I got school pride!

My second-ever purchase* of a collegiate hoodie: Woo! (Even though it's backwards, since I took with my webcam.) Go TEACHERS COLLEGE!

*My first purchase was my undergraduate: UC DAVIS! GO AGS!!

Another reason why warm weather is great.

Today I went out for my once-weekly jog (hopefully it will pick up after this semester finishes), and I heard what sounded like live jazz music across the street.

As I jogged past, I saw a guy sitting on the curb playing the trumpet. He was seated next to his minivan, which had the door open and was blasting jazz music. The guy was playing along to the music.

I assume he was just practicing in a way that wouldn't annoy the next door neighbors. And I'm glad he did! It added a nice kick to my day.

I hailed my first cab tonight! As in, took a taxi all by myself.

After waiting 45 minutes for the M4 bus in 37-degree rainy weather (at 11:30pm), I decided it was high time I be a true New Yorker and take a cab home.

What a milestone.

Someone up there has to be laughing

You know those moments where something is so exasperatingly comical, it seems like someone has to be controlling events to conspire against you?

Well, that just happened to me, but thankfully, it was a minor episode: trying to finalize my phonetics term paper.

1. I finished my paper! 7 pages of transcription, and 8 pages of analysis! Yay!
   
2. I print out all 15 pages, only to find that I forget to center the "References" title. I print out the last page again.
3. I notice that ALL the pages have page numbers in BOTH the upper right corner and bottom center. Not sure how that happened. Delete bottom page numbers.
   
4. I print out the entire essay again and staple it and discover I forgot to include the last page of the essay.
5. I take out the staple and staple it again, only to realize that my conclusion has center alignment (as opposed to right justified). It's the only section of the essay in center alignment. WHY? WHY?!
6. Whatever. If the professor doesn't like center-aligned conclusion paragraphs, I don't like him. OK, that's not true, but I just don't care anymore.
   

In one day (today), I ate ALMOST a whole loaf of challah bread. I decided to allow myself to enjoy non-vegan food till January, so I bought the challah (with egg in it).

And now it's 11:37pm and my stomach is STUFFED with bread.
It could be worse.

It's time to set a date

I haven't posted in a while because I've been overwhelmed with starting my job (working two hours a day. I still can't handle it!) and a lot of term papers coming up in the near future.

Luckily, I spent 6 hours yesterday finishing up my biggest project: a transcription and phonetic analysis of a native Chinese speaker's English. It's actually really interesting to me, and I'm sad it must go the way of so many school projects: loved the topic, but wish I'd had more time to spend on it.

Also, my title of "setting a date" refers to my goal to become vegan. Yes, folks, it's high time I took that step. All the cool kids are doing it (literally--it seems to be a hipster thing, but also CAMMY has been vegan for years now). So I'm trying to set a date for when it will happen. I'm thinking New Year's. That way, I can still pig out on sweets on Christmas and post-Christmas, but once the new year starts, it's purely vegan delights for me! Of which there are many, many, many in New York City. Thank goodness.

OK, back to making final edits on the paper. Hope everyone had a bonne week-end. (And I am too lazy to look up if that French is correct.)

I forgot to mention

Since writing yesterday's post, I realized that a lot, and I mean a LOT of my friends have also done amazing things and taken huge life steps in the last few years.

These people have done things like move across the country, start medical school, start nursing school, start law school, start other graduate studies, move to freaking DC (I don't know how anyone can afford to live there; I think it's more expensive than New York, (although this theory is not based on any fact)), get married....

So in other words, I just wanted to give a little more love and recognition to the friends at home. Or far away from home, as the case may be.

How did this happen?

It dawned on me today that I live, work, (love) and go to school in the heart of New York City.

I have achieved a goal, or dream, that I subconsciously didn't think would happen. And I'm kind of amazed that it actually did happen.

So, uh, the moral of the story is: Go out and achieve your dreams!*


*Even if it means you will have no money afterward.

Confession

I have a confession to make today: I didn't vote.

Argh! It was due to sheer laziness. I suddenly got motivated Sunday night to try to fax in my absentee ballot, but couldn't get my fax machine to work (and if you try to fax at the UPS store they generally charge $1 per page, and the ballot is 12 pages).

So I fail. And I think the Democrats might be sort of failing in this election as well. :(

In other news, I got punched really hard at karate last night (we don't usually do contact, but I got paired up with an aggressive black belt):



The bruise is a bit difficult to see in this picture, but believe me, it's there. I'm a little embarrassed about going into work with this thing, so I'll be wearing sweaters and long sleeves for the rest of the week!

A Sane Halloween (Despite Photo Evidence to the Contrary)

In honor of the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, I had a very sane Halloween. Well, OK, it actually just kind of coincidentally turned out that way.

Bussed down to DC on Friday, which took about 5 1/2 hours, due to traffic and accidents (it was supposed to be a 4-hour trip). Liz and her boyfriend Josh also drove down that night, and we had a massive slumber party in Michelle's living room. Then the next morning we got a not-so-early start (due to delicious homemade walnut waffles made by Josh), which was just fine. Took the fairly packed yellow line from Huntington all the way in to L'Enfant, where we joined the crowds heading to the rally.

Thankfully, the day was GORGEOUS and not too cold, and the crowds were not too crazy. We got a spot to stand pretty far back, but we could see a screen, and hear pretty clearly. I think most of us agreed reading people's signs was the highlight of the event, but I also enjoyed getting to see Cat Stevens and Ozzie Osbourne perform together (!).

Look! A tiny Washington Monument! Proof of where we were.

Michelle rides back on the packed metro

That night (after managing to pack ourselves into the Metro trains in separate trips), we all got dressed up at Michelle's place, and headed out by 10pm to Adam's Morgan, hitting up a bar/club called Madam's Organ (confusing I know). This was actually a bar that I'd seen many times during my 3 months living in DC, but never checked out (I think mainly because they always have a cover on the weekends). But with ARI to pay my way (yes!), the cover was no big deal. And the music inside was pretty good; a nice mix of Beastie Boys and...hip hop. That's all I can remember. But I do remember dancing to it quite enthusiastically.

The night ended up being pretty long because we didn't catch a train back until 2:45ish, and due to train delays and late-night schedules, we didn't actually get back home till after 4am. We all agreed we are way too old for those kinds of crazy hours. But I suppose Halloween is a pretty good exception to the rule. It was a fun night, and it was definitely worth the long Metro trips to be able to "make the scene" (as my scene-making dad always says) and enjoy the costumes.*

Now, on actual Halloween day, I am rather wiped out. Another 4-hour bus trip back, and an evening of catching up on emails (and avoiding actual school work). But I went to the market across the street an hour ago and saw lots of adorable little children out trick-or-treating, so I'm happy to see that some of us are taking full advantage of this holiday.

Happy Halloween!

*Oh, and I didn't take any pictures of costumes b/c I'm lame and didn't really dress up. I decided to be the girl from the Cake song about the short skirt and the long jacket. And Ari came up with the creative idea of dressing as a marathon runner who was "going the distance." No one knew who we were. Ah well.

So I just spent three hours transcribing an interview with a Chinese speaker of English (phonetics project). And you know what? It's time for a blog post!

I think I felt somewhat overwhelmed/depressed during my first month or so at Teachers College (from hereon out referred to as TC), partly because it felt so weird to be back in class again, stressing about homework and exams again. And partly because I had WAY too much free time (my classes are mainly in the evening), so I was constantly thinking about what I should be doing to maximize my studying time, or my sightseeing time, or my job-searching time.

Thankfully, things have gotten better. I'm more comfortable with the school regime (I'm NOT 2 weeks ahead in the reading! No need to be that far ahead!). And I got a part-time job! (Substitute ESL teaching for now, but my boss said it's highly likely I'll get a permanent position in the next month or so.) And I have extra-curricular activities, such as karate. And going to happy hour (OK, so I actually ditched karate for happy hour yesterday, but it's the first time that has ever happened! And it won't happen again! For a while, at least. Why do I have this guilty conscience, as if my mother is always observing from afar?)

In other news, I will be moving out of student housing come December. I just can't stomach the $1700-per-month rent, even if I DO literally live across the street from TC. However, if everything works out, I will be living in a nice apartment about 20 minutes walking distance away from TC, where I will be sharing a bathroom and a kitchen with a nice lady who is part of the faculty at Columbia (ooh, aah). And I will be getting my own fairly big room, with a queen size bed and a massive collection of books to choose from! I will post pics if I end up moving in (fingers crossed).

One last thing: Ari and I (and pretty much everyone I know) are going to Washington, DC this weekend. It's the "Rally to Regain Sanity" or something like that. Hosted by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. I actually don't really have a strong desire to go to the rally; I just happen to have a free weekend (My midterm got pushed back a week! Yay!), so I figure, why not? And we have a place to crash (chez Michelle, one of the many awesome Davis people who coincidentally also moved out East). So here's to a fun Halloween/rally/quick vacation weekend!

This message from our Student Senate President today:

"And finally this Friday, why do the new gender-neutral bathrooms at TC have signs about locking the door? One official justification is that somebody might enter the bathroom and either be, or cause an other supposed occupant to be, startled. This kind of unintended bigotry is worrisome. No one is remotely concerned about any similar such startling that is of frequent occurrence in the traditional-binomially-gendered bathrooms."

I found this so amusing, I had to share.
Academics. Such weird people.

School Starts (Sort of)!

Haven't posted for a bit because I've been in that weird place where you don't really have anything to do, yet if you think about it hard, you feel like you have a million things to do. Anyone know what that's like?

I think it's part of the whole moving to a new place + starting a new school process. Paperwork, organization, buying of groceries, picking classes...you know. Kind of fun, kind of not fun.

So I had my first classes yesterday. But I'm probably not going to be in either of them. So I'm still kind of waiting around. "Literacy and Development" fulfills a "breadth" requirement (it's like a GE course), but it looks like a pretty intense class. You have to create a curriculum for a literacy center, among other things. Or volunteer 20 hours at a literacy center and then write a minimum of 40 pages about your experience.
While I do I think it would be really interesting to do those things; I just think I'd like to get used to being back in school first, and take it a little slower to start with.

The other class (Sociolinguistics and Education) is full, so I'm wait-listed. And I kind of doubt people will drop. Oh well.

My "real" classes start in earnest next week. And that was a very boring post. Sorry.

Hooray for a long weekend!

Rice rice baby

Roger Ebert is publishing a cookbook solely based on things you can make in a rice cooker. Be still my heart.

A pleasant Monday evening.

PS: It's Ari's birthday tomorrow! And I have orientation most of the day.... :(

Map it out

Just a quick update.

Life is pretty much the same since I last posted; I've been wandering around Manhattan whenever possible. (I spent literally 20 minutes at Barnes and Noble deciding which map was the best.) I decided on this one:

(It's not backwards in real life. And the thing that looks like a massive insect behind my head is actually a sprinkler.)

It looks like this inside:

Very useful, you see? Fairly compact, yet still shows streets AND subways AND bus routes. Excellent.

I then proceeded to use to shop at Old Navy. Yes, that's right folks, the shopping ban begins in just 3 days, so this is my last chance for the next 6 months! I found the ON flagship store on 34th street; TWO LEVELS of women's clothing. I refrained from actually buying anything though, since I believe everyone who reads this knows about the money woes of college.

Then watched the Emmys with some girls in my building. No really exciting wins; I just don't care about TV that much. Unless it's Mad Men, 30 Rock, or the Office. At least Mad Men won something; I just can't remember what now.

Also, my room is still quite bare. I noticed this especially when I went to another girls room, and she has it decked out. Huge carpet, six pillows, the whole shebang. Guess I just gotta keep workin' on it.
Next thing to make my room more livable: PLANTS!!

Ici, in NYC

So I am officially moved into my dorm (more like an apartment, really) on 121st street, in the "Monrningside Heights" area of Manhattan. Doesn't that name sound nice? It is nice. The weather has been BEAUTIFUL ever since I moved in here (yesterday morning), and the people are friendly, and...yeah.

My room is great too! I will post pics of it soon. It still looks a little too bare and depressing for me to be motivated to take pictures yet. But I will as soon as I'm satisfied with its homeyness.

I had my first "meet and greet" style orientation tonight, where all the "singles" dorm people meet up for cheese and crackers. It wasn't too bad! I tend to get overwhelmed by large groups of people I don't know, but I met a few nice ladies (it's about 90% ladies at Columbia Teachers College), and quite a few of them (the first 4 I met) are from Southern California! Good? Bad? I'm trying not to worry too much about it. At least I have people to commiserate with about the weather when it goes to the dark side.

So the main issue I'm facing at the mo' is, food is SO EXPENSIVE. There are lots of adorable little "bodegas" around (that's what people seem to call them), but a quart of soy milk costs $3. A box of cereal is $6. Two heads of broccoli are $3. So...I guess once Target starts carrying produce (next month), maybe I'll just make the half-hour trek up there and pick up the stuff I need. No fun. But good exercise!

----------
On an unrelated note, I bought Jonathan Safran Foer's Eating Animals at the bookstore. I NEVER buy books! But I didn't want to stare longingly into space while I ate my Chipotle burrito yesterday. Anyway, I started it, and it's (not surprisingly) pretty good. He has a very readable, logical style. He actually (jokingly?) advocates eating stray dogs in one section, and he makes it sound very reasonable.

Short clip from a nice evening.

Btw, yes, we DID bring sushi to the latin music concert. (That's the food Ari has in front of him.)

The first week

A few random shots from my first couple of days here.

The night I arrived: Ari made me chocolate pie! With homemade whipped cream. He knows what I like.

Refreshing fountain in Prospect Park

Cool wire bug sculptures on a random building.

The Williamsburg Bridge

Algebraic equations on the ground?

My first Sonic visit, en route to Ohio. Banana cream pie milkshake. I was not a fan of banana-flavored drinks until I tried this. AMAZING.

The Girlfriend Experience

This post has nothing to do with Steven Soderbergh's film. But this weekend I experienced being a girlfriend, and what it's like when you're the girlfriend meeting LITERALLY 50 family members (of your boyfriend).

Flew into JFK on Weds night, and spent a day lazin' around on Thursday before making the 9 1/2 hour drive from Brooklyn to Youngstown, Ohio to meet Ari's parents and siblings and extended family for the first time. They were all super nice, thankfully, although Ari had warned me that his mother could be scary (she served in the Israeli army, after all), it was all hearsay. They were all very welcoming and sweet, and the whole family gets along ridiculously well (I wasn't sure families like that actually existed).

Anyway, there was a reunion/birthday party on Saturday night for approximately 50 relatives/friends, and I think I met them all. Platters of food; a birthday cake in the shape of a 3D castle, and 10 boxes of pizza. It was a fun night.

We packed up to leave on Sunday morning, and got 30 miles into Pennsylvania, only to discover at the first rest stop that our brakes weren't working! So 2 hours later we were towed back to Youngstown, spent an EXTRA night in Youngstown, waited for the car to get fixed, which took until 7pm. So we got back to Brooklyn at 2am this morning. Hooray!

Highlights of the weekend:

• Handel's Ice Cream (a Youngstown institution)--we bought 5 different flavors (chocolate pecan, mint chocolate chip, cookies and cream, peach, black cherry)
• Learning Rummikub (a family institution, apparently)
• Finding a cool random Indian/Pakistani market on our scenic walk around the car repair shop
• Walking around the lake (Newport Lake) that is literally less than a block from Ari's backyard. And the area is so lush and GREEN in summer! And humid. I felt like I was in Hawaii.
  

New York, New York

What a wonderful town!

At least, when it's not as humid as it is right now.

Going for a walk in Prospect Park, and then latin music later.

Curse You, New Yorker

BTW, I did NOT achieve my goal of catching up on all the issues of the New Yorker before leaving.

I got through about 10 of them, but I still have about 5 more. I am bringing them with me. And my dad gets to keep receiving them back here, in LA.

I will consider getting my own subscription, but it doesn't seem very logical. Perhaps TimeOut New York will be more my speed.

Aargh. Sorry to leave that depressing previous post up for so long. I have not been wallowing in sadness these past few days, as one might assume.

In fact, I am almost done PACKING! Two massive suitcases and one roll-y carry-on. And a purse. Yeah, I'm moving, what can I do? There's really no way around sweatin' a lot during the trips to and from the airport. Especially since I'll be lugging the bags through NY, which apparently is still suffering from humid heat waves.

Oh well, Ari's picking me up at the airport at least, and I'm arriving at 10pm. So it shouldn't be too bad.

I am excited!!!! My enthusiasm about moving to NY has picked up again; I'm pretty sure I won't be able to sleep tonight (since I couldn't really sleep last night either; my excitement kicked in two days in advance).

Just listened to a news story about the LRA, a group that recruits child soldiers in several countries of Africa. It seems the LRA is getting stronger, and the issue of child soldiers isn't at the top of the list for the US government, with so many other problems in the world.

Sometimes NPR just makes me cry.

It's good to be free

I've been off work for 2 1/2 weeks now, and it's been pretty great. I loved my job (teaching ESL in La Verne), but I don't miss it yet.

The only problem with having this much time on my hands is that I start thinking about more activities I need to take up--mainly musical instruments, artistic outlets, and sports. Perhaps dulcimer, ceramics, and karate are in the cards? Not sure how much time I'll have once school gets started, but I hope to find at least one "extracurricular activity" to do.

Anyway, recent events:

• Camping at Lake Cuyamaca over the weekend: Gorgeous and luxurious! I've never before eaten potato/avocado/tomato/bell pepper/squash scramble for breakfast while camping. And I reached a mountaintop by 8am on Sunday. This is what it looked like:
  

• Free Monday concerts at Spaceland in Silver Lake! I can never check these things out on work nights. Leah and I saw 3 (unknown to us) bands: Vanaprasta, Tomorrow's Tulips (I think), and White Arrow. Vanaprasta was the best; the lead singer looked like Zach Galifianakis, and was quite energetic.
  

• Met up with Anja in Downtown LA on Tuesday to get scrumptious "Smac & Cheese" and mint lemonade at Nickel Diner and then ridiculously indulgent waffles and ice cream at Syrup Desserts. I heartily recommend both spots.

please pay no attention to the random woman on her laptop in the background.

• AFTER dinner and dessert with Anja, went with Leah to the Kogi truck in Altadena! Waited 1 1/2 hours (until midnight) to get a tofu burrito. So not worth it. Although it wasn't a terrible wait, since it's kind of a social event. Lots of folks chillin' on the street and sidewalk. But by the time I got my burrito, all I wanted was to go to sleep.
  

That is all. Going to see "Surfin' Safari" (a Beach Boys cover group) with the fam at the Coffee Gallery tonight.

One more week till I leave for New York!

The Bands I've Owned and Abandoned

The NPR All Songs Considered Blog recently asked its readers which artists have put out the most music they own but never listen to. For example, some band you were obsessed with in the past, and whose CDs you continue to buy, but never actually play.

The far and away most popular response was (not so surprisingly) Dave Matthews Band. Boy am I glad I've NEVER been into him! Well all right, I did have a brief phase during the time that "free hugs" music video came out. But I can't even remember the song that went with it.

Anyway, the artist that I would have to confess to never listening to is Radiohead. I realized this upon reading someone else's comment: "Probably Radiohead. I love them, love their music, love seeing them live — and am almost never in the mood to listen to them."

This describes exactly how I feel. Although I've never actually seen them live, I hope to some day, because I've heard they're awesome. But I went through a Radiohead phase in college which lasted a couple years, and haven't really gone back since, despite continuing to buy their CDs. Radiohead's music creates such a strong, and often depressing mood; I'm often unable to tolerate it unless I'm willing to sit down and focus on a whole album.

Anyway, anyone else have an artist they feel this way about?

Went to see In the Heights tonight with the fam, in honor of my parents' 31-year anniversary. (Thank goodness they still invite the kids.) I was a little worried before the show because I know the musical has a lot of hip hop, and I wasn't sure the folks would go for it. But thankfully, the production was really good! Great singers, catchy tunes (not too much rapping), and a sweet story. I recommend it.

And now I want to visit Washington Heights when I get to New York.

Best Purchase of the Weekend

Bought this on vinyl for 40 cents at Armadillo Records. I think it will set the mood nicely in my dorm.

Upon my impending move to New York, (and my current 3-week vacation), I will make another attempt at resurrecting this blog. Ideally, I'll post little anecdotes from my life in Manhattan/Harlem, so people who are interested can stay up-to-date.

But I'm not in New York yet! So I will post some other random thoughts/activities instead.

1. My goal before leaving is to finish all the issues of The New Yorker. My father and I somewhat thoughtlessly subscribed to it back in December, after I made my first trip out to visit Ari and kind of fell in love with the city all over again. Did you know that you get a new issue every week? Thus, it's a bit challenging to get through one when you're also working virtually full-time. Anyway, I've made it through about 5 issues in one week; I've got to speed up my game here.

2. My mother and I have created a "No New Clothing" pledge, which I've read about on some fashion blogs. The idea is not to buy any new clothing for a certain amount of time; in our case, six months. No new clothing or jewelry purchased, although shopping at Goodwill or Salvation Army is allowed. This is an excellent time for me to take up this challenge, since the starting date will be my first day of classes at Columbia.

3. Cooking again--I found some inspiring recipes on Andrea's blog that I've been meaning to make for a while. Vegetarian chili first! And after that some Thai curry (not from her blog, but just my own attempt).

4. Going to see terrible movies! Ok, not a goal, but it seems to be happening regardless. I saw Dinner for Schmucks last weekend with Michelle in Davis, and it was pretty much the worst comedy I've seen all year. Made the mistake of NOT consulting my trusty LA Times beforehand. And then today I'm probably going to see Sex & the City 2 with Leah. Although at least that will only be $2.

That's all I can think of at the mo. Alright, time to get back to my New Yorker. I must finish another one today!

Haven't posted in a while, but Salinger's death today inspired me.

After hearing about this death, I'm sure almost everyone flashed back to their "Salinger" moment (if they have one); I personally remember middle school, when I worked as the computer lab T.A. for Mrs. Soja, and had way too much time on my hands. I finished Catcher in the Rye during one of those slow days, and then immediately started reading it again. I enjoyed it so much I didn't want to put it down. So I read it twice in a row, with a time span of about 2 minutes between readings.

I also have memories of reading Nine Stories in Mrs. Swanson's 11th grad English class, and acting out scenes from the stories. Such a weird, albeit creative, idea. Nevertheless I remember feeling greatly moved by those stories as well, particularly the last one, entitled "Teddy."

Just watched the movie Adventureland and have developed a crush on the actor Martin Starr. Don't judge me.

The Vietnamese lady I go to for manicures gave me a guava from her tree today.

It's little things like that that really make my day sometimes.

PB + CHO

I have made my first thing since coming home!

And the thing looks like this:

Yes, it is a baked thing. Peanut butter cookies with mini Reese's peanut butter cups pressed in the center! I was inspired by the coffee shop near Cammy's house in Long Beach, which sells giant versions of these cookies, with a full-size peanut butter cup in the middle.

I made so many cookies (about 48) that I had to ask Dad to take some in to work tomorrow. My mom won't eat them, so I must save myself from myself!

Happy Early Turkey Day

Off to Napa (via Berkeley to pick up my sis) tomorrow morning! As my dad's driving, we will be leaving somewhat promptly at 8am. I'm SO glad I can sleep in the car. If it were me, we wouldn't be leaving until 11am. But since Dad's driving--fine by me!

This will probably be our last time going to Napa for Thanksgiving (we went up there my freshman and sophomore years of college), and it's been a wonderful tradition. I'm not sure if there's any other region in California that has such consistently stellar food. And now, Leah and I can actually participate in the wine tasting!

What am I thankful for?

As always, my family comes up first on my list. Next would be friends. And I am always especially thankful that I still have Cammy, after all she's been through. And I'm thankful that I live in such a great country (despite its many issues), and that my family has never had to worry about putting enough food on the table.

Let's see.... I need something less banal to be thankful for. I am thankful that I have traveled to so many countries! Although I have many more on the list.

And with that, a good vacation to everyone.

I am back again! How many times have I started a post with that sentence?

Anyway, unemployment inspires me to write. Or to write some short blog posts, at least.

I have been on an art fix! What does that mean, you ask? It means that I have been obsessed with finding and framing artwork. I think it's largely because my walls are so empty, after not having lived in my room (or added many personal touches) for about 6 years. Yeah, that's how long it's been since high school.

Anyway, I digress. Today I went to Michael's and Target and bought 5 picture frames (one frame holds 7 pictures), and filled them all up with art! Mainly postcards I've collected over the years, but picture comes from a calendar that I had in 7th grade, and one picture is a print that I ordered from Etsy. It's pretty great.

Now I just need to actually hang them on the wall without taking large chunks of plaster out as well. My parents wouldn't be too happy about thtat.

Another reason why I love teaching

Student: Teacher, do you dye your hair?
Me: Yes.
Student: Oh. Is your hair actually black?
Me: No, it's dark brown.
Student: Oh. Are you American?


I love that foreign students expect all "real" Americans to have blond hair. I'm an American too, gosh darn it!!

I think we can all agree the advertising...could be improved.

I alternate between hesitantly loving and strongly despising American Apparel--I try to shop there, but everything is either too baggy or WAY WAY WAY too tight/short.  

Anyway, this latest offering from the AA catalogue doesn't really change my uncertainty on the company.  It's at once horrifying and amazing.  

Just a quick shout-out

To all my friends, all over the world, whether they read this thing or not:

You are great. I'm lucky to have you.

I just had a great and busy weekend hanging with a good mix of people (and not hanging out with a few, sadly), and it reminded me how happy my friends make me.

THANK YOU! I hope I'm still in touch with all of you in 30 years.

"You look tired."

Never a compliment, right?

I have been told this THREE TIMES in the last 2 months while at work. It has motivated me to buy thicker foundation and wear more makeup, since I figure that is one of the small joys of being a woman--you can generally cover it up if you look like crap.

But apparently it's not working, since one of my students commented again today that I look tired.

GAH!

That is all.

I take it back

I believe I'm on record stating that an Eastern European accent is one of my least favorite accents.  

I take it back.  That opinion does not apply to this man:

That would be Eugene Hütz, charismatic lead singer of the Ukrainian gypsy/punk band Gogol Bordello (and actor in the movie Everything is Illuminated).

I love anything gypsy-ish (Klezmer music, clarinet, accordion, etc.), and after trying to get to a show the last 3 years, I finally got to a live show last week in Pomona. Hütz's stage presence, energy and enthusiasm is amazing. I also heard him interviewed on NPR, and he's got a really interesting story (he's a survivor of Chernobyl and had to emigrate to New York with his family in the early '90s).

So yeah. Check it out if you get a chance.

I am watching ben folds perform right now!!! One of my life goals achieved. (this is from my cell phone.)

Hooray! Going with Camille to see HAIR (the musical) tonight!

Just watched Bonnie and Clyde.

It totally blew me away.  No pun intended.  

I was worried about the 2-hour running time, but the story completely drew me in.

Definitely a recommended film, if you haven't seen it.  

Another radio reference

Sorry for the second public radio reference in a row.  But this is what I listen to now, thanks to my hour-plus commutes with only a radio.  

Anyway, did anyone watch Ira Glass on the Colbert Report last week?  I just watched it, and Glass's lovable awkwardness made me cringe and warmed my heart at the same time.  Not many things do that.  

If you want to check out the interview, it's here.  

I stole this from the All Songs Considered Blog.

I despise "Auto-Tuning."  But I am amused by this video.  

Chocolate Fish*

My parents are back from Paris!  And they brought me...chocolate fish?

Actually, they are quite adorable chocolate fish.  Apparently one sees fish memorabilia everywhere in Paris during April, since a traditional French April Fool's trick is to put a fish on someone's back (not sure how they managed that).   Today it's more common just to put a picture of a fish on someone's back as a trick.

Those French really are cards.  

*I type "chocolate fish" and all I can think of is that inane Chocolate Rain song from YouTube.  

So it gets your attention. Is that all?

This always frustrates me.

The new Allure issue is touting a spread where they got "5 Celebrities to Bare it All" for a photo shoot in the magazine. They briefly interview the women regarding how they feel being naked, what their insecurities are, etc.


My problem is: these women are celebrities; their bodies are PERFECT. Or if not perfect, then airbrushed to perfection. Why do women's magazines do these kinds of nudity spreads so frequently?
The magazine tries to play it like it's some kind of female empowerment, but do any of us real people even know anyone that looks that good?!

I was only happy with this kind of "love your body by looking at naked women" thing once, when (the now sadly defunct) Jane Magazine did a spread on nudity, but used non-celebrities to pose naked; they just asked readers to volunteer. Cool, huh?

This ain't no World Cup

Look how responsible, caring, and yes--pitiful--those Germans are.

Look!  I am officially a "lecturer" at Cal State Long Beach!

I mean, sure, I'm technically only "part time," and I only work at the extension; but the card looks cool!

Frohe Ostern!

I decided to wish you a happy Easter in German because for some reason, Easter makes me think of Germany.  Or at least, it reminds me of Germany more than the other holidays.  

Maybe this is because one of my most memorable Easters was during my time in Goettingen, when I went with some other Americans to an "Easter Pageant" at the local Catholic church, only to discover that it was a service meant only for children, and we were the only non-parents there. We got to learn all about Jesus's resurrection through brightly colored pictures and catchy tunes.  Good times.  

Anyway, this Easter was a good one.  I made Easter candies!  Look:

Anyone reading the L.A. Times probably saw the recipe for these pastel mints on the front page of the Food section a few days ago.  They were fairly easy to make, and I think they came out pretty well, although I have no idea how long it will take to eat all of them. 

I brought over the best mints to Cammy's dad's house for Easter (my parents are in Paris, so I needed a surrogate family).  We had a delicious feast of peanut noodles (made by Cammy), along with more traditional faire of scalloped potatoes, salad, and asparagus. 

And now, I will leave you with a link to Hannah's hilarious Easter-related video, and wish you all a good night!

Inspiring Teacher Movie of the Day

*Other than proving to me yet again what a great actor Sidney Poitier is, this film also made me realize that all those hipster kids you see dancing in bars in L.A. are just replicating the mod dances of the 60's.  I suppose it's obvious, but I'd never made the connection before!  

Cutie Pie Grossness

Zooey Deschanel irritates me.  Why?  Because she's too freakin' cute.  She looks cute (dark brown hair, big blue eyes), she has a cute voice, she always plays cute characters in her movies, even her name's freakin' adorable.  She's too precious.  Thus, I must resist her.  

Nevertheless, I found myself checking out Zooey's "band," She & Him, and it has a few catchy tracks.  I just caved and downloaded one called "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?"  

I couldn't help myself, and now I feel like a hypocrite.  But that's it!  Only one song, and I'm done with this Deschanel!  Unless she makes another movie with Will Ferrell, then I might make an exception....

A post! A post!

I'm sure my many readers are thrilled beyond belief to see that I am posting!!

Honestly, I have been feeling inspired to blog lately; but then I come home and fall asleep.

I have good reason to fall asleep though (in my opinion), because I've been working 8-hour days teaching ESL in La Verne.  A new teaching session starts tomorrow, where I'll downgrade to a 2-hour morning class, and then I'll be driving down to Cal State Long Beach to teach another 2-hour afternoon class.  

I'm paying my teaching dues; all this work is pretty much just so I can hopefully get some good letters of rec and a little experience (NOT a lot of moolah).  Luckily I really enjoy it.  Thank goodness I didn't spend 4 years of undergrad getting a linguistics degree for nothing.  (I really wasn't sure if I even wanted to go into teaching after college.)

Also, all this driving in a car with only a radio enables me get in my daily quota of NPR.  I used to feel guilty about not being up on all the current events; now I feel like I know TOO MUCH.  I mean really, do they have to talk for 30 minutes straight about home mortgage problems?  Or bailout plans?  Seemingly every hour?  All the financial stuff gets on my nerves after a while, and I've started to tune it out, even without meaning to.   But honestly, 

who wouldn't rather hear an interesting story about the sex lives of sea creatures?  

Last night I got to experience one of the rare joys of living in LA: hanging out at Union Station for an hour on a Saturday night!

This experience was not planned,  which is probably the only way it could have happened.  I was meeting Cammy so that we could go to a vegan pizza place nearby, called Purgatory Pizza.  Little did Cammy and I know how infrequently the Metro runs.  Thus I was stuck there for a while waiting for her to show up.

But I'm glad it happened!  I sat in the famous waiting area, feeling as if I were waiting for a train or a flight somewhere in Europe.  (For some reason, it seems I never have to wait as long for transportation in the States.)  

Then a homeless man sat across from me and started up a conversation about traveling in Europe.  Go figure!  Lately, it seems like traveling (and being vegetarian) are the only two things I ever talk about with people I've just met.  It could be worse.  But anyway, it was a pretty interesting conversation; the guy, "Todd," told me all about his adventures getting foot surgery in Paris and stopping at the Becks Brewery in Bremen.  From what I could tell, his stories were too accurate not to be at least partly true.  

Then I got up to use the bathroom and got hit on by a small Black man named "Lil Larry," who gave me his business card and told me to call him when I'm single.

After that, happily, Cammy showed up.  And we got delicious pizza, in which I ordered a medium, real cheese pizza ALL FOR MYSELF and ate it ALL BY MYSELF.  In one sitting.  

A good Saturday night.  

I have picked up the guitar again (we'll see how long it lasts), and am already annoyed that I cannot play more than the chorus of Happiness is a Warm Gun.  

Lucky for me, there is a never-ending supply of Belle & Sebastian songs I can learn.  And I NEVER get tired of B & S.  

Me loves the Hello Kitty

I have a somewhat unhealthy obsession with Hello Kitty. I don't know why her disgustingly cute face continues to pull me in. Perhaps it's because she's Japanese. Perhaps it's because she has a sister, as do I. Although it's supposedly a twin sister. Their only difference is that Mimmy (the sister) has a yellow ear-bow.

OK, I have probably already told you way more than you wanted to know regarding the HK and her awesomeness.

Also, for the record, the pictured cupcake did not taste as good as it looks. Hard to believe, I know. The frosting was very artificially flavored. But I got a plastic Hello Kitty ring out of the deal!

Things to do while unemployed

Why not alphabetize your CDs? 

A break from cynicism

Sometimes

by Sheenagh Pugh

Sometimes things don't go, after all,

from bad to worse.  Some years, muscadel

faces down frost; green thrives; the crops don't fail,

sometimes a man aims high, and all goes well.

A people sometimes will step back from war;

elect an honest man; decide they care

enough, that they can't leave some stranger poor.

Some men become what they were born for.

Sometimes our best efforts do not go 

amiss; sometimes we do as we meant to.

The sun will sometimes melt a field of sorrow

that seemed hard frozen: may it happen for you.

Awesome weekend

Highlights of going to Davis this weekend (This is mainly for my own recollection):

-Making the 6-hr drive in the (rather small) car with Kaylan, her boyfriend, Toby (a dog) and Java (a cat).  

-Playing Cranium a total of three times in 2 1/2 days, Scene it twice, and Catchphrase 3 times.  YES!  My friends like games too!!

-Finally meeting Ashley and Michelle (I've heard so much about them).  Gathering together in the living room for Michelle's mini-concert.  

-Going to 80's night at the club, dressed in 80's clothing, and not caring that no one else at the club was thematically dressed.  Dancing the WHOLE NIGHT.  And being impressed by Alicia's lack of self-consciousness. 

-Kaylan making enchiladas for everyone.  

-Shopping at the Co-op with Alicia.  And spending $22 on a Hello Kitty water bottle.  (OK, perhaps that price isn't exactly a highlight.)

-Taking Toby for a walk out on the greenbelt.  

-Looking forward to doing it all again.  

I see nothing wrong with this.  In fact, sounds like a reason to visit Switzerland on the way to Iceland.  

And (ha ha!) it figures they'd be mainly be Germans.  

Another reason to visit Iceland

On January 31, Iceland is going to appoint the world's first openly gay head of government: Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir. She's a "former flight attendant who parlayed her experience as a union organizer into a decades-long political career."

I've long heard that Iceland is a beautiful place to visit (not least because it's a perfect spot to see the Northern Lights, a life goal of mine).

Turns out politics are another reason to check out the country!

Lesson learned

Do NOT download Beyonce's single "If I Were a Boy" and then listen to it a single time, because it will be stuck in your head ALL DAY (all year?!).  

I don't even know the lyrics after she says "If I were a boy...."  So I don't even have anything to sing after that.  All I can do is hum.

Hot man:

Namely, Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Yeah, I realize he's mostly famous for being on that overrated TV show, Grey's Anatomy.  

He definitely deserves better things.  At least, based on his looks (I'm not even worrying about talent).

But does he or does he not bear a striking resemblance to Javier Bardem?  

It's like JDM is America's lower-cost, more-attainable answer to the hot Spanish one.

OK, done drooling for tonight.  

It's time to put an end to this destructive relationship

I've made a resolution to stop shopping at Urban Outfitters. 

The relationship has just gotten too strained. During my high school years, I discovered the store (thanks to Vivian), and was obsessed with it, blowing hundreds of dollars there for birthdays and Christmas. I convinced myself that it was OK that the shirts cost upwards of $30 each, because I was being original and artistic.

But then Forever 21 came along, with virtually the same clothes for about half the price. And I've actually heard good things about Forever 21's clothing manufacturers (well, the workers protested and got lots of public attention, so Forever 21 was basically forced to make improvements).

So UO has high prices, most likely uses bad labor practices, and...then I read Broke & Beautiful's blog entry, which discusses how the latest catalogue features half-naked girls modeling the clothing.  

That crosses the line; what's the point of dressing the models like this?  I suppose it could be argued to be artistic, but I don't buy it.  None of the male models appear like this.  It's pandering, and it offends me.

Thus, I refuse to shop at Urban Outfitters anymore!  

I'm also writing them an email telling them why.

It may not be much in the grand scheme of chain-store shopping, but it's something.  

A Beautiful Day

Oh yeah

Is it hard for anyone else to believe that Obama is going to be OUR PRESIDENT tomorrow?!?

It's a happy disbelief.

I'm not a Republican yet

...but sometimes it looks like it would be a lot of fun.

So I didn't have very high expectations (low expectations which I tried to disguise in the previous post), but as it turned out, Monster Jam (R) was pretty freakin' awesome. It may have had something to do with the 3 beers Cammy and I drank on an empty stomach beforehand, but I think the main elements of loud engines and massive trucks flying into the air makes for an unbeatable combination of FUN. It was kind of like watching a sports game where you don't need to have any beforehand knowledge of the rules; you just cheer for what you like, and everyone cheers with you (and you get to eat enormous bags of cotton candy at the same time).

Monster Jam! Tonight! I'll let y'all know how it goes....

The "Academy"

I know most of the people from Monrovia know the Academy movie theater, on Colorado. I think it's known mostly for being rundown.

Well, with me being unemployed and all, I have rediscovered the beauty of this theater. Matinee shows $2! Evening shows $3! What more could I ask for? (Especially when the cheapest price you can get at the Krikorian now is $7.25. And the regular adult price is $10.25!!)


So today I went to go see Wendy and Lucy (a film about nothing, basically), which was totally worth the $2. Not that the movie was bad...I just couldn't picture myself paying more than $5 to see it.

The point I'm trying to make is, don't pay so much for movies! If you're gonna spend more money, go see a play. If you want to watch a big screen, go to the Academy. At least the name sounds fancy.

Unhealthy obsession

Two items of ridiculous clothing that I keep coveting, despite all common sense:

1. A "romper" or "jumpsuit," it appears to be called, looking something like this (only $11 at Forever 21!):

and 

modeled here:

--as well as--

2. High-heeled (I need high heels like I need a hole in the head) oxford shoes, as illustrated in this example:

I can't wait till these impractical items go out of style and get out of my sight. I need them to stop tempting me.

Now I need to watch 12 Angry Men. Or Runaway Jury?

As of yesterday, I am finished with FOUR WEEKS of jury duty! It wasn't four weeks straight; it actually only added up to 12 days. But due to the holidays, it ended up going over many weeks (and into a new year!).

And after all that work, it ended up being a hung jury. We had 11-1, not guilty. ONE WOMAN refused to change her mind. But even after all the frustration of not being able to reach a decision, I felt satisfied that we had truly done our best to discuss all the possibilities. And I guess that's how the whole system's supposed to work.

I think the best part of this jury duty was hanging out in downtown LA. And no, that's not sarcastic. Downtown has a lot of really awesome restaurants, gardens, museums, and shops. The Walt Disney Center, MOCA, Little Tokyo, Grand Central Market, etc. I definitely hope to get down there again and sightsee a bit more before leaving the area (if that happens).

I'm doing a massive overhaul of my room. And I have concluded, I have too much meaningful stuff! What am I supposed to do with it all?

I suppose if it's truly meaningful, I'll remember it even if I don't own it anymore.

If Obama does it....

Does that mean it's cool?  

I've always thought the backwards baseball cap, with its connotations of arrogance on one hand and laid-back chillness on the other, was an interesting fashion trend.  

Perhaps it's time for a comeback?  

You are a Delight

I am now eating my last container of Turkish Delight (or rather, Greek Delight). I brought back 6 boxes of the stuff (I sort of fell in love with it), and have now managed to give all of it away, except for this last rose-flavored box.

It makes me a little nostalgic already for my ship travels.

The Keht Abides

After an absence of little less than a year, I am back. Or at least, making an attempt at being back.

Today I saw Hannah, (Hannah! My best blogger buddy, who is now married, whom I've not seen in about 2 years, when we met up in Berlin), who told me I should get back to this "blog" thing. And right now, I have the motivation.

I didn't post during that almost-year because I was teaching English on Princess Cruises. A job which I have decided to give up. Still not sure why I decided that, exactly, but no regrets (yet)!

Also jetzt bin ich zu Hause, with the parents (sans Leah while she continues her stay in Paris), for better or for worse. They say they'll start charging rent in April, so that gives me...4 months. I'm pretty sure I can be out by then.

To close, I will leave you with a cartoon by Roz Chast. She's a cartoonist for the New Yorker, and I got a collection of her stuff for Xmas. I'd never heard of her before yesterday, but she's definitely worth checking out. A great mix of random and witty.


PS-I got more Melty Bars this Christmas! Hooray!!!

Too much is going on!

I met Hedwig!! As in, from Hedwig and the Angry Inch!!!!! And I finally saw the musical live, which was totally worth every cent. Cammy was there. It was awesome.

And I leave for my cruise ship training tomorrow. My first official day of training is on my birthday. Not sure how I feel about that, but it'll probably be a...stimulating day at the very least, right?

Wish me luck!

In the spirit of affectionate meanness

I love these "unValentine" cards I found on the craft site Etsy. I would totally give them to people, if I weren't so stingy to begin with.

Move over, Keira Knightley

"I'm 5 foot 7, and I've got pasty white skin. I don't think I'm ugly, don't get me wrong, but I'm not your classic lead man, Brad Pitt guy."

A quote from my new love, James McAvoy. I just saw Atonement today, and while the film overall left something to be desired...so did James McAvoy, in a good way. Ha ha. I think he was the sole reason I was actually still watching in the film in the last hour. And as this quote illustrates, he's not too arrogant either. Too bad about the 5' 7" part though.

For the time being...sigh.

GAH!

Why is it SO HARD to buy work shoes for size 11.5 feet?!? I honestly can't find ANY passable ones, even after checking Nordstrom's and Zappos!!!!

Must...refrain...from looking up pictures of radio personalities. I made the mistake of looking up the guys from Filmspotting, a film reviews podcast I'm addicted to.

Finding out what these people truly look like just dashes all of my hopes of them being nerdy yet adorable emo-ish boys. Dang it.

Hey man slow down, slow down

Today I spent $62 on two skincare products. I didn't think I was one of "those people" who drop outrageous amounts of cash on beauty stuff, but apparently I am.

In other news, I'm done being a Tourist for a while, and am back from Ecuador. It was Amazing! I will probably post highlights from the trip on Facebook in the near future, but I have to drive Leah up to Berkeley tomorrow, so...the near future.

It's kind of funny to think how Leah and I just spent 2 weeks traveling together in a foreign country, and now we have to spend another 7 straight hours driving together in a tiny enclosed car...can we make it? Yes, I think we can--just barely.

I'm using Facebook more and more to announce this stuff

I'm off to Ecuador tomorrow!

Well, technically Leah and I are off to Cammy's house in Seal Beach, and then off to LAX after that for our flight to Ecuador at 1 am.

I'm excited! And stressed! And also calm to some extent. If that's possible.

PS-Finished Snow Falling on Cedars. I DO NOT recommend that book, it's the definition of tedious.

I couldn't ask for more

Highlights of Xmas Eve/Xmas day:

-Playing "soccer" with my cousin Max (who's 8 years old)
-Being pestered by my other cousin Mason to play with him (Also 8, he usually prefers to play with my dad!)
-Watching Leah feed a baby mouse to the snake she's pet-sitting (A novel Xmas activity like no other)
-Getting MELTY BARS!!! my favorite chocolate bar from my dad's secretary

I need to watch more movies like this

I just watched a really thought-provoking and inspiring documentary about Sudanese refugees relocated to America. I really liked the film because it gave a very balanced view of the situation for refugees; it didn't hit you over the head with all of the atrocities, and it didn't try to sugarcoat the positive sides of moving to the United States. The film is called God Grew Tired of Us, and I strongly recommend it to everyone.

ps

Merry Christmas everyone!

For anyone who is interested, my mom is going to be on channel 28 (PBS, I think?) today (Christmas Eve) at 6:30pm-ish, playing with her dulcimer band on a live Christmas broadcast from the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Yeah, I know. My mom's pretty cool.

Back from the dead?

According to the Facebook iLike application, Chet Baker is (On Tour). I thought he was dead?

Unexpected

I'm interviewing this Wednesday to teach English to the staff of a Princess cruise ship. Like, while on the cruise. I don't really know if I want the job (it's a lot of teaching hours, working six days a week), but apparently they're desperate for teachers...so it's good interview experience, at the very least.

It just sucks to still get stressed out about a job I probably don't want anyway. But you NEVER KNOW!

Schade....

There isn't much more of a turn-off (for me) than talking to a somewhat attractive guy at a party who's about my age and hear him start a sentence with "So, when I was married...."

Perhaps I'm being too judgmental.

UPDATE: OK, for anyone who cares, I've reconsidered and decided that there are worse things a guy could mention. Like being 100% for the death penalty or thinking all women should be stay-at-home moms. You get the idea.

Thanks a lot, "Tarot"

My roommate Katy's friend, Sat, reads tarot cards, so Katy and I both asked her to look at her cards to get advice on where we should teach English. Right now, I've sort of narrowed down my countries to South Korea, Vietnam, and Poland (well, basically just Eastern Europe, but I had to choose just one country). Lately I've been leaning the most towards Vietnam, mostly because it just sounds the most exciting (and the mildest winter).

This is what the cards apparently said:

1. Korea: According to the cards, I feel uncertain about teaching there, but in the future I would be very good at passing on knowledge to other people (so good teaching opportunities perhaps?).

2. Vietnam: Very good, strong positive card, representing future hope, peace and harmony. So I could have an awesome, empowering experience. But then I got the "tower" card, apparently the most negative card representing death or chaos (see picture). So Vietnam could be an amazing experience, but also really bad. Like, someone could die. Or alternatively, "you might feel emotionally like your world is crumbling around you." Hmm.

3. Poland: This one had the most straightforward positive cards; however, nothing really remarkable about it. The main reason I'm interested in Poland is that I would be so close to the rest of Europe, and Poland currently has the highest demand for English teachers in Europe. But hey, Europe is overrated. OK, maybe not overrated, but there are so many equally awesome parts of the world.

So while it was definitely need to get another kind of input on where I should apply for jobs, the tarot cards didn't help me narrow things down too much. Oh well. I think a lot of this kind of thing should be placed on chance, and adapting to whatever presents itself.

Yes, I am a music elitist, thank you VERY MUCH

Freakin' "iLike Music Challenge." Just because I don't know which Usher song that is, or that Taking Back Sunday song, or who sings that bland, cliched techno song (Oh, it's Madonna? I should have known! NOT!) I don't think my lack of knowledge about these "artists" should classify me as a "music novice." I got all the ones about the Rolling Stones, RHCP, Nirvana, and the White Stripes right!

How DARE they?!?