The first time I got bored studying, I opened a recommended link on ECG. It turned out to be on the Nobel Prize home page, so naturally I clicked on the literature section. The second time I got bored, I opened an acceptance speech on the 2006 winner. A play write I’m sorry to say I have never heard of – Harold Pinter. I read his words looking for a usable piece of advice for my own life, being desiccated for inspiration these days. I couldn’t finish reading it though… after I correctly identified a couple of troubling feelings. One of his playwas was called Homecoming.
Happy Lunar New Year! I hope wherever you are, you are eating dumpling and watching 春节联欢晚会。 Because without either, it is simply not authentic, and there is no need in trying …
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Agghhh... I need some distraction, why is no one emailing me?! hint hint :)
My third day onboard the love boat (aka LSU-Finnjet). I draw comparisons daily to my first cruise experience. It's much more fun to find the similarities (because in truth, the two boats are COMPLETELY different), such as the distinct cruise-boat soap smell I just experienced in the bathroom -- the same stainless steel cleanliness. I am currently sitting in the red room (see photo below), which in another life time (of the boat), I am sure was a chic spot. Right now, however, it is occupied by medical/dental/etc students armored with headphones and water. The clicking of my key-board is actually the loudest noise in the room.
intercepting study time
Okay, semi-done with my cardiac cycle.
What a crazy weekend. Saturday night my roomies, Shelly, and Sashi took me to Tsunami for a belated birthday outing. You can see the entire downtown Baton Rouge from top of the restaurant. It's very Sex and the City, even more so as I was sipping my cosmopolitan, pretending not to be a medical student. Dinner included Rainbow Roll and Caterpillar, both bringing back memories Houston sushi. :)
I find that more and more, my present life if about re-capturing bits and pieces of yesterday, when yesterday passed so fast I barely had time to live it in its rightful moment.
Nightly dinners with a healthful selection of major food groups. :) I've missed going to common's every night for dinner... I get to do it again!
The Red Room, where all my studying has taken place.
My third day onboard the love boat (aka LSU-Finnjet). I draw comparisons daily to my first cruise experience. It's much more fun to find the similarities (because in truth, the two boats are COMPLETELY different), such as the distinct cruise-boat soap smell I just experienced in the bathroom -- the same stainless steel cleanliness. I am currently sitting in the red room (see photo below), which in another life time (of the boat), I am sure was a chic spot. Right now, however, it is occupied by medical/dental/etc students armored with headphones and water. The clicking of my key-board is actually the loudest noise in the room.
intercepting study time
Okay, semi-done with my cardiac cycle.
What a crazy weekend. Saturday night my roomies, Shelly, and Sashi took me to Tsunami for a belated birthday outing. You can see the entire downtown Baton Rouge from top of the restaurant. It's very Sex and the City, even more so as I was sipping my cosmopolitan, pretending not to be a medical student. Dinner included Rainbow Roll and Caterpillar, both bringing back memories Houston sushi. :)
I find that more and more, my present life if about re-capturing bits and pieces of yesterday, when yesterday passed so fast I barely had time to live it in its rightful moment.
Nightly dinners with a healthful selection of major food groups. :) I've missed going to common's every night for dinner... I get to do it again! 
The Red Room, where all my studying has taken place.
Old State Capital and according to Mark Twain, the monstrosity of the Mississippi, but remodeled and quite lovely from top of Tsunami.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Today I overcame my fear of cooking. I'm tired of always putting on aprons, chopping ingredients, stirring mixtures, whipping up occasional desserts, but never getting down and dirty with a complete meal. I've always heard cooking was theraputic, and I've been collecting recipes and watching food-network for a good two years. It was time to hit the store for some real groceries (not my usual fruits + broccoli + yogart shopping list).
I'm no Iron Cheft, or Linda Lee... but maybe with practice. :)
Starting with Garden Fresh Vegetable Soup. It contains yogart and I'm so glad it didn't curdle! Remember, no boiling! Maybe worthy of duplication. Perhaps no lemon next time. All goes well with Luna di Luna.
Lemon chicken. Note to self, I don't like sour food! That is not to underplay the fact this is the first time I've ever cooked real meat (not counting seafood). Perhaps I picked this recipe because it called for paprika, and I wanted to put some use to the big bottle I have. Only used 1/2 teaspoon though.
Chinese pancakes, aka ji dan bing, that I jazzed up with green onion. Could have used more salt. I still have a bundle of green onions left, maybe next time! 
I'm no Iron Cheft, or Linda Lee... but maybe with practice. :)
Starting with Garden Fresh Vegetable Soup. It contains yogart and I'm so glad it didn't curdle! Remember, no boiling! Maybe worthy of duplication. Perhaps no lemon next time. All goes well with Luna di Luna.
Lemon chicken. Note to self, I don't like sour food! That is not to underplay the fact this is the first time I've ever cooked real meat (not counting seafood). Perhaps I picked this recipe because it called for paprika, and I wanted to put some use to the big bottle I have. Only used 1/2 teaspoon though.
Chinese pancakes, aka ji dan bing, that I jazzed up with green onion. Could have used more salt. I still have a bundle of green onions left, maybe next time!
Monday, January 16, 2006
Confusing thoughts...
Some days just sitting down by the round table in my living room, with a pile of papers and books and my laptop, makes my stomach hurt.
I have nothing... instead I give you this --
"I never can quite say as much as I know. I look at other parrots and I wonder if it's the same for them, if somebody is trapped in each of them, paying some kind of price for living their life in a certain way..."
-- Jealous Husband Returns in Form of Parrot from the NEW YORKER by Robert Olen Butler
Disturbing little short story, really. Not about reincarnation at all, but wishing to make people understand... communication, miscommunication... and many other things I can't put my finger on. Such is the effect many short stories have on me -- I know I learned something, I'm just not sure what (or how to say it, which bring me back to the quote again).
Baton Rouge = Perkins. On most days, I travel up and down this one long street, exhausting my gas. It has everything I need, almost.
Tomorrow is my turn to cook for my roomies and Shelly. Does it matter that I actually make the food, or is the whole point to share a meal with friends? I'm 99% sure I'll be buying one thing or another to feed my friends. I've reached the conclusion that I can only cook for myself.
Some days just sitting down by the round table in my living room, with a pile of papers and books and my laptop, makes my stomach hurt.
I have nothing... instead I give you this --
"I never can quite say as much as I know. I look at other parrots and I wonder if it's the same for them, if somebody is trapped in each of them, paying some kind of price for living their life in a certain way..."
-- Jealous Husband Returns in Form of Parrot from the NEW YORKER by Robert Olen Butler
Disturbing little short story, really. Not about reincarnation at all, but wishing to make people understand... communication, miscommunication... and many other things I can't put my finger on. Such is the effect many short stories have on me -- I know I learned something, I'm just not sure what (or how to say it, which bring me back to the quote again).
Baton Rouge = Perkins. On most days, I travel up and down this one long street, exhausting my gas. It has everything I need, almost.
Tomorrow is my turn to cook for my roomies and Shelly. Does it matter that I actually make the food, or is the whole point to share a meal with friends? I'm 99% sure I'll be buying one thing or another to feed my friends. I've reached the conclusion that I can only cook for myself.
Monday, January 09, 2006
The 8th was a great day! Thank you, dear friends, for making my first birthday away from home so wonderful. I believe that passing dishes around the dinner table inspires warmth, ease, and conversation. Oh how I will miss the carefree state of bumming in front of a TV.
A few pictures to share!
I started the day with a call to my little swallow for the first time in …. I won’t say how long… okay, a whole year! Talking to her scared me a little – how could the loss of a year cause no injury? Were there minute changes in her, in us, that escaped me? Are friendships fragile or resilient? Are the ones that have fallen apart because of neglect or because they were never that strong to begin with? Perhaps my seemingly handicapped ability to dial the phone is really a process of natural selection. OMG! That’s twisted. New Year’s resolution – be a girl, use the phone!
The only thing better than admiring a beautiful cake is cutting into the beautiful cake.
Oh yeah... and today was the first day of classes. Enough said.
A few pictures to share!
I started the day with a call to my little swallow for the first time in …. I won’t say how long… okay, a whole year! Talking to her scared me a little – how could the loss of a year cause no injury? Were there minute changes in her, in us, that escaped me? Are friendships fragile or resilient? Are the ones that have fallen apart because of neglect or because they were never that strong to begin with? Perhaps my seemingly handicapped ability to dial the phone is really a process of natural selection. OMG! That’s twisted. New Year’s resolution – be a girl, use the phone!
India's Restaurant, where the food is hot (in both sense of the word) and the company is hot (pick your sense of the word).
The only thing better than admiring a beautiful cake is cutting into the beautiful cake.
Oh yeah... and today was the first day of classes. Enough said.
Saturday, January 07, 2006
I left Baton Rouge in the wee hours of the morning, when it was dark outside. I drove back tonight under the same lighting, but at a very different hour. Eleven hours of driving came and went; the same can be said about the past two weeks. I blinked. No more blinking.
I went through a funny roller coaster of emotions in the past few days. From mild boredom of the same vacation routine, to great anxiety at the beginning of another semester, to horrid homesickness at the prospect of leaving my parents, to tonight... grateful for wonderful friends to share all these feelings with. At the present moment, six minutes till my birthday, I am experiencing the familiar inklings of anticipation and excitement. Less excitement because I have too many disappointments under my belt to expect naively of the unknown. Nonetheless, there is the hope...
I can't end a whole semester of tortuous studying without a conclusion. Thus, I quote my favorite book of the moment (Harry Potter VI) --
"We must try not to sink beneath our anguish, but battle on." -- Albus Dumbordore
Hey girls, I think there is a reason why our reunion hasn't happened... We're waiting for a certain someone to get back to this side of the world!
I went through a funny roller coaster of emotions in the past few days. From mild boredom of the same vacation routine, to great anxiety at the beginning of another semester, to horrid homesickness at the prospect of leaving my parents, to tonight... grateful for wonderful friends to share all these feelings with. At the present moment, six minutes till my birthday, I am experiencing the familiar inklings of anticipation and excitement. Less excitement because I have too many disappointments under my belt to expect naively of the unknown. Nonetheless, there is the hope...
I can't end a whole semester of tortuous studying without a conclusion. Thus, I quote my favorite book of the moment (Harry Potter VI) --
"We must try not to sink beneath our anguish, but battle on." -- Albus Dumbordore
Hey girls, I think there is a reason why our reunion hasn't happened... We're waiting for a certain someone to get back to this side of the world!
Friday, January 06, 2006
A beautiful glass vase shattered in the downstairs bathroom this morning. I didn't hear it, but my mom was puzzled by the fact that no one was in the bathroom when it happened. It contained nothing but potpourri and a bar of jasmine soap, so weight is an unlikely culprit.
I leave Saint Louis tomorrow, a city that has been quite stingy with its sunshine during my stay. When the sun came out this afternoon, my mom exclaimed that she saw a smile on my face as a direct response.
It took six CD's to backup all the power points from my first semester. It's official, gross anatomy is over. I feel quite unqualified to put it behind me. How much of the knowledge I crammed into myself have actually made a lasting impression in my brain? More importantly, did I just waste six CD's? Will I ever open up those files again and look through the same slides???
I have a lllooonnnggg drive ahead of me tomorrow. But I'm not worried, it's not the drive that weights heavily on my mind, but the goodbyes that must precede.
I leave Saint Louis tomorrow, a city that has been quite stingy with its sunshine during my stay. When the sun came out this afternoon, my mom exclaimed that she saw a smile on my face as a direct response.
It took six CD's to backup all the power points from my first semester. It's official, gross anatomy is over. I feel quite unqualified to put it behind me. How much of the knowledge I crammed into myself have actually made a lasting impression in my brain? More importantly, did I just waste six CD's? Will I ever open up those files again and look through the same slides???
I have a lllooonnnggg drive ahead of me tomorrow. But I'm not worried, it's not the drive that weights heavily on my mind, but the goodbyes that must precede.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
If I had...
If I had extra three hundred bucks, guess where I would spend it. No, not inside here store, but definitely on her show. That's right, I'm not ashamed... I'm a fan. :) Since I'm only a poor student, I settled for a deck of cards as a momento that I was inside her store. :)
Christmas Tree in the Bellagio
There are certain advantages to visiting tourist destinations during the holidays, for the Bellagio fountain sounds extra cheerful when it is dancing to Christmas music. This Christmas tree hovers over a huge pool filled with floating cranberries, polar bears, and other absurdly elaborate concoctions. I'm so envious of little kids today... I felt like dancing in circles even in my old age!
The Venetian
Why is this photo blue? Looking out from the Venetian balcony with its gondola rides. Ceasars in the distance and Mirage across the street.
Stratosphere
According to my one-street map of Vegas, the stratosphere marks the end of the strip. My first tour of the city took me far past the lights and glitz of Las Vegas Blvd, through deserted streets and beaten down strip bars, thus try as I might, the luxiously lit streets and hotels could never completely blind me. It was one giant disco ball that I saw right through.
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