
I also met a fellow NU alum tonight. This is rather amazing. She took part in the hunger strike in 95 so that I was able to minor in Asian American Studies in 2000. How small a world.
And tonight was the first time since moving to NYC that I laughed so hard it hurt. And couldn't stop. That felt wonderful.
I've never been a huge fan of LA, as everyone who knows me probably knows. But I've realized, in the 48 hours since I've been home, that it's not the city that makes memories and induces nostalgia - it's the people. Seems like such a duh thing to say at 3 in the morning (plus I'm sure I'm not being too eloquent), but I really didn't expect to enjoy being back in LA as much as I am.
And, for those of us who were on the floor laughing about this....
JUST NECK!
Juliana and I made caramel apples yesterday for Game Night tonight at Casa de Patel. The caramel didn't turn out perfect. We burned it slightly, and when we dipped the apples in, the caramel was still hot, so it blistered on the apple. Not the prettiest caramel apples, but they sure were good, though after trying it out, realized they were probably the worst party food ever. One bite glued your teeth together. We might have overdone it on the caramel bit.
People seemed to enjoy them tonight though. And we played Celebrity and Werewolf, then sat around and watched Chris Rock talk about the only time it's appropriate for a white person to use the word "nigger". My voice is almost completely gone, which might be why I kept getting killed off in Werewolf --- because I was "quiet".
More people than expected showed up - many familiar faces - people I've gotten to know through these game nights, people to whom I may not be very close (and actually some I've only met once or twice), but who are just fun and relaxing to be around. And an unexpected feeling of camraderie in trying to figure out who to kill off next. Or trying to figure out what modern day writer looks like a zombie.
I also met a fellow NU alum tonight. This is rather amazing. She took part in the hunger strike in 95 so that I was able to minor in Asian American Studies in 2000. How small a world.
And tonight was the first time since moving to NYC that I laughed so hard it hurt. And couldn't stop. That felt wonderful.
I've never been a huge fan of LA, as everyone who knows me probably knows. But I've realized, in the 48 hours since I've been home, that it's not the city that makes memories and induces nostalgia - it's the people. Seems like such a duh thing to say at 3 in the morning (plus I'm sure I'm not being too eloquent), but I really didn't expect to enjoy being back in LA as much as I am.
And, for those of us who were on the floor laughing about this....
JUST NECK!
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Tuning
I made a fascinating discovery today in the shower.
While brushing my teeth with my sonic toothbrush and humming "Wish I Could Stay" from the Once More, With Feeling soundtrack (for those of you who are not in the know, it's the Buffy Musical), I hit a note that resonated beautifully with the whir of the dental device in my mouth.
That's right, ladies and gents, my sonic toothbrush vibrates in the key of E.
Of course, not having perfect pitch and all, I had to find that note on my guitar. I'm not like Yvonne - she can hear a car honk and tell you that the horn is blaring an F#.
While brushing my teeth with my sonic toothbrush and humming "Wish I Could Stay" from the Once More, With Feeling soundtrack (for those of you who are not in the know, it's the Buffy Musical), I hit a note that resonated beautifully with the whir of the dental device in my mouth.
That's right, ladies and gents, my sonic toothbrush vibrates in the key of E.
Of course, not having perfect pitch and all, I had to find that note on my guitar. I'm not like Yvonne - she can hear a car honk and tell you that the horn is blaring an F#.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
makes ya think...
- If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're "exotic, different."
- Grow up in Alaska eating moose burgers, a quintessential American story.
- If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.
- Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, you're a maverick.
- Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.
- Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.
- If you spend 3 years as a community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.
- If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.
- If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising two daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.
- If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.
- If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.
- If , while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.
- If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's.
- If you're husband is nicknamed "First Dude", with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Brandi Carlile and Taylors
I love how Brandi Carlile's like the poster child for Taylor Guitars, but uses more Martins. I believe The Story (the album) was recorded on a 1932 Martin that T-Bone Burnett gave her. How awesome is that.
Just a random thought as I'm watching her cover Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" on YouTube. You know, I never thought anyone could cover Johnny Cash, but man, she blows the roof off the theatre.
I never thought anyone could do a fitting cover of Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" either...
Just a random thought as I'm watching her cover Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" on YouTube. You know, I never thought anyone could cover Johnny Cash, but man, she blows the roof off the theatre.
I never thought anyone could do a fitting cover of Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" either...
Sunday, August 10, 2008
I'm American, damnit.
"Where are you from?" asked the guard at the Getty Center.
Juliana, Newton, and I were at the Getty Center doing a scavenger hunt, and I was searching for a clock that was one of the clues.
"Um... Los Angeles," I responded. I could see where this conversation was going and did not like it at all.
"Well, what nationality or ethnicity are you?"
"My nationality is American."
He was getting to see that this was probably a bad idea.
"I mean, what ethnicity?"
I finally fessed up. "Chinese."
"Ni hao!"
Seriously? "Hello...." I said back.
He then told me that he knew how to say hello in 60 languages so he could greet visitors in their native language. Maybe I was being unfair, but I said, "That's great, but you can greet me in English because, you know, American!"
Hadn't encountered something like that in a while, but situations like that tend to bring up the nasty Asian American activist side of me. Boils up to the surface. Maybe I should have responded in Swahili (the guard was of obvious African decent, so it's completely reasonable to assume he speaks Swahili, right?).
Juliana, Newton, and I were at the Getty Center doing a scavenger hunt, and I was searching for a clock that was one of the clues.
"Um... Los Angeles," I responded. I could see where this conversation was going and did not like it at all.
"Well, what nationality or ethnicity are you?"
"My nationality is American."
He was getting to see that this was probably a bad idea.
"I mean, what ethnicity?"
I finally fessed up. "Chinese."
"Ni hao!"
Seriously? "Hello...." I said back.
He then told me that he knew how to say hello in 60 languages so he could greet visitors in their native language. Maybe I was being unfair, but I said, "That's great, but you can greet me in English because, you know, American!"
Hadn't encountered something like that in a while, but situations like that tend to bring up the nasty Asian American activist side of me. Boils up to the surface. Maybe I should have responded in Swahili (the guard was of obvious African decent, so it's completely reasonable to assume he speaks Swahili, right?).
Thursday, August 07, 2008
When you learn how to COPE
You know, when something is such a staple part of your life, for better or worse, it's always going to hurt at least just a little bit when it's gone.
Tomorrow's my last day at COPE. When I started working for COPE almost 4 years ago, it was a completely temporary thing. I was on the set of "Religiously Incorrect", a film I ADed (Assistant Directed) in 2004, when I received a call from a temp agency asking if I was available to meet with a Manager at COPE Partners (COPE's former name) on so and so date. I was actually offered another paid position ADing for a feature film about a bunch of wanna-be celebrities who end up dressed as Superman or other such movie characters on Hollywood Blvd in front of the Chinese Theatre. But I ended up driving around to different post-secondary educational institutions in Ventura County and the surrounding areas, recruiting students to participate in our hospital-based internship at St. John's Regional Medical Center.
Since, I've made lots of friends at COPE, and a few enemies. I've overseen programs in hospitals spanning 90 miles, which sometimes required me to leave home at the crack of dawn to make it to my farthest hospital on time for an 8am meeting. I've laughed, cried, been sleep deprived, fed myself possibly the unhealthiest things known to humans. I've sat in traffic for 4 hours straight, with my bladder about to explode, and that's a typical day. I've had my decisions praised, questioned, ignored, and told to be downright wrong. I've had periods of time where I've worked 16-hr days for an entire month straight (then was berated by my boss for not taking care of myself and told to take a 3-day vacation). I've sat in 3-hour meetings in the morning, then 3-hour meetings the same day in the evening. I've sat in meetings where I didn't know what the point of the meeting was. I've learned a lot...usually from making huge mistakes.
I'm gonna miss it. I'm gonna miss the students I've worked with, the hospital executives and my COPE family who have been nothing but supportive to myself, and to the programs. Sure, I'm going to miss the paycheck too (after all, being a grad student doesn't spell "affluence"), but that's not really the point here is it?
I'm going to have to cut this short for now, because, in true COPE style, I have an 8am meeting tomorrow morning, which means I need to be up in about...oh...5 hours.
Tomorrow's my last day at COPE. When I started working for COPE almost 4 years ago, it was a completely temporary thing. I was on the set of "Religiously Incorrect", a film I ADed (Assistant Directed) in 2004, when I received a call from a temp agency asking if I was available to meet with a Manager at COPE Partners (COPE's former name) on so and so date. I was actually offered another paid position ADing for a feature film about a bunch of wanna-be celebrities who end up dressed as Superman or other such movie characters on Hollywood Blvd in front of the Chinese Theatre. But I ended up driving around to different post-secondary educational institutions in Ventura County and the surrounding areas, recruiting students to participate in our hospital-based internship at St. John's Regional Medical Center.
Since, I've made lots of friends at COPE, and a few enemies. I've overseen programs in hospitals spanning 90 miles, which sometimes required me to leave home at the crack of dawn to make it to my farthest hospital on time for an 8am meeting. I've laughed, cried, been sleep deprived, fed myself possibly the unhealthiest things known to humans. I've sat in traffic for 4 hours straight, with my bladder about to explode, and that's a typical day. I've had my decisions praised, questioned, ignored, and told to be downright wrong. I've had periods of time where I've worked 16-hr days for an entire month straight (then was berated by my boss for not taking care of myself and told to take a 3-day vacation). I've sat in 3-hour meetings in the morning, then 3-hour meetings the same day in the evening. I've sat in meetings where I didn't know what the point of the meeting was. I've learned a lot...usually from making huge mistakes.
I'm gonna miss it. I'm gonna miss the students I've worked with, the hospital executives and my COPE family who have been nothing but supportive to myself, and to the programs. Sure, I'm going to miss the paycheck too (after all, being a grad student doesn't spell "affluence"), but that's not really the point here is it?
I'm going to have to cut this short for now, because, in true COPE style, I have an 8am meeting tomorrow morning, which means I need to be up in about...oh...5 hours.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Detour?
My mom's an accountant for her company, and it's month-end closing time, so the department has been doing a lot of expense audits. There was one that my mom ran across that just had to win the inefficiency award of the decade. (Note, you may need Google maps, or just know Southern CA geography to understand the absurdity of this)
An employee of the company, who lives in Ventura County, had a meeting in Orange County. Rather than simply driving there (which is all of, oh, 90 miles), he booked a flight from LAX to John Wayne...... with a layover in San Francisco. Think about what he had to do, though. He had to drive to LAX from Ventura County, check in, go through security, wait for his flight, hop on a plane, taxi around, take off, fly to San Fran-freakin'-cisco, wait around for the next flight, hop on the next flight, taxi, take off, etc etc, fly BACK down to John Wayne, and rent a car for the duration of his flight.
His journey back is even better. His flight back to LAX mirrored his flight to John Wayne (with the oh-so-convenient layover in San Francisco). However, his flight out of John Wayne got CANCELED.
So. He returned his rental car, rented ANOTHER car, drove it to LAX, returned that car, picked up HIS car, and drove all the way back to Ventura County.
I don't know about you, but I'm impressed.
An employee of the company, who lives in Ventura County, had a meeting in Orange County. Rather than simply driving there (which is all of, oh, 90 miles), he booked a flight from LAX to John Wayne...... with a layover in San Francisco. Think about what he had to do, though. He had to drive to LAX from Ventura County, check in, go through security, wait for his flight, hop on a plane, taxi around, take off, fly to San Fran-freakin'-cisco, wait around for the next flight, hop on the next flight, taxi, take off, etc etc, fly BACK down to John Wayne, and rent a car for the duration of his flight.
His journey back is even better. His flight back to LAX mirrored his flight to John Wayne (with the oh-so-convenient layover in San Francisco). However, his flight out of John Wayne got CANCELED.
So. He returned his rental car, rented ANOTHER car, drove it to LAX, returned that car, picked up HIS car, and drove all the way back to Ventura County.
I don't know about you, but I'm impressed.
Monday, August 04, 2008
Elitist much?
This was an ad I found on facebook:
Join Ozmosis - the exclusive physician only network that allows you to share knowledge with the people you trust - your peers.
Because the rest of us are just schmucks. And physicians are ALWAYS right, and no other health care professional knows what the hell they're doing. This elitist attitude certainly doesn't drive a rift in a patient health care team.
Join Ozmosis - the exclusive physician only network that allows you to share knowledge with the people you trust - your peers.
Because the rest of us are just schmucks. And physicians are ALWAYS right, and no other health care professional knows what the hell they're doing. This elitist attitude certainly doesn't drive a rift in a patient health care team.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Danger
The iPhone is really dangerous. It's the perfect form of distraction so I don't get any work done... and I just spent the last two hours pimping it out so it's now chock full of games, Facebook, Twitter, and other things that just suck up time. Yeesh.
In other news, this dog could be Sabi's brother:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoNDp03udhg
But even this fact, and the Machu Pichu cameo at the beginning, and Piper Perabo, can't even begin to redeem how bad the movie looks.
In other news, this dog could be Sabi's brother:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoNDp03udhg
But even this fact, and the Machu Pichu cameo at the beginning, and Piper Perabo, can't even begin to redeem how bad the movie looks.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Testing from phone
Testing to see if blog will post from here!
*******************
Cynthia Wang
cynthiawang@nyu.edu
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Graphite is NOT wood (or, late-night ramblings on guitars)
I stopped by Guitar Center today after work (mostly to see if the new issue of The Sounding Board - a Martin guitar newsletter - was out yet. It is, but GC didn't have a copy), and naturally ended up in the acoustic corral playing guitars. My happiest discovery today was the Taylor GC8 - a sweet little easy-to-play guitar by Taylor. One of the most distinctive features, other than the concert-sized body, was the slotted headstock. I hadn't played a Taylor with a slotted headstock before. I must have spent a good 10-15 minutes or so playing the GC8.
Then, not wanting to neglect the myriad of other guitars in the corral, I picked up a long-time favorite of mine, the Martin OMC Aura.
There is such a distinct difference between Taylors and Martins. Martins are warm and resonant. Taylors are bold. Andrew and I have a long-standing debate on which are better guitars. Though I would be the first to say that Taylors have concentrated on making their electronics top-notch (which they are - and cosmetic too! There's none of this huge black box on the side deal that you see in most Martins), Martins are truly acoustic-centric and concentrate on the sound. But when you get down to it, it's a different sound, and everyone has different preferences. I, for the life of me, will never understand why anyone would get a Gibson. They just sound tinny to me. Tinny and loud. And these are the ones in the $3,000 range.
The OMC Aura I picked up has an intimacy that lacks in the Taylor. Even my 312CE which I love. I recently started playing Cricket again (he's a Martin 00-16DBM - solid mahogany, smaller, but deep body) after shelving him for the last few months to concentrate on breaking in the Taylor 312CE. It felt a lot like coming home - and made me wonder why I ever stopped playing Cricket. However, I picked up an 000-18 today at GC too. Warm, warm, warm, but no sustain or resonance. I was actually very disappointed (it's not the first time I've played the 000-18, and never really fell in love with it...thank god. The pricetag is $3,000+), since the 000-18 is one of Martin's classic models. Likewise, I have never been overly impressed with the D28 (and HD28) or the D18, which everyone swears by. Maybe I just don't like dreadnoughts.
Ultimately, it's the individual guitar that speaks to a person, and fits a person. Though I love my Taylor, I think I will always prefer playing Cricket.
Near the end of my GC excursion, one of the GC fellows came in and told me to check out the Rainsong graphite guitar. I was rather non-plussed. It's a guitar made all of graphite, so it's lighter, and doesn't warp in extreme weather. Handy for people who live in the desert or very humid places. The price-tag on it was $2,300. The sound was not bad, but all I could think of was, for the same price, a Martin or a Taylor would give you 10 times the sound. Graphite will never be wood.
I'm done rambling. I should sleep.
Then, not wanting to neglect the myriad of other guitars in the corral, I picked up a long-time favorite of mine, the Martin OMC Aura.
There is such a distinct difference between Taylors and Martins. Martins are warm and resonant. Taylors are bold. Andrew and I have a long-standing debate on which are better guitars. Though I would be the first to say that Taylors have concentrated on making their electronics top-notch (which they are - and cosmetic too! There's none of this huge black box on the side deal that you see in most Martins), Martins are truly acoustic-centric and concentrate on the sound. But when you get down to it, it's a different sound, and everyone has different preferences. I, for the life of me, will never understand why anyone would get a Gibson. They just sound tinny to me. Tinny and loud. And these are the ones in the $3,000 range.
The OMC Aura I picked up has an intimacy that lacks in the Taylor. Even my 312CE which I love. I recently started playing Cricket again (he's a Martin 00-16DBM - solid mahogany, smaller, but deep body) after shelving him for the last few months to concentrate on breaking in the Taylor 312CE. It felt a lot like coming home - and made me wonder why I ever stopped playing Cricket. However, I picked up an 000-18 today at GC too. Warm, warm, warm, but no sustain or resonance. I was actually very disappointed (it's not the first time I've played the 000-18, and never really fell in love with it...thank god. The pricetag is $3,000+), since the 000-18 is one of Martin's classic models. Likewise, I have never been overly impressed with the D28 (and HD28) or the D18, which everyone swears by. Maybe I just don't like dreadnoughts.
Ultimately, it's the individual guitar that speaks to a person, and fits a person. Though I love my Taylor, I think I will always prefer playing Cricket.
Near the end of my GC excursion, one of the GC fellows came in and told me to check out the Rainsong graphite guitar. I was rather non-plussed. It's a guitar made all of graphite, so it's lighter, and doesn't warp in extreme weather. Handy for people who live in the desert or very humid places. The price-tag on it was $2,300. The sound was not bad, but all I could think of was, for the same price, a Martin or a Taylor would give you 10 times the sound. Graphite will never be wood.
I'm done rambling. I should sleep.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Google-strong!
Have you looked at your gmail spam box lately? I'm impressed by how well it filters out emails telling me how to enlarge my penis (among other things). I counted about 20 spam emails each day. Thank god for the spam-filter - those things drive me crazy. Another reason to love Google. :)
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
A Vow of Silence
Just because you CAN talk with a sore throat doesn't mean you SHOULD.
I'm learning this the hard way. I spent 2 hours on the phone with AT&T trying to logic with them yesterday why I should get a discounted iPhone (a word of advice for people already with AT&T - check your eligibility before you purchase the iPhone - chances are, you're not "eligible" for an upgrade. Yes that's right. Apple, with all its prior integrity, has very misleading advertising this year. It's a bit depressing...and AT&T don't seem to value loyal customers since they treat their new customers better than their old - when I argued this point, my mom points out that the world is unfair, and that she'll get me an iPhone anyway - did I mention I have the greatest mom in the world?) - and then was given further false information by one of their customer representatives (his name is Cory Z - if you ever get him on the phone......ask for his supervisor and lodge a complaint against him on my behalf. I'll bake you a cookie.)
AT&T did redeem itself today, when I spent about half an hour on the phone with a very nice representative named Kelly, who helped me fix my phone because for some reason, it wasn't calling out or receiving calls.
That being said, I should mention that I've been running a fever the last two days, and think I might be developing laryngitis. My throat is less sore in the mornings, but starts killing me in the evenings - very probably from overuse during the day. Therefore, I've vowed to speak as little as possible over the next couple days to see if the soreness goes away.
Speaking of fever, isn't it interesting what your brain comes up with when altered either by heat or chemicals? I've found that there are two things in life that guarantee weird dreams at night. One is fever (and the delirium that comes with it), and the other is pizza. I think it's something about the mix of cheese and marinara sauce that infuses the brain and brings out really odd dreams. Am I the only one this happens to?
I might still be a bit delirious.
I'm learning this the hard way. I spent 2 hours on the phone with AT&T trying to logic with them yesterday why I should get a discounted iPhone (a word of advice for people already with AT&T - check your eligibility before you purchase the iPhone - chances are, you're not "eligible" for an upgrade. Yes that's right. Apple, with all its prior integrity, has very misleading advertising this year. It's a bit depressing...and AT&T don't seem to value loyal customers since they treat their new customers better than their old - when I argued this point, my mom points out that the world is unfair, and that she'll get me an iPhone anyway - did I mention I have the greatest mom in the world?) - and then was given further false information by one of their customer representatives (his name is Cory Z - if you ever get him on the phone......ask for his supervisor and lodge a complaint against him on my behalf. I'll bake you a cookie.)
AT&T did redeem itself today, when I spent about half an hour on the phone with a very nice representative named Kelly, who helped me fix my phone because for some reason, it wasn't calling out or receiving calls.
That being said, I should mention that I've been running a fever the last two days, and think I might be developing laryngitis. My throat is less sore in the mornings, but starts killing me in the evenings - very probably from overuse during the day. Therefore, I've vowed to speak as little as possible over the next couple days to see if the soreness goes away.
Speaking of fever, isn't it interesting what your brain comes up with when altered either by heat or chemicals? I've found that there are two things in life that guarantee weird dreams at night. One is fever (and the delirium that comes with it), and the other is pizza. I think it's something about the mix of cheese and marinara sauce that infuses the brain and brings out really odd dreams. Am I the only one this happens to?
I might still be a bit delirious.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Reclaiming that which had been lost
Remember how I lost my wallet in Germany a few months ago?
I received a letter from the American Citizen Services in Frankfurt, saying that "[my wallet] had been forwarded to [their] office by the German Authorities."
Miracles do happen.
In other news, a couple months ago, I couldn't find the charger to my Nokia phone. Now that I have the charger, I can't find the phone.
I received a letter from the American Citizen Services in Frankfurt, saying that "[my wallet] had been forwarded to [their] office by the German Authorities."
Miracles do happen.
In other news, a couple months ago, I couldn't find the charger to my Nokia phone. Now that I have the charger, I can't find the phone.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Elusive Pie
Don McLean's "American Pie" was one of the first songs I learned the chords to when I first started playing guitar. 5 years later, however, I still have not *learned* the song. I cannot play it on demand if requested at a show (which....sadly, I have not done in a few months...and probably will not until I have some new material...damnit).
I had wanted to try and complete learning it before I moved to the East Coast...but here I am, and still Pie-less. Perhaps I could have taken the massive amounts of free time I have in New Jersey to learn it...but my cousin lent me all three seasons of Battlestar Galactica, which I am frantically trying to finish before I move to NYC.
Bye bye, Miss American Pie indeed.
I had wanted to try and complete learning it before I moved to the East Coast...but here I am, and still Pie-less. Perhaps I could have taken the massive amounts of free time I have in New Jersey to learn it...but my cousin lent me all three seasons of Battlestar Galactica, which I am frantically trying to finish before I move to NYC.
Bye bye, Miss American Pie indeed.
Monday, June 09, 2008
Google Korean?
Article about SCUP (our pet name for the World Scholar's Cup) from Korea - the article was originally written in Korean.....this is the Google translation:
Korean students study hard enough to surprise. In particular, very good at math. English listening and speaking it well. However, the U.S. universities that emphasize timwokeuna leadership, essay writing always seems to look weak. "
Seukalraseukeop academic world junior championship tournament,'2008 '(YBM Education sponsored) group, organized by the American Skiing live ¼ Buddy demidek Daniel Corp. (33 photos) representative. Bachelor's from Stanford University in the United States, he received a master's degree from Harvard students who had studied together for a year like this. He Seoul English Village from May 31, feeding the camp to attend the two-day event was held.
Ski school and live in a society, Mr. Buddy ¼ Koreans generally met 'impersonations' leadership has neunghana timwokeuna the weak. Good at studies, which together made something that was familiar with. I ate with students and colleagues, exercise, and dormitory life that 'studies outside the classroom' LA importance of wealth in the U.S. college gogyona was inappropriate.
He Korean students studying in the U.S. and dreaming of experience in the world look to sahoena advice. If conditions are allowed in or out of the World Congress, is also good for vacation, said the ability to travel abroad. In addition, a considerable amount of time to read and write in English, encourage investments. Essay University in the United States for seamless communication, especially because it emphasizes the areas.
Korean students study hard enough to surprise. In particular, very good at math. English listening and speaking it well. However, the U.S. universities that emphasize timwokeuna leadership, essay writing always seems to look weak. "
Seukalraseukeop academic world junior championship tournament,'2008 '(YBM Education sponsored) group, organized by the American Skiing live ¼ Buddy demidek Daniel Corp. (33 photos) representative. Bachelor's from Stanford University in the United States, he received a master's degree from Harvard students who had studied together for a year like this. He Seoul English Village from May 31, feeding the camp to attend the two-day event was held.
Ski school and live in a society, Mr. Buddy ¼ Koreans generally met 'impersonations' leadership has neunghana timwokeuna the weak. Good at studies, which together made something that was familiar with. I ate with students and colleagues, exercise, and dormitory life that 'studies outside the classroom' LA importance of wealth in the U.S. college gogyona was inappropriate.
He Korean students studying in the U.S. and dreaming of experience in the world look to sahoena advice. If conditions are allowed in or out of the World Congress, is also good for vacation, said the ability to travel abroad. In addition, a considerable amount of time to read and write in English, encourage investments. Essay University in the United States for seamless communication, especially because it emphasizes the areas.
Friday, June 06, 2008
Detour to Australia
We've been in Korea for the last couple of weeks for the World Scholar's Cup Finals, and the day after the awards, we were informed (accidentally) that we were on the agenda for a teachers of selected schools of Australia conference on Thursday. (Basically, the Australian coach was like "So, we'll see you Thursday at the conference!" And we're like, "What conference?!")
We spent the next day or so discussing who should represent the World Scholar's Cup at the conference (we determined we need to have a presence there to get Australia excited about the competition next year...among other reasons), and somehow in the middle of it, it came up that I was the best person to go. Brent and Diana were really pushing for it. Brent had to get back home to teach his classes (pfftt - classes, schmasses), and Ross and Monica were going to stay in Korea for a few more days.
We didn't really buy me the ticket till the night before. Daniel had reserved a ticket for himself, but that night, he was feeling really crappy (like, getting sick crappy), so we decided I would go. And hey, I've never been to Australia!
The next day, I flew from Seoul to Tokyo. When I got to Narita Airport, I went to check in for my Australia flight on Japan Airlines. When I presented my passport, the agent asked, "Do you have a visa?"
"...... what visa?!" I responded.
Turns out, you need something called an Electronic Travel Authority to enter Australia. Fortunately, you can apply for it online, and in 90% of the cases, it's issued automatically. Unfortunately, I fell into the 10% whose application had to be submitted to the Australian Immigration Powers That Be for further review. Was I, unbeknownst to me, wanted for a crime in Australia?
In any case, the website asked me to check back in 12 hours. 12 hours?! My flight leaves in 5! With my blood pressure and cortisone levels rising at a rapid rate, I approach the JAL agent and let her know my situation. She seemed perplexed, as most passengers get their visas right away. I showed her the message on my computer, and told her I would just go ahead and check every few minutes or so to see if it had gone through.
Dejected, I sat back down, convinced I would never make it. A few minutes later, the JAL agent came up to me asked for my passport and request number (the one the Australian website sends so you can check your visa status). Then she disappears for a couple of minutes, and comes back to tell me her system shows that I've been issued a visa. I refresh the website, and it indeed says I had been cleared. YAY!
The flight to Australia was quite uneventful. It left at around 8:30pm, so we got dinner shortly after leaving. The plane was empty - I think everyone got their own row. I had 4 seats all to myself, and the armrests came up. Who needs business class?
I picked up the rental car, and drove to the hotel.
Driving was interesting. I think the day would have been a lot less stressful if I didn't have to drive. The driver's seat is on the right side of the car, and people drive on the left side of the road. It was really hard getting used to.
After getting to the hotel and taking a shower, I called the conference location, which turns out to be a manor in the middle of nowhere (seriously, the directions were like, "Turn left at the clock tower." When I asked if there was a street name, the answer was no. When I asked for an address, they couldn't give me one.)
*sigh* Time to hop in my car and brave the strange topsy-turvy streets (Monique, if you're reading this, don't laugh - you'll see what I mean when you're in Milan). The manor was FAR - two and a half hours, and every one of those required lots of brainpower to not drift too far to the left, or over-correct and head into oncoming traffic - both of which happened a couple of times going there and coming back. Matters were not helped by the fact that it was pouring rain.
When I got to the conference, I met the coordinators, who were just so nice and lovely - they thanked me for coming, fed me, and let me talk to their administrators for half an hour. And gave me a bottle of wine as a thank-you for coming, which is proving interesting to transport home.
It got dark on my way home, but thankfully not before I got back on a main highway. I probably would have killed a cow or something. But I got back relatively safe and sound, but starving (I was talking too much during lunch to really each much). I found a nice Chinese restaurant close to the hotel (it was raining again), and had some beef noodle soup - perfect Chinese comfort food - and some fried yin2 si1 juan3.
Passed out.
Next day, I had a very frustrating encounter with the JAL agent in Australia (she was Australian, and according to Monique, you sort of have to be really rude back in Australia to get anything done, which is opposite of America, where you just butter them up and be really nice - but I guess in Australia if you do that, they see you as a pushover....but then again, I'm finding that things are really...opposite...in Australia) who wouldn't let me take my one carry-on and my one personal item onto the plane. So poor Daniel got an earful of me ranting to him on IM (ok, maybe it was an "eyeful", but the innuendo just isn't the same).
On the plane, I saw the Spiderwick Chronicles, which I really enjoyed, watched the Notebook again, and read "Dear John" (also by Nicholas Sparks - he's one of the most formulaic writers I've ever read).
Ok I should run to catch my flight. Hope I get on!
We spent the next day or so discussing who should represent the World Scholar's Cup at the conference (we determined we need to have a presence there to get Australia excited about the competition next year...among other reasons), and somehow in the middle of it, it came up that I was the best person to go. Brent and Diana were really pushing for it. Brent had to get back home to teach his classes (pfftt - classes, schmasses), and Ross and Monica were going to stay in Korea for a few more days.
We didn't really buy me the ticket till the night before. Daniel had reserved a ticket for himself, but that night, he was feeling really crappy (like, getting sick crappy), so we decided I would go. And hey, I've never been to Australia!
The next day, I flew from Seoul to Tokyo. When I got to Narita Airport, I went to check in for my Australia flight on Japan Airlines. When I presented my passport, the agent asked, "Do you have a visa?"
"...... what visa?!" I responded.
Turns out, you need something called an Electronic Travel Authority to enter Australia. Fortunately, you can apply for it online, and in 90% of the cases, it's issued automatically. Unfortunately, I fell into the 10% whose application had to be submitted to the Australian Immigration Powers That Be for further review. Was I, unbeknownst to me, wanted for a crime in Australia?
In any case, the website asked me to check back in 12 hours. 12 hours?! My flight leaves in 5! With my blood pressure and cortisone levels rising at a rapid rate, I approach the JAL agent and let her know my situation. She seemed perplexed, as most passengers get their visas right away. I showed her the message on my computer, and told her I would just go ahead and check every few minutes or so to see if it had gone through.
Dejected, I sat back down, convinced I would never make it. A few minutes later, the JAL agent came up to me asked for my passport and request number (the one the Australian website sends so you can check your visa status). Then she disappears for a couple of minutes, and comes back to tell me her system shows that I've been issued a visa. I refresh the website, and it indeed says I had been cleared. YAY!
The flight to Australia was quite uneventful. It left at around 8:30pm, so we got dinner shortly after leaving. The plane was empty - I think everyone got their own row. I had 4 seats all to myself, and the armrests came up. Who needs business class?
I picked up the rental car, and drove to the hotel.
Driving was interesting. I think the day would have been a lot less stressful if I didn't have to drive. The driver's seat is on the right side of the car, and people drive on the left side of the road. It was really hard getting used to.
After getting to the hotel and taking a shower, I called the conference location, which turns out to be a manor in the middle of nowhere (seriously, the directions were like, "Turn left at the clock tower." When I asked if there was a street name, the answer was no. When I asked for an address, they couldn't give me one.)
*sigh* Time to hop in my car and brave the strange topsy-turvy streets (Monique, if you're reading this, don't laugh - you'll see what I mean when you're in Milan). The manor was FAR - two and a half hours, and every one of those required lots of brainpower to not drift too far to the left, or over-correct and head into oncoming traffic - both of which happened a couple of times going there and coming back. Matters were not helped by the fact that it was pouring rain.
When I got to the conference, I met the coordinators, who were just so nice and lovely - they thanked me for coming, fed me, and let me talk to their administrators for half an hour. And gave me a bottle of wine as a thank-you for coming, which is proving interesting to transport home.
It got dark on my way home, but thankfully not before I got back on a main highway. I probably would have killed a cow or something. But I got back relatively safe and sound, but starving (I was talking too much during lunch to really each much). I found a nice Chinese restaurant close to the hotel (it was raining again), and had some beef noodle soup - perfect Chinese comfort food - and some fried yin2 si1 juan3.
Passed out.
Next day, I had a very frustrating encounter with the JAL agent in Australia (she was Australian, and according to Monique, you sort of have to be really rude back in Australia to get anything done, which is opposite of America, where you just butter them up and be really nice - but I guess in Australia if you do that, they see you as a pushover....but then again, I'm finding that things are really...opposite...in Australia) who wouldn't let me take my one carry-on and my one personal item onto the plane. So poor Daniel got an earful of me ranting to him on IM (ok, maybe it was an "eyeful", but the innuendo just isn't the same).
On the plane, I saw the Spiderwick Chronicles, which I really enjoyed, watched the Notebook again, and read "Dear John" (also by Nicholas Sparks - he's one of the most formulaic writers I've ever read).
Ok I should run to catch my flight. Hope I get on!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Another Asian City
Sitting here in YBM's office in Seoul with Monica listening to Daniel Powter and trying to stay cool. Daniel and Ross are with Alaina doing an interview with the press. I think. It's very peaceful. We're kinda stuck here because we're not sure how to get back to our hotel. It's ok, I have power, I have wireless (I think I'm stealing it from a nearby Starbucks), I have over half of Season 6 of 24, and I have some weird honey drink. I'm good to go.
This is my first time actually crossing the Korean border - last time, we only had a layover an Incheon Airport, where we had some really good bibimbap on our way to China. I have to say, as a city, it doesn't really impress, but I keep thinking, this is the place where FINKL and SES and HOT and all those Kpop bands I used to love are based! Though.... I don't think those bands are really popular anymore.
I am very tired though. Still jet-lagged. And our bed is really hard, and the towels have a weird odor to it. Come to think of it, so do the pillows.... maybe it's the detergent they use?
This is my first time actually crossing the Korean border - last time, we only had a layover an Incheon Airport, where we had some really good bibimbap on our way to China. I have to say, as a city, it doesn't really impress, but I keep thinking, this is the place where FINKL and SES and HOT and all those Kpop bands I used to love are based! Though.... I don't think those bands are really popular anymore.
I am very tired though. Still jet-lagged. And our bed is really hard, and the towels have a weird odor to it. Come to think of it, so do the pillows.... maybe it's the detergent they use?
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Gassing down to a stop
I finally did it. I finally made the decision to go from the 89 grade gas to the 87 (regular.....cheapest) grade gas. My car might be bumpy for a while, but honestly, a Camry doesn't justify more expensive gas.
I'm also making the resolution to keep my speedometer under 70 mph. My speedometer reads 5 mph faster than actual speed, so I'm trying to keep my max speed to under 65 mph. Mostly to see whether or not I see higher mileage over the next few weeks.
Driving slower is really more a psychological test of restraint than anything, because I'm used to driving with the flow of traffic, which is ... well, a lot faster than 65 mph. So today on the way home, I had all these cars speeding by me, no doubt peeking in to see just how old of an old lady I am. It takes all my self-restraint to not speed up and overtake them all! I'm thinking of putting a sign on my back window that says something like "Slow Down, Save Gas!" I mean, I have my pride to think about!
In any case, I won't have to worry about getting speeding tickets.
I'm also making the resolution to keep my speedometer under 70 mph. My speedometer reads 5 mph faster than actual speed, so I'm trying to keep my max speed to under 65 mph. Mostly to see whether or not I see higher mileage over the next few weeks.
Driving slower is really more a psychological test of restraint than anything, because I'm used to driving with the flow of traffic, which is ... well, a lot faster than 65 mph. So today on the way home, I had all these cars speeding by me, no doubt peeking in to see just how old of an old lady I am. It takes all my self-restraint to not speed up and overtake them all! I'm thinking of putting a sign on my back window that says something like "Slow Down, Save Gas!" I mean, I have my pride to think about!
In any case, I won't have to worry about getting speeding tickets.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Modern Human Circus
We saw Zumanity tonight - the Cirque du Soleil show at New York New York in Las Vegas. While I would say a good portion of it is gratuitous sexuality and trashy humor, it was overall a well-put-together show with many metaphorical aspects of the circuses of old. (We watched Mystere last time, and whereas Mystere had more acrobatics, Zumanity felt like a better show overall.)
The whole concept behind Cirque du Soleil is to create a circus that doesn't use animals. As a side note, a great book about how they treat circus animals in the heyday of circuses is Water for Elephants. Instead, the focus is on humans, and acrobatics and such. What struck me about Zumanity was how many aspects of a traditional circus they incorporated into the show. Examples are as follows.
In Zumanity, they had the concept of a ringmaster (who is a transvestite in this case, which also takes care of the Bearded Lady staple of circuses), a main ring (the main act that everyone watches), side rings (the background dancers and minor acts off to the side during the main act), the clowns (in Zumanity's case, two "merchants" of sex goods - complete with dildos and scotch baggies), the "animal" (a guy called the "Beast" who didn't speak - only growled), the lions in a cage (two men who "fought" in a rubber cage, lots of sexual tension that culminated in a kiss - to both cheers and boos), freaks (the Rubber Band Man - crazily double-jointed dude who did seemingly painful things with his body), and of course, the acrobats.
The show really doesn't NEED to have nudity in it. It's completely gratuitous. And, I feel, distracts from the show itself. The nudity is a spectacle, and probably a huge reason why people see it. Because of it, the technicalities of the show are lacking. It's much less exciting in terms of the acrobatics than some of the other shows.
But, as I said before, a show that is very well done and put together. I enjoyed it immensely.
The whole concept behind Cirque du Soleil is to create a circus that doesn't use animals. As a side note, a great book about how they treat circus animals in the heyday of circuses is Water for Elephants. Instead, the focus is on humans, and acrobatics and such. What struck me about Zumanity was how many aspects of a traditional circus they incorporated into the show. Examples are as follows.
In Zumanity, they had the concept of a ringmaster (who is a transvestite in this case, which also takes care of the Bearded Lady staple of circuses), a main ring (the main act that everyone watches), side rings (the background dancers and minor acts off to the side during the main act), the clowns (in Zumanity's case, two "merchants" of sex goods - complete with dildos and scotch baggies), the "animal" (a guy called the "Beast" who didn't speak - only growled), the lions in a cage (two men who "fought" in a rubber cage, lots of sexual tension that culminated in a kiss - to both cheers and boos), freaks (the Rubber Band Man - crazily double-jointed dude who did seemingly painful things with his body), and of course, the acrobats.
The show really doesn't NEED to have nudity in it. It's completely gratuitous. And, I feel, distracts from the show itself. The nudity is a spectacle, and probably a huge reason why people see it. Because of it, the technicalities of the show are lacking. It's much less exciting in terms of the acrobatics than some of the other shows.
But, as I said before, a show that is very well done and put together. I enjoyed it immensely.
Monday, May 05, 2008
Bag Chair Man - or, an Outrageous Episode
“Excuse me, is anyone sitting here?”
“My bag’s on it.”
I looked around. Every other chair in sight had a tush in it.
This was the exchange I had with an obviously petty, cankerous (and rather overweight and unhealthy-looking) fellow while waiting for dinner (before watching a truly amazing production of Fortinbras – Dagney Kerr, the actress who played Kathy, Buffy’s annoying college roommate in the beginning of Season 4, was starring as the ghost of Ophelia). Juliana had reserved us tickets as industry, meaning we didn’t have to pay for the $20 show. So we caught dinner at this place called Pitfire Pizza right down the street from the theatre, and it must have been popular because there were no tables left.
We positioned ourselves on a knee-high ledge bordering the perimeter of the restaurant, and secured one of the cheap red plastic chairs – the only piece of furniture we had – all tables were taken. The plan was to use the ledge as a table, and to find one more chair. That’s when I approached the fellow sitting next to us, who had only one dining companion, but three chairs (and a table to boot!).
Needless to say, we failed in finding another chair, but made do with the ledge, and had a wonderful dinner while staring daggers into the back of Petty Bag Chair Man.
What happened to the good ol’ days (or just places other than LA – ie: 1952 Alabama) when people gave up their own seats for others? Now we’re in competition with bags.
And it wasn’t even a nice bag. It was like an oversized man-purse.
“My bag’s on it.”
I looked around. Every other chair in sight had a tush in it.
This was the exchange I had with an obviously petty, cankerous (and rather overweight and unhealthy-looking) fellow while waiting for dinner (before watching a truly amazing production of Fortinbras – Dagney Kerr, the actress who played Kathy, Buffy’s annoying college roommate in the beginning of Season 4, was starring as the ghost of Ophelia). Juliana had reserved us tickets as industry, meaning we didn’t have to pay for the $20 show. So we caught dinner at this place called Pitfire Pizza right down the street from the theatre, and it must have been popular because there were no tables left.
We positioned ourselves on a knee-high ledge bordering the perimeter of the restaurant, and secured one of the cheap red plastic chairs – the only piece of furniture we had – all tables were taken. The plan was to use the ledge as a table, and to find one more chair. That’s when I approached the fellow sitting next to us, who had only one dining companion, but three chairs (and a table to boot!).
Needless to say, we failed in finding another chair, but made do with the ledge, and had a wonderful dinner while staring daggers into the back of Petty Bag Chair Man.
What happened to the good ol’ days (or just places other than LA – ie: 1952 Alabama) when people gave up their own seats for others? Now we’re in competition with bags.
And it wasn’t even a nice bag. It was like an oversized man-purse.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Gay and Straight
I didn't write this, but someone did in response to Obama's losing speech in Pennsylvania (from Andrew Sullivan's The Daily Dish):
>>>>>>>>>
This morning I saw an excerpt from Obama's concession speech in Indiana where he said the following:
"Or this time, we can build on the movement we've started in this campaign – a movement that's united Democrats, Independents, and Republicans; a movement of young and old, rich and poor; white, black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American, gay and straight."
I have two comments about this:
First, I cannot recall a politician ever speaking after a loss, proclaiming that he wants to bring together gays and straights. That is amazing. Can you imagine Hillary ever saying anything like that to a national audience, especially after a defeat?
Second, the "gay and straight" portion is not included in the text of the speech on Obama's website. This means either 1) the campaign removed those words from the edited transcript or 2) (more likely) Obama's inclusion of "gay and straight" was impromptu. It wasn't included by the speech writers, but he included it at the spur of the moment. If this is true, how amazing it is that there is a politician who is willing to stand up for us gay Americans who have been ignored for so long. I hope Obama knows how much those three small words that he included in his speech mean to us.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
This morning I saw an excerpt from Obama's concession speech in Indiana where he said the following:
"Or this time, we can build on the movement we've started in this campaign – a movement that's united Democrats, Independents, and Republicans; a movement of young and old, rich and poor; white, black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American, gay and straight."
I have two comments about this:
First, I cannot recall a politician ever speaking after a loss, proclaiming that he wants to bring together gays and straights. That is amazing. Can you imagine Hillary ever saying anything like that to a national audience, especially after a defeat?
Second, the "gay and straight" portion is not included in the text of the speech on Obama's website. This means either 1) the campaign removed those words from the edited transcript or 2) (more likely) Obama's inclusion of "gay and straight" was impromptu. It wasn't included by the speech writers, but he included it at the spur of the moment. If this is true, how amazing it is that there is a politician who is willing to stand up for us gay Americans who have been ignored for so long. I hope Obama knows how much those three small words that he included in his speech mean to us.
>>>>>>>>
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Newborn babies in LA?
***CASTING PAMPERS/UNICEF
COMMERCIAL***
LOOKING FOR
MOMS WHO ARE SOON TO GIVE
BIRTH OR HAVE A NEWBORN!
This job is being cast quickly.
Please respond immediately!
Moms: 25-35 yrs old
Babies: Soon to be born or Newborn
(Must be at least 15 days old by May 5th, 2008)
We’re looking for 1st, 2nd or 3rd
generation moms & babies from:
Africa (African American),
Central America,
South America,
India, Asia &
Middle Eastern Countries
THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY! THERE IS COMPENSATION!
PLEASE CONTACT US FOR DETAILS!
If this sounds like you or someone you know please contact our office
ASAP!!!
commercialforbaby@yahoo.com Or call us at
323.692.1800 ext. 102 or 103
COMMERCIAL***
LOOKING FOR
MOMS WHO ARE SOON TO GIVE
BIRTH OR HAVE A NEWBORN!
This job is being cast quickly.
Please respond immediately!
Moms: 25-35 yrs old
Babies: Soon to be born or Newborn
(Must be at least 15 days old by May 5th, 2008)
We’re looking for 1st, 2nd or 3rd
generation moms & babies from:
Africa (African American),
Central America,
South America,
India, Asia &
Middle Eastern Countries
THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY! THERE IS COMPENSATION!
PLEASE CONTACT US FOR DETAILS!
If this sounds like you or someone you know please contact our office
ASAP!!!
commercialforbaby@yahoo.com Or call us at
323.692.1800 ext. 102 or 103
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Abortion as art is not.
I really didn't mean to post two abortion-related posts one right after the other, but this one popped up as an interesting news item recently.
A senior at Yale is inseminating herself, then aborting the fetus with abortion drugs multiple times over the course of 9 months.
http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/24513
She says she "hopes it inspires some sort of discourse", and also says that she's not using the concept for "shock value". She claims that she has some "message".
Really. What's the message? Hey, let's make ourselves really sick and show complete disregard for the women who go through the emotional turmoil of choosing to abort a fetus! This'll be fun! (I would even go as far to say a "disregard for life", but want to be clear that I do not equate abortion with murder)
It's no wonder people on both sides of the abortion fence are disgusted by this.
On the pro-lifer's side, this woman is committing mass murder over and over.
And pro-choice folks are not pro-abortion. As a matter of fact, most of my friends are pro-choice, but given the choice to abort or not, most would choose to not abort. This woman exemplifies what pro-choice is NOT about.
Both sides of the fence value life. Deliberately aborting a fetus for "art's sake" completely trivializes the immensely difficult and life-changing choice that some women are forced to make. It's appalling. It's like making a snuff film - films where people are killed or murdered on film (not because I think abortion in and of itself is like murder, but that the choice in making it needs to be given some weight). That's not art. That's disrespect for the issue, and should be condemned.
And seriously...what is the message?
A senior at Yale is inseminating herself, then aborting the fetus with abortion drugs multiple times over the course of 9 months.
http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/24513
She says she "hopes it inspires some sort of discourse", and also says that she's not using the concept for "shock value". She claims that she has some "message".
Really. What's the message? Hey, let's make ourselves really sick and show complete disregard for the women who go through the emotional turmoil of choosing to abort a fetus! This'll be fun! (I would even go as far to say a "disregard for life", but want to be clear that I do not equate abortion with murder)
It's no wonder people on both sides of the abortion fence are disgusted by this.
On the pro-lifer's side, this woman is committing mass murder over and over.
And pro-choice folks are not pro-abortion. As a matter of fact, most of my friends are pro-choice, but given the choice to abort or not, most would choose to not abort. This woman exemplifies what pro-choice is NOT about.
Both sides of the fence value life. Deliberately aborting a fetus for "art's sake" completely trivializes the immensely difficult and life-changing choice that some women are forced to make. It's appalling. It's like making a snuff film - films where people are killed or murdered on film (not because I think abortion in and of itself is like murder, but that the choice in making it needs to be given some weight). That's not art. That's disrespect for the issue, and should be condemned.
And seriously...what is the message?
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Pro-thinking?
I saw this bumper sticker driving home yesterday:
"I think, therefore, I'm Pro-Life."
I don't mean to offend all the pro-lifers out there (just the ones who agree word for word with this statement), but look at it in literal terms. Being pro-life means you have a principle telling you what to do. You're not thinking, you're just doing. Talk about ironic.
I'm not making a political statement, I'm just analyzing the phrase as an objective third party.
That being said, I like thinking (actual thinking). And choosing. But hopefully will never be at a point where I am forced to.
"I think, therefore, I'm Pro-Life."
I don't mean to offend all the pro-lifers out there (just the ones who agree word for word with this statement), but look at it in literal terms. Being pro-life means you have a principle telling you what to do. You're not thinking, you're just doing. Talk about ironic.
I'm not making a political statement, I'm just analyzing the phrase as an objective third party.
That being said, I like thinking (actual thinking). And choosing. But hopefully will never be at a point where I am forced to.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Disappearance of a Mint
I'm still alive. Just not on this blog (or online much).
Just got back from Europe.
Just got back from Europe.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Dry flakes, chocolates, and ice
Oooh, someone's at the door offering us chocolate. Hm.
Juliana and I are in Vegas for the weekend - we left this noon-ish, and got here a little after 5.
Oh, Juli needs this to look up restaurants, but I gave Natasha (Juli's cousin) and Jessica
(Natasha's friend) alpaca finger puppets.
Juliana and I are in Vegas for the weekend - we left this noon-ish, and got here a little after 5.
Oh, Juli needs this to look up restaurants, but I gave Natasha (Juli's cousin) and Jessica
(Natasha's friend) alpaca finger puppets.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
Song Nostalgia
"Helloooo Evanston!!"
That got our attention. I thought to myself, this guy's crazy. But then again, nothing could be worse than the last half-hour of truly painful open-mic performances we had to endure at Kafein while we waited for Dawen's set to come up.
I was sitting with Emily, Andrew, and Lilian (I think - Lilian, if you weren't actually there that night, let me know and I'll amend), sharing a brownie fudge sundae or some other delicious dessert concoction that seemed synonymous with Kafein, I'm sure.
The performer was Scotty Iseri. Five seconds after he started, we realized this wasn't just any open mic performance, stumbling over words, melodies, and chords. This guy was GOOD. His lyrics are witty and poignant, comical and honest. This guy had a message! We sat entranced for 15 minutes.
I bought his CD afterward - it's possibly one of the best $7 I've ever spent in my life. I listened to the album (a live performance at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival) non-stop all summer, which was the summer of 2004 - right after graduation - and what I've always referenced as one of the best and most fun and relaxing times in my life.
Just this week, I popped the album in my car, and that summer came flooding back. Isn't it funny how music can do that? What did his songs bring back for me? TAing biology aka working 3 hours a day and hanging out with the TA girls. Emily getting me cupcakes and balloons for my birthday - bought in downtown Evanston, and schlepped one mile up to Tech. Following Dawen to every single open mic he played at. Thinking someone was getting physically abused in my apartment when they were actually...ahem...enjoying themselves. Meeting Amber Benson at the Chicago Wizard World Convention - to which Lilian had to drive me, then pick me up, with Chris and Ike in tow. A fudge brownie a la mode melting on the plate and us trying to eat it as quick as possible so it didn't overflow the plate (we failed). Ravinia. Frantic trip to the ER to find a quick fix for laryngitis. Late night runs to JK Sweets. Running out in the rain, in shorts and a tank top. Running home at 2am after playing Dynasty Warriors at Emily and Andrew's.
"If you ask me for my autograph I promise that I'm not gonna be one of those stuck-up kind of famous people cuz you're helping me out with my feelings of insecurity."
That got our attention. I thought to myself, this guy's crazy. But then again, nothing could be worse than the last half-hour of truly painful open-mic performances we had to endure at Kafein while we waited for Dawen's set to come up.
I was sitting with Emily, Andrew, and Lilian (I think - Lilian, if you weren't actually there that night, let me know and I'll amend), sharing a brownie fudge sundae or some other delicious dessert concoction that seemed synonymous with Kafein, I'm sure.
The performer was Scotty Iseri. Five seconds after he started, we realized this wasn't just any open mic performance, stumbling over words, melodies, and chords. This guy was GOOD. His lyrics are witty and poignant, comical and honest. This guy had a message! We sat entranced for 15 minutes.
I bought his CD afterward - it's possibly one of the best $7 I've ever spent in my life. I listened to the album (a live performance at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival) non-stop all summer, which was the summer of 2004 - right after graduation - and what I've always referenced as one of the best and most fun and relaxing times in my life.
Just this week, I popped the album in my car, and that summer came flooding back. Isn't it funny how music can do that? What did his songs bring back for me? TAing biology aka working 3 hours a day and hanging out with the TA girls. Emily getting me cupcakes and balloons for my birthday - bought in downtown Evanston, and schlepped one mile up to Tech. Following Dawen to every single open mic he played at. Thinking someone was getting physically abused in my apartment when they were actually...ahem...enjoying themselves. Meeting Amber Benson at the Chicago Wizard World Convention - to which Lilian had to drive me, then pick me up, with Chris and Ike in tow. A fudge brownie a la mode melting on the plate and us trying to eat it as quick as possible so it didn't overflow the plate (we failed). Ravinia. Frantic trip to the ER to find a quick fix for laryngitis. Late night runs to JK Sweets. Running out in the rain, in shorts and a tank top. Running home at 2am after playing Dynasty Warriors at Emily and Andrew's.
"If you ask me for my autograph I promise that I'm not gonna be one of those stuck-up kind of famous people cuz you're helping me out with my feelings of insecurity."
Thursday, March 13, 2008
It's all the same vote
It's that season again, where experts and reporters get together to talk about how the latest votes will go, and how that will effect the ultimate vote.
I'm not talking about the Presidential Primaries or General Presidential Election. I'm talking about American Idol.
I was reading this article on MSN about David Archuleta's hopes of winning American Idol this year, and it felt strangely familiar. Didn't take me long to figure out that the analysis Andy Dehnart does on Archuleta uses the same strategy and analysis I hear and see time and again on the presidential primaries (and especially on the Democrat side, but minus the mudslinging).
Its focus was on strategy and personal appeal of Archuleta, and provides analysis on the viewers in the Idol world (as having short attention spans, so the fact that Archuleta is peaking right now is not a good thing at all), as well as suggesting Archuleta not perform as well as he is capable of so he can "improve". True points, such. Why should a singer who's improved dramatically be lauded when their end point may not be as great as the starting point of a great performer? Thus is the problem with Idol, as the article states. It doesn't highlight talent, it highlights talented drama queens to keep things interesting.
This makes me sad Danny Noriega was sent home. He would have spiced things up.
All said and done, David Archuleta's got my vote for the primaries, but let's see how he does in the general elections.
I'm not talking about the Presidential Primaries or General Presidential Election. I'm talking about American Idol.
I was reading this article on MSN about David Archuleta's hopes of winning American Idol this year, and it felt strangely familiar. Didn't take me long to figure out that the analysis Andy Dehnart does on Archuleta uses the same strategy and analysis I hear and see time and again on the presidential primaries (and especially on the Democrat side, but minus the mudslinging).
Its focus was on strategy and personal appeal of Archuleta, and provides analysis on the viewers in the Idol world (as having short attention spans, so the fact that Archuleta is peaking right now is not a good thing at all), as well as suggesting Archuleta not perform as well as he is capable of so he can "improve". True points, such. Why should a singer who's improved dramatically be lauded when their end point may not be as great as the starting point of a great performer? Thus is the problem with Idol, as the article states. It doesn't highlight talent, it highlights talented drama queens to keep things interesting.
This makes me sad Danny Noriega was sent home. He would have spiced things up.
All said and done, David Archuleta's got my vote for the primaries, but let's see how he does in the general elections.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Buried under books
There are 5 books stacked on my nightstand, three in my backpack, three in my car (recently borrowed from the library), one in front of my computer in my room (Asimov's "Foundation"), and a few others piled in random places.
I've definitely hit that threshold in reading where it seems hopeless to finish all the books I've lined up for myself. The good new is a lot of these books are "honor books", meaning I can return them to the library when I'm done (I've given up on buying books - why do it when you can borrow them? Keeps your room from cluttering up and is way more economical - I need to start living like a starving grad student). The bad news is one of the longest books I'm reading (a Martin book) is due back by the end of the month. This one I might end up buying.
So many books...not to mention DVDs to watch, and songs to learn...
I've definitely hit that threshold in reading where it seems hopeless to finish all the books I've lined up for myself. The good new is a lot of these books are "honor books", meaning I can return them to the library when I'm done (I've given up on buying books - why do it when you can borrow them? Keeps your room from cluttering up and is way more economical - I need to start living like a starving grad student). The bad news is one of the longest books I'm reading (a Martin book) is due back by the end of the month. This one I might end up buying.
So many books...not to mention DVDs to watch, and songs to learn...
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Listening - a skill so easy, yet so few possess
I have two phones in my office. One, which I use mainly, has a 2020 extension number. The other one is x2019. For the last two days, the 2019 number has been ringing off the hook. This is because, apart from re-carpeting my office, which has me suffocating in re-carpeting fumes, they apparently tinkered with my phones as well. Now anyone calling for 3002 gets directed to my office.
What strikes me is not necessarily the fact that there are so many calls to Outpatient Surgery (this is to be expected), but that no one listens when you first answer the phone.
I always answer my office phones with "Clinical Care Extenders, this is Cynthia." Between a very enthusiastic, "This is Rita!" (obviously assuming that I would know who "Rita" is), and "We don't have your schedule!" (what schedule?!), I've concluded that no one actually got the fact that this is the Clinical Care Extender Office. What part of "Clinical Care Extenders" sounds like "Outpatient Surgery"? I'm going to start answering the phones "Hello, if you're looking for Outpatient Surgery, we're not it, so stop thinking I have any idea what you're talking about."
I think the fumes are getting to my head.
What strikes me is not necessarily the fact that there are so many calls to Outpatient Surgery (this is to be expected), but that no one listens when you first answer the phone.
I always answer my office phones with "Clinical Care Extenders, this is Cynthia." Between a very enthusiastic, "This is Rita!" (obviously assuming that I would know who "Rita" is), and "We don't have your schedule!" (what schedule?!), I've concluded that no one actually got the fact that this is the Clinical Care Extender Office. What part of "Clinical Care Extenders" sounds like "Outpatient Surgery"? I'm going to start answering the phones "Hello, if you're looking for Outpatient Surgery, we're not it, so stop thinking I have any idea what you're talking about."
I think the fumes are getting to my head.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Somebody forgot to take out the garbage
I ran across this youtube site through an acquaintance of mine. I was flabbergasted that such things still existed. Well, on second thought, I can't say I was surprised, but I guess living in a silo of people who are much more conscientious of propriety (and much better educated in these issues) lulls me into a false sense of security.
This was my response to this acquaintance:
"Just wondering if you and your company realize the second one is INCREDIBLY racist and offensive to the Asian and Asian American communities. It's horrifically politically incorrect and plays into harmful, negative, and inaccurate stereotypes of people of Asian descent. I obviously realize that filmmakers are entitled to their creative expression, but I'd appreciate if you might mention something to the filmmakers about my sentiments. This is ridiculous and tasteless in its derogatory content and utter lack of consciousness and cultural sensitivity."
Watch as much as you can of it (I took about 20 seconds of it before vomit threatened to happen and I shut it off), and feel free to vent with me.
This was my response to this acquaintance:
"Just wondering if you and your company realize the second one is INCREDIBLY racist and offensive to the Asian and Asian American communities. It's horrifically politically incorrect and plays into harmful, negative, and inaccurate stereotypes of people of Asian descent. I obviously realize that filmmakers are entitled to their creative expression, but I'd appreciate if you might mention something to the filmmakers about my sentiments. This is ridiculous and tasteless in its derogatory content and utter lack of consciousness and cultural sensitivity."
Watch as much as you can of it (I took about 20 seconds of it before vomit threatened to happen and I shut it off), and feel free to vent with me.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Expired Coffee
A testimony to how occasionally my family drinks coffee is the fact that most of the coffee grinds and beans in our house are apparently expired.
D and I had just gotten back from a lunch with my folks, where we were fed into a stupor, and collapsed on the couch when we got home. And because D had a proposal to submit, my mom suggested we have some coffee.
She brought out a good 3 or 4 different kinds of coffee that we had laying around the house - and one sounded delicious - Chocolate Macademia Nut Coffee. There was an elusive number that said "63 101404". My interpretation, knowing nothing about the shelf life of coffee, was that it expired October 14th, 2004, or is good till April 14th, 2010. We erred on the side of caution and threw it away. My mom then went to Whole Foods and got us some new coffee. Some sort of House Blend. Those male strippers from the Five Sisters shoot would be so disappointed...
I'll post the male stripper story later.
D and I had just gotten back from a lunch with my folks, where we were fed into a stupor, and collapsed on the couch when we got home. And because D had a proposal to submit, my mom suggested we have some coffee.
She brought out a good 3 or 4 different kinds of coffee that we had laying around the house - and one sounded delicious - Chocolate Macademia Nut Coffee. There was an elusive number that said "63 101404". My interpretation, knowing nothing about the shelf life of coffee, was that it expired October 14th, 2004, or is good till April 14th, 2010. We erred on the side of caution and threw it away. My mom then went to Whole Foods and got us some new coffee. Some sort of House Blend. Those male strippers from the Five Sisters shoot would be so disappointed...
I'll post the male stripper story later.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Hallelujah! Title!!
I finally found the title field on my post! Why wasn't it there before? Wouldn't you think that they would put the title field here by default? And, Hallelujah is an amazing song - and even more amazing when Brandi Carlile covers it. Have you heard the original version? The original version is highly dubious. Jeff Buckley pioneered the *real* Hallelujah.
I'm acting CEO of COPE. Well, not really. That's the joke. Really, I'm babysitting the office while everyone is at Lake Arrowhead for COPE University. I was only acting CEO once - and that time I could say I was because I had COPE's "nuclear football" - all the passwords and keys and access to everything. You'd think it would come with a rush of thrill, but in actuality, it was really anti-climatic. I sat in a Pizza Hut for an hour waiting for our CEO to drop by on his way to the airport. The breadsticks were really good.
Traffic does not look promising. My office overlooks the 101 at the 101/10 interchange. It's gridlocked right now. Wonderful. The good news is, I have "Class Action" on Books on Tape (but it's not really on tape, it's on a CD). The other good news is my 8pm meeting in Ventura County was canceled. The bad news is, I have very little padding on my tush for long drives.
Have you ever thought about how self-centered a blog is? I mean, no one is probably ever going to read this but me, yet I'm still sitting here writing. Might be a product of boredom. Ok, I'm going to kick people out of the office now. And eat the rest of my left-over Fatburger.
I'm acting CEO of COPE. Well, not really. That's the joke. Really, I'm babysitting the office while everyone is at Lake Arrowhead for COPE University. I was only acting CEO once - and that time I could say I was because I had COPE's "nuclear football" - all the passwords and keys and access to everything. You'd think it would come with a rush of thrill, but in actuality, it was really anti-climatic. I sat in a Pizza Hut for an hour waiting for our CEO to drop by on his way to the airport. The breadsticks were really good.
Traffic does not look promising. My office overlooks the 101 at the 101/10 interchange. It's gridlocked right now. Wonderful. The good news is, I have "Class Action" on Books on Tape (but it's not really on tape, it's on a CD). The other good news is my 8pm meeting in Ventura County was canceled. The bad news is, I have very little padding on my tush for long drives.
Have you ever thought about how self-centered a blog is? I mean, no one is probably ever going to read this but me, yet I'm still sitting here writing. Might be a product of boredom. Ok, I'm going to kick people out of the office now. And eat the rest of my left-over Fatburger.
Being mean to banks
I was going to write a rant about calling in for bank service. I wrote about a paragraph and realized that it was pretty mean. So I'm not going to post it.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
An old published article...
Written March 2002 for Owen's online newsletter..... the website this was originally published on has gone defunct, and I didn't want to lose it. So, here it is.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The Academy made history the other night when African American actress Halle Berry was given the award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role at the annual Academy Awards in Southern California.
Further history was made when Denzel Washington clenched the title of Best Actor, beating out Australian Russell Crowe, star of Best Picture A Beautiful Mind.
Similarly, the night’s MC was Whoopi Goldberg, while Sidney Poitier received an Honorary Award “for his extraordinary performances and unique presence on the screen, and for representing the motion picture industry with dignity, style and intelligence throughout the world.”
As a matter of fact, the recipient of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, Arthur Hiller, was awarded for his perpetuation of diversity and equality in color, race, and religion in the industry. It’s no wonder Whoopi made mentions of how the doors are opening for minorities and people of color in the film industry. However, I have to ask – where is the yellow?
Sure, the success of the African American community is encouraging to the Asian Americans in the industry, but the fact still stands that Asian Americans, till this day, have still not been able to walk through this opening door. Asian Americans, especially at this last Oscars, are virtually invisible in Hollywood, and when they are, they are usually portrayed in a very stereotypical way. Very rarely, if ever, has an Asian American, especially Asian American men, been placed in a leading role in a movie that has nothing to do with Asian or Asian America.
However, there is hope, especially in the area of television.
Asian American actors like Garrett Wang and Lucy Liu have started to play parts that do not perpetuate Asian American stereotypes, speaking in perfect American English. Furthermore, Better Luck Tomorrow, a film by Justin Lin slated to open in mainstream theatres, portrays Asian American high school students in a different light than has been previously seen. This is a movie that is almost fully Asian American – Asian American cast, director, storyline…no more accents, no more Model Minority Myth, no more stereotypes, hopefully. Then hopefully, sometime in the near future, we will be able to see an Asian or Asian American actor or actress at the Oscars receiving an award for Best Performance.
And, if we’re lucky, Margaret Cho will undertake the daunting task of hosting the Academy Awards as well. Wouldn’t that be something?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The Academy made history the other night when African American actress Halle Berry was given the award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role at the annual Academy Awards in Southern California.
Further history was made when Denzel Washington clenched the title of Best Actor, beating out Australian Russell Crowe, star of Best Picture A Beautiful Mind.
Similarly, the night’s MC was Whoopi Goldberg, while Sidney Poitier received an Honorary Award “for his extraordinary performances and unique presence on the screen, and for representing the motion picture industry with dignity, style and intelligence throughout the world.”
As a matter of fact, the recipient of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, Arthur Hiller, was awarded for his perpetuation of diversity and equality in color, race, and religion in the industry. It’s no wonder Whoopi made mentions of how the doors are opening for minorities and people of color in the film industry. However, I have to ask – where is the yellow?
Sure, the success of the African American community is encouraging to the Asian Americans in the industry, but the fact still stands that Asian Americans, till this day, have still not been able to walk through this opening door. Asian Americans, especially at this last Oscars, are virtually invisible in Hollywood, and when they are, they are usually portrayed in a very stereotypical way. Very rarely, if ever, has an Asian American, especially Asian American men, been placed in a leading role in a movie that has nothing to do with Asian or Asian America.
However, there is hope, especially in the area of television.
Asian American actors like Garrett Wang and Lucy Liu have started to play parts that do not perpetuate Asian American stereotypes, speaking in perfect American English. Furthermore, Better Luck Tomorrow, a film by Justin Lin slated to open in mainstream theatres, portrays Asian American high school students in a different light than has been previously seen. This is a movie that is almost fully Asian American – Asian American cast, director, storyline…no more accents, no more Model Minority Myth, no more stereotypes, hopefully. Then hopefully, sometime in the near future, we will be able to see an Asian or Asian American actor or actress at the Oscars receiving an award for Best Performance.
And, if we’re lucky, Margaret Cho will undertake the daunting task of hosting the Academy Awards as well. Wouldn’t that be something?
A hoe is something you garden with.
With the madness of the election going on now, I wanted to add an anecdotal comment on something I saw. Facebook stalking some of my friends the other day, I ran across one of my friends, an Obama supporter, with this on his site:
I'm an Obama supporter, and would probably vote for a Republican before I vote for Hillary (well, maybe not - that's still up in the air), but I find that this is one of the very few, rare displays of offensiveness that I have seen from Obama supporters. One of the things that has struck me about this primary race is how nasty Hillary supporters tend to be (possibly reflected by how much mudslinging Hillary is doing in comparison to Obama), and how classy Obama supporters tend to be (again, that might be media spin media spin media spin, but in my personal experience in talking to people, Obama supporters tend to expound on how great Obama is, while Hillary supporters, rather than emphasizing how great Hillary is, tend to say negative things about Obama. It's a campaign built on bringing the opposition down, rather than building the candidate they want to support - Hillary - up).
But as a woman, frankly, I'm offended by the blatant sexism this sticker portrays, as well as the underlying racism the word "bro" evokes. The slang term "bro" traditionally means a black soldier. Interesting, no?
And don't get me started about the degrading term "Ho". I don't think that dignifies any explanation.
I'm an Obama supporter, and would probably vote for a Republican before I vote for Hillary (well, maybe not - that's still up in the air), but I find that this is one of the very few, rare displays of offensiveness that I have seen from Obama supporters. One of the things that has struck me about this primary race is how nasty Hillary supporters tend to be (possibly reflected by how much mudslinging Hillary is doing in comparison to Obama), and how classy Obama supporters tend to be (again, that might be media spin media spin media spin, but in my personal experience in talking to people, Obama supporters tend to expound on how great Obama is, while Hillary supporters, rather than emphasizing how great Hillary is, tend to say negative things about Obama. It's a campaign built on bringing the opposition down, rather than building the candidate they want to support - Hillary - up).
But as a woman, frankly, I'm offended by the blatant sexism this sticker portrays, as well as the underlying racism the word "bro" evokes. The slang term "bro" traditionally means a black soldier. Interesting, no?
And don't get me started about the degrading term "Ho". I don't think that dignifies any explanation.
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