NASHVILLE

What you would expect:


I tried on a pink hat and cowboy bots for fun. Lo and behold, there was a lady *ACTUALLY* trying them on in the background.

PROJECT RUNWAY

What a finale! This show really makes me want to be a fashion designer, and with my recent job rejections, well... an alternative career seems pretty attractive. Too bad I've never sewed anything before in my life, except for perhaps buttons. My mom hems my pants. :)

WARNING: IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE FINALE YET, DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER.

I don't know about any of you, but I was really rooting for Uli. I just personally love her clothes and she really showed her range. True, Jeffrey's collection was cohesive and innovative, but I thought his designs were sort of boring overall. Pluse, Uli is cute, and Jeffrey is scary.

Hm... what am I going to do now on Wednesday nights? Job applications I suppose...

As lovely as Vancouver is, with its mountainous backdrop and surrounding waters, I found it eerily quiet for a city. Granted, it is a small city, but it was QUIET and Chinatown was QUIET and EMPTY. I think of Chinatown as stinky, loud, and crowded. Not the case here. I was excited to have some of the Vancouver Chinese food, but I was left underwhelmed.

What I did think was nice was that most of the waterfront property was taken up by tall skyscraper apartment buildings. Not business buildings. Apparently, though, they're all owned by the same Hong Kong tycoon who designed them all to be the same all glass buildings.

One of the highlights from the trip was the conference-organized dinner party at the aquarium. It was such a good time, bumping into textbook authors, world-renowned professors and the like. But the BEST part was playing with the harbor seal. It was adorable. Again, I expect harbor seals to be stinky, loud, and amongst many other harbor seals. But this guy was by himself, and was as cute as a button and so playful. He would follow my hand around, flip, and twirl. Adorable.

Look what my boyfriend sent me to wish me good luck. :)

Last sing in Ann Arbor with MJ. :(

One of the rare nights that we have together before everybody leaves... :(

What is it about home that makes you not want to leave? It will almost be four whole years since I've been away and living here in Michigan. I go home about 3 times a year, and it's only recently that I started feeling really emotional arriving and leaving the blessed bay area. I get so nostalgic when I see the 3 bridges on my way into SFO, and I'm just overwhelmed with sadness when I have to leave. Maybe it's because I'm on "vacation" and am not doing any work. Maybe it's because my family showers me with their time and all my favorite foods. Maybe it's all the surfing with old friends that lifts the spirit and gives me that feeling of being so free. There are so many memories that I have of being relaxed, completely at ease, and downright silly around the people that have known me since I was born or just a decade old.

I love you, Bay Area!
I love you, friends!
I love you, family!

TINY LITTLE TURDS

I started getting these tiny little turds in my desk drawers. I didn't even really know what they were at first, that is until they started popping up every single morning even after I had cleaned it up the day before. So there I had it. Turds. Kept returning. Had to call pest control -- what else was I supposed to do? At first I thought they were too small to belong to a mouse, but the pest experts assured me that they were... So they set up 3 of the snapping traps (inside boxes with two entrances) and a poisonous nibble underneath the sink. I was real nervous. Gross! Sure enough the next morning, I found my culprit. Eww!!! I was so grossed out about the idea before about catching the mouse, but I have this stupid morbid curiosity that got me looking at the mouse from both angles -- that's front and back, tail and whiskers. Poor guy. I threw him away. I hope I don't see any more turds/mice tomorrow when I go to lab.

More about grand adventure to Europe to come.
Gasp! Returned to the US to find Brangelina had their baby! The Paris papers said nothing about their visit back for a medical checkup... WHAAAT... they don't care? (not that I can read a French newspaper, but I can certainly identify American celebrities on magazine covers, yes I can)

2 PEOPLE, 2 STEAKS, A WHOLE LOT OF GORGING

Nadder bought two tuna steaks (sushi grade), so we made "some" sushi and "some" nigiri. Look, it's just a little bit.


Holy crap! How are two people supposed to finish so much food? We gave it an honest try, and ate all but one nigiri and maybe a dozen rolls. Stuffed out of our minds. High five, Nads.

Polls!

I've always been curious about cutting my hair short. By short, I mean above the shoulders, bordering on boy short. BUT, I've always been too chicken to do it. Well, now I have a recommendation for hairstylist and some encouragement, so I'm a little closer to ready. I'd like to take a poll on which style would be better. Okay, here's a reminder of what I look like, but I don't have any pictures of just me, so here's one that my sister took and doctored:



And here are some hairstyles that I like:






I was also thinking of an angled bob, with a real angle, but I can't seem to find a pic I like.

Also... any suggestions?

Last night on 360, Anderson Cooper reported on the puppy smuggling business across the Mexican border. They stuffed puppies in a suitcase! :( People are selling these little things when they're only 4-6 weeks old, when California law requires puppies to be at least 8 weeks old before they are sold. My JD and to-be-JD friends, did you know this? When they were showing clips of these little puppies, I, in my head was saying "aaawwww", but with each new clip, Anderson was also saying "aaww" in the background. Oh Anderson, you're so cute and dreamy yourself...!

DOES EDUCATION STUNT YOUR GROWTH?


I've come to the conclusion that the answer is yes. This past week, we had Jorge Cham of Piled Higher and Deeper fame visit UM. Being a former grad student himself, he had incredible insight into what each and every grad student feels, the phases, etc. One of the more poignant observations he made was that every now and then, we still-students get a call from an old high school friend, who has already gotten married, has a child, a house, a BMW... is like a real grown-up, and reminds us that we are in our mid-20s, still in school, and still trying to figure out what we want to be when we GROW UP. Hm...

I got a haircut a few weeks ago and was chatting with my student hairstylist and another student hairstylist working next to her. My hairstylist was telling me that this was her first day back on the job because she had been gone for a month on maternity leave. This was her 2nd child! Then I discovered that the other hairstylist also had a child because they were swapping labor stories. So we talked awhile b/c I'm curious to know how the whole giving birth thing goes, how bad it is, etc. and I began to think that their existence as students was similar to a grad student's existence since many have families. But then I learned that neither of them were married, which is not the shocking detail here, but that they were 20 and 22 years old! The 20 year old had 1 kid, and the 22 year old had 2 kids! The 26 year old has no desire for a kid right now. I know, I know, you're saying that they didn't want the kid, that they just got knocked up, but they were saying how they were really happy to have kids young b/c it's healthier and your body bounces back. And THEN THEY have the nerve to tell me to not worry, that I'm still young! Well, I wasn't worried, and I still have the ability to have no responsibility and learn how to take care of myself and only myself, thank you very much!

So in the end, I'm happy to have been sheltered from the real world... though when I see teenage up to my age celebrity actors earning millions I get kind of depressed...

BATHROOM DIARIES

This past weekend I was at Live at PJ's, which is supposed to be a place for live music, but a DJ was spinning instead. Perhaps they thought that the drunk people of St. Patrick's day wouldn't be in any condition to appreciate live music. Anyway, as the title suggests, I had to pay a visit to the bathroom, where I found both stalls taken. I'm pretty full (meaning I was at an 8 on a scale of 1-10, where 10 is I can't stand up straight, and if I do, I will pee in my pants) so this situation is kind of dire. These two girls taking both stalls are drunk out of their minds. Conversation is like this:

Stall 1: Billy is worried about you... are you okay?
Stall 2: umm... I'm pRetttty druuuunk, but I'm okay...
Stall 1: Okay.

**Silence for ~30 s**
I'm wondering what the hell they're doing that they can't come out and let a girl do her business in under 45 seconds.

**BIG RELEASE (waterfall type) from Stall 1**
Lasts for ~15 seconds. Really quite impressed, and am thinking that she deserved her lengthy bathroom time.

**Silence for 1 minute**
Wipe and go damnit!! Wipe and go!

Stall 1: WOAH.
Stall 2: What?
Stall 1: I just realized I'm reeeaaally drunk.
Stall 2: Are you okaaay?
Stall 1: Yeah, I'm okaaaay.

Stall 1 door opens. Girl stumbles out, wavering from side to side. She gets to the sink, which is 5 feet away in 10 steps. Oh thank you! I rush over, and hesitate at the stall door. My feet are dancing a little bit, not sure whether or not to take another step. Why? WHY you ask? Because [WARNING: GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION] there is pee all over the toilet seat cover ALL OVER and a ring of pee around the toilet on the floor. Splatter all over the place. Ah! Ah! Ah! "Eeeew" I say out loud, turn around, and bolt out the door. I'm not worried about embarrassing Stall #1.

Last night was a night out for the Karaoke Club (aka KC). We went to this Irish bar (yeah, the Irish bar does Karoake on Sundays and also plays pop music too), and played this game where we pick songs for each other, and the person doesn't find out what she's singing until she gets up there, and the song title pops up on the screen. Now, this isn't meant to be vicious-- we're nice and don't try to screw each other. We try to pick songs that we think the other person will know. Let me tell you, it was exhilarating! I was so excited to stand up there, and not know what the heck I was about to sing, and excited to see what my friend picked for me! My mystery song ended up being Collide by Howie Day, which my friends know is probably the only song I know on guitar by heart. It was however, a bit challenging because it's out of my range, so I sang an octave up, but I had to go back and forth, and it wasn't always pretty. I also sang Downtown and I Kissed a Girl by Jill Sobule. I was also excited to have my friend sing Blackbird-- it was great b/c I could pick anything and she would be able to sing it. She's a superstar!

I used to be deathly afraid of singing a song that I didn't know very well, much less get up on stage about to sing a mystery song. However, after my first karaoke (on a stage) experience, I realized that it's okay to make things up. I sang RESPECT by Aretha Franklin, and realized after a few verses, that I only really knew the chorus. So I just stood up there, like a fool, like a fool! skipping lines b/c I didn't know how Aretha sang it. Well, now I just sing through it, talk through it, whatever. Of course I prefer to sing a song that I know (it's not always fun to look like a fool), but it's fun to be spontaneous with karoke!

Can this guy say anything intelligent or insightful? There's Scott Hamilton (who's always a hoot), Tracy Wilson, and there's this guy (Hammond?) who is just like Debbie the Downer except for when he's talking about someone "who is just enjoyable to watch". EVERY little detail he picks apart. Scott Hamilton has just talked about how this one skater, who was obviously not doing so well but apparently can be great, placed third in the world championships and how "when you beat Michelle Kwan you're doing something right" and was nice and then 3 sec later, Debbie says "see, even this spin was not her best". blah blah blah shakey leg and edge on that spiral sequence, not good.... blah blah blah. I feel like he's making stuff up. He's so annoying!

Ah, the leg hair of winter. I, being Asian, shave about once a week. And only once a week because I play basketball indoors, meaning that I wear shorts and have to show my legs. Well, I don't care that much because if I did, then I would have to shave twice a week since I play twice a week. And when the time comes during the week when I have to shave my legs, I'm always a little reluctanct. I like the patience of waiting until the hair passes the prickly point, and toward the soft more hair-on-the-head type of existence. They've (and I) have worked so hard to grow (to leave them be), but off they must go less the dark hairs provide even more contrast to my ever-whitening skin. I liked the days of just working out in a gym where I wore long pants and didn't have to shave. I went for months! And when the time finally came, when I felt pathetic for not grooming, it was even sweeter because the legs felt extra soft, and everything felt extra soft on them. Well, I'll enjoy my last day -- tomorrow is Shaving Day.

Yay! I spent last weekend in Park City with my sister and friend Emily (see link to alo514). My sister has all the pictures of Park City and the stars *** :) since she had the 8 MPixel camera (still can't get over that), so click on over there if you want to see pictures of the city and theaters and celebs. I, on the other hand, have a small camera that I can stuff into my jacket pocket to take skiing. :) Hurray! It was some of the best skiing I've ever done, and it was so empty on the slopes, though parking was treacherously taken over by filmies and movie goers. We went to The Canyons and Park City, which has a chairlift that takes you directly into town. My sister observed, however, that it might prove difficult to get off a ski lift with out any type of sliding device. You'd pretty much have to get ready to run off the lift, or do a tuck and roll type deal. Dunno, didn't try it.

This is our ride up to the lodge at The Canyons.


Audrey weaving through the tree trunks... it took us what felt like 45 min to get through that. Little did we know that it was a double black. Oops!


Pretty! Different trees than those in Tahoe! Birch-like looking things...

Sigh... so sad to be back. Why can't I just hang out with family, friends, and stars all week long?