The spell is broken; I won!!!

It's an opera ticket next month... I actually put in my name for the drawing, then left the room to get coffee b/c I didn't think I would win. On my way back to my room, I thought, I bet Thuy (my friend who wins everything) won... so I went back to class to confirm. It turns out, she DID win, and so did I! :)

One week countdown to Round 2... OMG!!!

My record of never winning anything goes unmarred.

Today was APAMSA's (Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association) first annual rice eating contest. This fuzzy picture was the only action shot I have because once the food-shoving started, I became too caught up in the momentum to stop and take a picture! This is the first time I witnessed an eating contest in person and I have to say, there is an energy there unlike any other. Must admit, craziness is fun to watch. (J.L. is the surprising winner)

The winners drew raffle tickets... no P.F. Chang's for me. :(

Two medical students spend an entire hour in a hospital, involving many a people/operator/staff, trying to find the internal medicine resident on call. NO ONE could point them in the right direction! Oh the inefficiencies of the real world... it's a marvel anything gets done. You would think it's the medical students, but I swear, it's not!

I called him a bastard, but it was only half-hearted. The truth is, I don't care anymore. Finally, the naive innocent heroine abandons the undeserving illusion of a man, that is what I call modern day romance. Nothing can get me down after going to the one restaurant I've always wanted to go -- Emeril's! Oh happiness, why can't you stay for good.

I had to modulate myself all weekend in order to match a friend's downcast mood... it's sad but sometimes happiness isn't contagious, but could potentially annoy and devastate. Thus, I will only say here that this past weekend was so fulfilling that I am nothing short of depressed to be back in NO, away from my hometown.

I don't know Shreveport like the back of hand; I never have. There are, however, enough memories around enough corners to induce unexpected nostalgia; enough of a past to marvel at all the changes and things that never change; and just enough people that think of me to complete a bittersweet return. It turns out, I have a whole new set of roots not so far away.

The only thing missing from Mrs. Teague's house is the sound of her dog splattering through the rooms, howling because my arrival always promised a "chewie". I didn't mention that to her; I am sure she notices his absence everyday. It seems that nothing has left their assigned space in the last 5 years-- much to her dismay, much to my comfort. The more everything around me enticed to pull me back in time, the more I latched onto the present. Many things have stayed the same -- but not she, not I.

Me: you have to find something to look forward to.
B.B.: like what?
Me: like the trip this weekend, like the birthday dinner next week, like the spring break coming up.
B.B.: what else?
Me: life -- taking an unexpected turn.

***

Leaving for my old hometown in a couple of hours, I'm going to take pictures of gas stations and red lights. I'm going to see my violin teacher that I haven't seen in many many years. She once told me that no matter how much time passes, we would never grow apart. At the time, either us realized "how much time" would be this much time.

Last night I was giving advice to a friend, and realized that I sounded just like my dad, down to the fluctuation in tone. I hope she found the same comfort in my words that I always do in his.

This weekend will fly by sooo fast, and before I know it, I'll be back in this same seat, wondering where all the time went.