Should be writing

February 13, 2009 at 2:26 am (Picture, Posted by Cindy, Travels, food)
Tags: , , , ,

As always, I turn to blogging when I should be working.  Don’t worry; it’s all to your benefit.  I bring you…more travel tales!  Youki, I’ll do you one better and include pictures when I post to FIT.  I promise.  Onto Day 3:

We had originally planned to go to Rouen on January 3, but rearranged our itinerary and decided to go to the Picasso Museum instead.  (Oh yes, there was quite a bit of itinerary-changing!)  Not so much French this time around.  I think I was too tired/cold when I was writing!

samedi 3 janvier 2009

Tiff needed a hat, so we started at the mall next door.  Auchan opens at 8h30, but the shops don’t open until 10.  Uhh…H&M finally rolled up the gate at 10h07.  Good job, guys.  Off we went…

We wandered around for awhile, searching for the museum.  Because we got off at Châtelet, we passed by Pompidou, so we went in.  There was a HUGE line in the back…for the bathroom.  (That was originally mis-written, and then crossed out.  That’s how tired I was when I wrote this.  I meant the library!)  Right.  We didn’t have museum passes yet, so we browsed a bit and headed out.  Actually, that’s not completely true.  We had just gotten the passes, an adventure in and of itself.  I knew we could go somewhere in Les Halles, possibly at a store?  The information guy [by the way, my handwriting got very sloppy here; I was definitely nodding off as I wrote!] said no, no passes here, but gave us a couple maps.  (Which I used for the rest of the trip, by the way.  Very handy…and slightly ragged by the end!)  I asked at a telephone store.  “Maybe FNCP???”  Turns out, I was close.  FNAC.  It’s a Virgin-like store.

We walked through the free part of Pompidou, then checked out a blindfolded painter in the courtyard.  Across from this glass monstrosity is an ancient cathedral/cloister; the juxtaposition seems so Paris.

Pompidou

Che

Cloitre

I spotted a crêperie en route to the Musée (ok, that’s not hard to do), so I picked up a Nutella one and finished its gooey awesome-ness just as we arrived.  Both the museum and the artwork were pretty cool; in fact, there was a temporary exhibit going on, and when we asked about it at the end, we found out we had been walking through it the whole time.  A contemporary artist had erected huge mirrors and replaced some of the windows with colored panes.  (Other observations previously noted.)

***

[I interrupt myself to note that no, I have not noted my other observations here for the blog.  So, I will delineate my scribbles and perhaps find supporting Internet evidence for some of my favorite pieces...]

  • pic of Diego Giacometti in Musée Picasso
  • Picasso and ace of clubs-why?
  • <<Le Baiser>> 12 janvier 1931
  • <<La Suplicante>> 18 décembre 1937-wardrobe malfunction, missing shoe
  • retrato = portrait (Sp.)
  • I like <<Retrato de Dora Maar>>

Musee Picasso

***

We then met up with Joyce’s friend David underneath a statue of Danton at a Mètro station.  I think we saw a movie about Danton starring Gérard Depardieu in Barnett’s class.  David took us around the Latin Quarter.  We stopped in at a café whose doors, like many French doors, do not swing shut.  You must push them shut.  Later, Tiff and I had Cuban food.  I think I’m bad at picking cocktails–they’re always too sweet.

Latin Quarter

1 Comment

Day Two

February 7, 2009 at 1:13 pm (Picture, Posted by Cindy, Travels, food)
Tags: , , ,

As Tiffany mentioned, we stayed at her mom’s friend’s ex-husband’s place right outside of Paris.  So, for future reference, Shu Shu = uncle and Ah Yi = auntie.  For about the first week, I have actual travel journal stories, so I’m just typing out what I wrote in the lovely journal Michelle gave me for Christmas :)

vendredi 2 janvier 2009

Aujourd’hui, nous nous reveillons à 9h45.  Pour le petit-déjeuner, nos hôtes nous offrent du pain, de la confiture des fraises, et 雞肉醬.  [Today, we awoke at 9:45.  For breakfast, our hosts offered us bread, strawberry jam, and "chicken paste."]  The jar wouldn’t open, though, and when I looked at it, I noticed it was <<de grenouilles.>>  That’s not 雞.  That’s 田雞!  (雞=chicken.  田雞=farm chicken=frog!)

Plus important, il neigeait!  [More important, it snowed!]  As we finished eating, the snow stopped falling, and the sun came out.  Before we left, we saw the snow start to melt.

Neige

Nous partons pour le gare.  Aujourd’hui, c’était un voyage plus facile que lequel d’hier, car nous n’avons pas eu nos bagages aujourd’hui.  Nous avons pris le RER C à Champs de Mars pour rendre visite à la  Tour Eiffel.  À midi, la tour était fermée car il faisait trop froid et, comme un officiel nous dit: <<It’s too icy.>>  Tout de même, il y avait un queue long ne bougeant pas.  [We leave for the station.  Today, it was an easier trip than yesterday's, because we didn't have our luggage today.  We took the RER C to Champs de Mars to visit the Eiffel Tower.  At noon, the tower was closed because it was too cold, and, like an official told us, "It's too icy."  All the same, there was a long line, not moving at all.]

Ainsi, nous nous sommes promenées au parc.  Une femme avec hijab nous a approché: <<Do you speak English?>>  Elle voulait de l’argent.  Nous avons pris de photos, de la tour et au mur de paix.  Nous avons marché plus, en passant l’École Militaire, un chocolatier, une libraire, des autres magasins, et beaucoup de cafés.  [And so, we walked around the park.  A woman in hijab approached us: "Do you speak English?"  She wanted money.  We took pictures--of the tower and of the Wall of Peace.  We walked some more, passing the Military School, a chocolatier, a bookstore, more shops, and many cafés.]

Paix

Les immeubles de la rue sont dans un style classique, avec des portes merveilleux.  J’aime bien ces portes.  [The apartment buildings in the street were in a classical style, with marvelous doors.  I really like those doors.]

Immeuble

En retournant à la tour, nous l’avons découverte ouverte, avec des queues tellement longs!  [On returning to the tower, we found it open, with so very long lines!]  There was a pair of girls in front of us around our age from some sort of place with white people that did not speak English, Spanish, or Italian.  They didn’t talk enough for me to figure out what language they were using.  In front of them was an American family; behind us were 3 Midwestern college students, possibly?  (Definitely American, maybe Midwestern.  Sidebar: while in the park, there were 2 little British girls “cantering” around yelling, “Giddy-up!”  Also, many cute little doggies.  Adorable.)

To climb the tower, it costs 3,10 € and many steps.  With the wind blowing, it was quite easy to become short of breath, although the stairs were pretty manageable in height-length ratio.

Gorgeous views of course.  Upon descent, we headed south and walked along Avenue de Suffren, which was mostly residential.  In search of lunch and the métro, we turned onto Motte-Picquet.

Pain au chocolat. Win.  Public telephone.  Lose.  We peered into the booth (3 stuck together in a triangle) and spied no coinslots; only a card slot.  I tried inserting my ATM card, to no avail.

We had to ask the lady at a desk of a hotel for help twice.  The calling card didn’t work.  The guys at a phone shop told us to buy a carte téléphonique at le tabac, which we hadn’t been able to find, but it was INSIDE the café!

Finally, we could call David, but he was on his way to his uncle’s for tea, so we decided to just stick around the area and browse.

Monoprix- amazing!  First floor: clothing, household items, boulanger, pâtisserie.  2nd: grocery store.  Coke is made with sugar, not high fructose corn syrup.

McDonald’s- really popular!?  Many kinds of coffee, breakfast sandwich: bacon & egg sandwich.

We meandered down the street (Commerce), which had many cute shops, at least three Asian buffets, and lights arching over the street.  There was a church at the end.

Eglise

Asian Buffet

We headed back to the métro stop and got home just in time for dinner at 7h30.

*Random observation of the day: Placard on side of l’École Militaire in memory of 743 Jews sent to Auschwitz was rather non-descript.

***

Alright, now for some meta-commentary.  Here are some “dumb American” things on my part: the lady in a hijab?  All the ladies in hijab that I thought were Muslim?  Were probably gypsies.  I never did end up trying the frog paste, even after it was opened (but Tiffany did, so maybe she’ll tell you about it), but I did have snails, ok?

Oh, and David is Joyce’s friend from Princeton who is parisien and was nice enough to show us around (later in the trip).

I’ll post pictures of things at some point.  They have been uploaded to the Internet, but I’m not sure if I want to insert them in blog posts or not.  Anyway, Ashley had greatly recommended Monoprix to me, so I was super excited to check it out (continuously throughout the trip), and since it was across from McDonald’s, we looked at its menu, too.  Also, I believe buffet in the French sense is like “smorgasbord,” or “spread,” rather than “all-you-can-eat.”

I’m visiting Davis this weekend, though, and Allie is lying in bed yelling at me/talking to Sichen, so I should excuse myself.  À bientôt!

2 Comments

Diversity

February 6, 2009 at 1:17 am (College, Life, Posted by Cindy)
Tags: , ,

I know, I know.  I’m a bad blogger.  I haven’t updated in awhile; nor have I shared my winter break stories.  First, though, I have to show you this ridiculous survey I’m answering.  The career center at school sent out an email asking us to participate, but I don’t think they’re the ones who wrote it; it is probably some sort of company that does recruitment.  So, here’s a question I was asked (screenshot):

diversityWhy yes, I do have an age.  Is it a diverse age?  HOW CAN ANY AGE BE DIVERSE!?  If a workplace has a wide range of workers, then there exists a diverse age range in that workplace.  So, these are the ones that I find problematic (in that everyone has one; it’s just a matter of whether your personal ___ is different from everyone else’s ___):

  • age
  • education
  • ethnicity
  • gender
  • life experience
  • nationality
  • personality (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA)
  • sexual orientation (GLBT?  Who calls it GLBT?  I’ve always seen it LGBT; I guess that’s just an example of the diversity of my experience in this matter.  Moreover, since when is heterosexual–but hopefully not overly heteronormative–not a sexual orientation?)
  • socioeconomic background
  • work function
  • work style

I have a love/hate relationship with, “What makes you MORE DIVERSE THAN EVERYONE ELSE?” type questions.  Because, really?  More diverse?  Diversity comes from a collective.  I am only diverse if I have a variety of things within myself *that’s what she said*.  It reminds me of the “diversity workshop” portion of RA training when I worked for CTD.  We spent a couple hours listening to someone teach us about diversity.  What did we learn?  That the presenter was from Brazil, but she was Italian. In addition, “Hispanic is offensive, because not everyone speaks Spanish.  Latino or Latina is preferred.”  Really productive, wouldn’t you say?  The whole experience was offensive!  I ought to have stood up and had a diversity competition with her.  “You’re of Italian descent?  Well, I’m of Taiwanese descent.  You’re from Brazil?  Well, I’m from Cleveland.  You live in Chicago?  Well, I live in the Bay Area.”  Does it make me more diverse that I grew up in an area where most people didn’t share my skin color?  Does it make me more diverse that I now live in an area where there are a lot of people with different skin colors?  Maybe; maybe not.  It’s more how those (and other) experiences have shaped me.  I’ve led diversity workshops, and let me tell you, they can be a lot more effective than the drivel to which Northwestern employees are apparently subjected.  (Sorry for the convoluted prepositions.)

Speaking of Northwestern, let me show you my “diversity statement” for their application.

***

I am gratified to be asked about diversity because exposure to and interaction with a wide variety of people and ideas have so strongly shaped the person that I am today. There are, of course, the checkboxes I fill in on demographics forms. My parents are immigrants, and I grew up in a Midwestern town that did not abound in Asian faces. We later moved to a San Francisco Bay Area suburb whose ethnic and religious composition differed greatly from my hometown. It’s a little fun to defy expectations; Californians marvel at “the Taiwanese girl from Ohio,” and my Midwestern friends are often shocked by the number of Mormons now in my social circle. Neither my ethnicity nor their religion will be the first characteristics listed for our respective regions, but the reality of modern America is that this isn’t completely preposterous.

Tonight, I joined my friend’s family for a Hanukkah dinner. I haven’t been able to share in this tradition since leaving Cleveland, so it was delightful (and delicious) to partake of the latkes. Less ephemeral than the latkes, however, were our cultural revelations. We discussed how, when a friend is from a different background, it can be hard to parse whether our habits are due to personality quirks or cultural influences. I realized that my personal culture is shaped by all the people I’ve met, not just based on my parents’ nation of origin or my predilection for Black Forest Cake. My cognition is enhanced by my experiences, which will in turn contribute to the diversity at Northwestern.

My undergraduate experience has been at a public university, and we pride ourselves on tolerance and bringing together a wide range of backgrounds, but we still lag in representing California’s statewide population. I’ve met people who have not had as straightforward a path in science as I have had. I’ve been able to develop a passion for research because people encouraged me and my high school had the resources for advanced lab activities. Others were shoveled through under-funded programs or shied away from research because of media portrayals. People have every right to mistrust biotechnology, but it should not be due to inaccessibility or bizarre depictions of Frankenfood.

I bring a linguist’s perspective to solving problems; I bring a culturally-aware background to a diverse working environment; I bring passion for scientific research and equity in education. These are all qualities that I’ll encounter at Northwestern, so it is vital that I be able to learn and grow from the diversity that the campus has fostered.

***

So, here are my questions for you.  Which checkboxes from above would you mark?  (You can pick the problematic ones if you want; but explain!)  Which criteria do you think are important for a diverse workplace, academic setting, or life?

3 Comments

Good news

January 30, 2009 at 4:26 am (Awkward, Guest Post, Inappropriate, Travels)
Tags:

I have been remiss in posting, but here’s good news!  My travel buddy, Tiffany, a friend from high school, is not yet back in school.  That’s right, they don’t start until February!  Can you imagine!?  February. So, lucky for you (?), she has composed a guest post about our travels.  Without further ado…

—

Bonjour readers =) You are in for a treat today: a guest blog! This is Cindy’s good friend Tiffany and more recently, Cindy’s comrade on our fabulous trip to France. It was absolutely one of the best trips I have ever taken, and I highly recommend a trip to France to all those who have never been there. Heck, bring Cindy along too. Then you can relive my experience =P

So what is Paris like? Well, it is all Eiffel Tower, museums, coffee, bakeries, and shopping. Basically, everything anyone has ever told you about Paris. But despite all that I have ever heard, I still was not prepared for what Paris is really like. For one, it is a big city on a very small area of land. Walking from one end of Paris to the other, and I’m talking about edge of suburbia to other edge of suburbia, is definitely feasible if you’re willing to go on foot for probably 3 to 4 hours. Crazy right? I wouldn’t even dare dream about walking from one end of New York City to the other unless I had an entire day. French people are also an entire other aspect. Or maybe just people in Paris since those were pretty much the only French people I was exposed to. First of all, the French are not as rude as their stereotype. Or maybe I was just imagining egregious snubbing, in which case, it is not difficult to exceed expectations. Honestly, though, I found the French very friendly. They say hi to strangers, perhaps even more so than people in the United States. Then again, I’m so used to ignoring the people in my surroundings while at college that my personal experience is most likely a very terrible example to base off of. All I can say for myself is that I definitely said hi to more strangers in France than ever at home. Their fashion during the winter is definitely all drab, dark colors. Everyone in France wore black, gray, or dark shades, and that coupled with the rain, snow, and clouds was pretty dreary at first, but you get used to it. I’m sure it’s just a winter fashion thing because their spring lines came out while we were there, and the colors were definitely very spring-like.

Ok, enough about France for now; I don’t want to bore you ten sentences into this entry, so I’ll tell you about me and Cindy’s first, slightly amusing mishap. As a quick background, in France, Cindy and I stayed with a family friend of mine in a small suburb right outside of Paris called Issy les Moulineaux. It was actually a great location because we lived within 3 minutes walking distance of the train station. Train and subway is seriously the only way to get around Paris if you don’t want to walk, and the system is very good, though there are daily delays and quite a few “accidents.” I should probably also clarify the family friend aspect. We were actually staying at my mom’s friend’s ex-husband’s place in France. He’s definitely a character… Shu Shu is very cheap, as in frugal up to the point where it’s simply ridiculous. He’s been in France for the past year because his company in Taiwan sort of sent him out on this long-term business trip. I found him all at once to be absurd, amusing, annoying, and I guess my relation to him began and ended the same way after three weeks – acquaintances. I definitely relied a lot on Cindy to keep conversations going at breakfast or dinner. My Chinese is most definitely not as fluent as hers nor am I willing to maintain conversations, so Cindy was definitely a lifesaver. His wife, on the other hand, is really amiable and funny, so that was definitely a plus. Ok, but what of the mishap that I totally got off topic from? Alright. So it’s maybe three days into our trip and it’s something like 10 pm. I was lying in bed, about to sleep, and Cindy had just gone to the bathroom and was now brushing her teeth. A while later, she comes in and lies down, and we’re both laying there in the dark, listening to the toilet still run from flushing when Cindy then turns to me and asks, “Is the water still supposed to be running like that?” At the time, I was thinking the exact same thing because the water had definitely been running long enough to become noticeable. We both get up to inspect the toilet, and it must have been near midnight by now. I think we both might have been a bit nervous because we really couldn’t wake Shu Shu up to ask how to fix the toilet since it was late and he had work tomorrow. And besides, it’s kind of embarrassing having to tell your hosts that you broke their toilet less than a week in. It also didn’t help that it was at this most inconvenient time that I was beginning to remember that the other day, the drain on their bath tub was slightly clogged while I was showering. I mean, seriously, why not just pour on the bad news right? “Morning Shu Shu. Um… while you were sleeping, Cindy and I kind of broke the toilet, and your drain is now clogged. I kind of noticed it while showering last night.” It just would not have gone over well, especially since I suspect that the drain stoppage was due to mine and Cindy’s hair…

Anyway, Cindy and I decide to lift the ceramic cover on the back of the toilet. While she holds it up, I kind of start fiddling with the pipes and stuff inside. Eventually, we manage to get this central tube to disengage, and the water stops flowing and actually starts to accumulate in the tank. Hooray, we fixed it! Cindy puts the ceramic cover back on, and we happily go to the sink to wash our hands. Cindy picks up the bar of soap next to the sink and starts scrubbing her hands, and I offhandedly comment, “Oh, is that the soap you’ve been using?” She looks at me confusedly and responds, “Um, yes?” She then watches as I pick up this bottle on the other side of the sink with a blue clear-ish liquid, examining it while wondering aloud, “Wait, then what is this?” I turn around the bottle, which I had assumed was soap since it had the pumping type of nozzle, to read the label and was horrified to read something about daily facial cleansing something. “Oh my god! I can’t believe I’ve been using facial cleanser for hand soap!” Cindy proceeds to burst out laughing, and we hurry back to our bedroom. Not only do we manage to nearly break the toilet and clog the bathtub, but I had been using Shu Shu’s wife’s facial wash to wash my hands for the past few days. Cindy and I both agreed as we got back into bed that we would definitely not mention to them any of this, and we finally got to sleep a little before midnight.

Moral of this little story? None really. Just know that living with Cindy seriously isn’t that bad. There are definitely other tales I could regale you of Brussels, beer, and boys, but that might have to wait a bit as this story took a lot longer to write than expected. ~Tiff

Leave a Comment

Transport

January 16, 2009 at 4:56 pm (Posted by Cindy, Public Transportation, Travels)
Tags: ,

Alright kids.  I’m waiting for Allie in lab right now, so I’ll start transcribing from my travel journal, which, by the way, is still not completely updated.  I figured I should have a handwritten record, and Michelle gave me a cute little notebook to use right before I left, so I’ve been jotting down notes and stories while I’ve been gone.  Here goes!

Leg 1: SFO > DTW

Tiff and I sit apart; someone is sitting in my seat so I sit with a family from Sacramento.  The mom is a Buckeye!  We talk about her travels (Hawaii, Belize, Jamaica, Mexico, England, France, Italy), her work (family care nurse), her husband (pharmacist–I almost mentioned my first-time pharmacy purchase), her kids, her dad (WWII vet), the drinking age in C-bus (used to be 18; her kids think she’s a lush), &c.

I also slept a bit, drank water, and avoided the bathroom.  Arrival in Detroit: 17°F.

Items of note: tram, Jose Cuervo Tequileria, Starbucks, diner whose breakfast costs half of SFO, TCBY but no Dunkin Donuts.  HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Leg 2: DTW > CDG

Departure temperature: 15°F.

Drinks, then dinner, then SkyMall, then breakfast.  (I definitely got carded when I asked for wine.  WHAT?!  On an international flight?  To France?)

read: Paris Match, Herald Tribune

Arrival

I don’t seem to have this already written out, so this will be a brief synopsis from my memory.  We arrived around 11 and took some time in picking up our luggage, clearing customs, and the like.  Then, the transportation adventure began.  The line to purchase train tickets was long, whether it was from a kiosk or from a human being.  The lady at the window wasn’t particularly friendly when we tried to buy the transportation pass, so we bought only the one-way ticket (holy freaking expensive!  8€40!) and left.  The train took us through many graffiti-ed neighborhoods, and there was more adventure to be had when we reached the town, Issy-les-Moulineaux.

To be continued…

Leave a Comment

Almost there!

January 13, 2009 at 4:59 pm (Posted by Cindy, Travels)
Tags:

Hello!  I’m blogging from a suburb of Paris on Tiffany’s computer, which is either set to California time or Boston time.  As I’m too lazy to figure out what time it actually is, I think I’d better get to bed–my flight leaves tomorrow (today?) at 2 in the afternoon, and I’ll get to SFO at 10 at night.  Coming soon: trip updates!  Hurray!  And thanks to Youki and Jen for the shoutouts :D

PS: The jardins were definitely less impressive in the winter than they would have been otherwise.

PS2: I have blurbs for Found in Translation!  Coming soon!

Leave a Comment

Happy New Year!

December 31, 2008 at 1:05 am (Life, Posted by Cindy, Travels)
Tags: , , ,

Almost!  It’s currently 11PM my time.  I just checked The World Clock, and it’s 8AM in Paris.  [Count, count, count...] That means they’re currently nine hours ahead of PST.  Okay!  So, I have several things to get through tonight.  There is the small, eensy little matter of applying to the schools whose deadlines are while I’ll be in Paris.  I also have to pack (begin and finish).  Oh, and lastly, er…I have this eye infection.  Really, it’s plural, because both eyes are infected.  I’m eye-dropping myself every hour, and getting quite good at it, I might add.

Why am I blogging, then?  Well, I’ve got twenty minutes before I have to eye-drop again, so I figure I might make a list here of the things I need to remember, as well as include some odds and ends.  This is my first trip to Europe, and I must say, there have already been some surprises.  For instance, what does one find in the Latin Quarter of Paris?  I had images of samba, tortillas, and beans.  A Euro-Mission District, if you will.  After all, there’s a Chinatown, too, albeit not the “OG,” the way the San Francisco Chinatown has been described to me.  As it turns out (this might only be a revelation to me and Tiffany), the Latin Quarter has nothing to do with Latin America.  Okay, now that I put it in terms of Latin America, I guess I can understand why the Old World would not have one.  The Latin Quarter, in fact, is where people do Latin. Or, did Latin.  Now, it’s universities and cafes and such.  What’s more exciting, Latin food or Classicists?  I’m just sayin’…maybe they should branch out a little!

In addition, my friend told me we were staying in Rue Paul Bert, so I did a search.  11e arrondissement.  Cool.  We figured we’d stay close to home the first day if we were tired from travel and just explore around the Place de la Bastille.  Hm.  Well, tonight, I did a search for the full address.  Turns out, there’s also a Rue Paul Bert in a suburb of Paris.  We’re actually staying to the southwest of the city.  CDG is to the northeast of the city.  Yeah.  That’s ok.  Regroup.  This actually takes us closer to Versailles, which is free the first Sunday of the month.  Which brings me to the tentative itinerary…

January
1 – arrival, Bastille
2 – Eiffel Tower
3 – Normandy? Train to Rouen and back
4 – Versailles
5 – Musee Picasso
6 – Louvre, Sainte Chapelle, Jardin des Tuileries maybe
7 – Notre-Dame, Pompidou, City Hall, Pantheon, Jardin du Luxembourg maybe
8 – Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysee
9 – Louvre, Musee d’Orsay, Jardin des Tuileries maybe
10 – Belgium
11 – Belgium
12 – Sacre-Coeur Basilica, Montmartre, Pigalle
13 – Nothing planned
14 – Leaving

Aside from the Bastille on the first day, we should still be okay.  We’ll be getting either a Carte Orange (old school) or Navigo (new-fangled technology) for transportation, as well as a four-day museum pass (hence, that span of museum-museum-museum!).  We might just walk around with baguette/cheese/wine in hand and explore.  Oh, and can’t forget the cameras.  That being said, I should use my blogging time productively and make a list of the things to pack.

  • sweaters
  • underpinnings
  • socks
  • boots (I’ll wear my red/white shoes on the plane)
  • toiletries: toothpaste, lotion, (Tiff’s got shampoo/conditioner), toothbrush
  • SWEATERS
  • scarves
  • travel journal (write in Marie’s phone number, Uncle Tony’s phone number)
  • contacts, cases, and saline solution
  • sunglasses (carry-on)
  • SWEATERS
  • passport, money
  • backpack (as a carry-on and for the trip to Belgium?)
  • tights and leggings
  • SWEATERS
  • almost forgot: pants
  • white/black polka dot dress, LBD (definitely worn over SWEATERS)
  • purse with zipper
  • iPod, camera, and phone + chargers
  • plug converters
  • gloves and hat

That’s all I can think of right now; I emailed the list to Tiffany to see if she has any thoughts.  I also just paused in typing to eye-drop, so I really ought to get going on things.  Incidentally, I woke up this morning and really couldn’t open my eyes.  Not because they were stuck together, as can happen if there’s discharge (yeah, I found out that that can happen), but because the eyelid muscles didn’t want to pull apart and because my eyeballs were REALLY SORE!  Ouch!  When my dad and I went to the bank to exchange currency (PSA for those in the Yay Area who use Bank of America: the main branch is in Berkeley, at the Shattuck location; you can exchange currency there on the spot; otherwise, there’s a couple-days’ wait) I was squinting at the teller very ogre-ishly.  I set up an emergency eye appointment and found out this afternoon that I have a mini eye infection!

[Tiff has given me some ideas, they've been duly appended.]

I’m not sure why that warranted an exclamation point.  At any rate, on the sheet that goes in my file, there are pre-printed circles for the doctors to draw what they see on my eyeballs.  Yep!  So, on each of my circles she had three small dots.  If it were a serious infection or ulcer-like, she explained, then there would be large white patches.  As it is, she saw faint white colonies.  So, I’m proceeding with an “aggressive” course of antibiotics.  When she told me, I thought I’d have to swallow my fear of swallowing pills (ha!) and just gulp it down.  I think the general theme of this post is Cindy’s Missing Brain, though, because why would they be pills!?  Of course it’s eyedrops.  Which I’m now getting rather good at.  Tip: tilt your head back, hold your upper eyelid, position the dropper above the eyeball, then look down (just with your eye; not with your head) while squeezing.  It works!  Dab spills with a tissue.

It’s now midnight.  I should get going on the applications.  Now that I’ve made a list of what needs to be packed, I think I’ll be ok doing that while tired.  Applications, on the other hand, should be done while as alert as possible.  Yes.

3 Comments

Briefly Back

December 28, 2008 at 1:43 am (College, Posted by Cindy, Science, Travels, food, sports)
Tags: , ,

Hello, my loves! It’s been awhile, has it not? Quick re-cap of the goings-on that have made my life quite hectic, albeit rather boring:

  • Finals.  Yeah, it happened.  I studied hard for the microbiology class that had so discouraged me and actually walked out of the exam smiling!  It was great!  Then, I wrote the first paper of my college career.  That’s not completely true; I’ve written two-page French lit analysis assignments, but nothing serious like this.  Twenty-two pages on message boards.  Wow.
  • Laura’s holiday party.  My linguistics professor has now had a holiday party three years in a row, and there’s always something fun.  This year, I think the Steven Chu stories will hold the most memorable spot, and I will surely share…sometime soon.
  • Lounging around.  I may have lied.  It might not have been completely hectic.  But, I had to plan things.  You see, I’m dashing off to France!  I’ll (not) do the New Year’s countdown on the plane, after a small layover in Detroit.  I hear tell there’s a brand-new (ish) Northwest terminal.  Exciting!  (But, they lack Dunkin Donuts.)

In the spirit of planning, I offer here a blogging to-do list:

  • Steven Chu stories
  • latkes with Stephen (my friend from high school)’s family, and revelations thereof
  • Emerald Bowl
  • cookies
  • France!  Activities!

That about does it.  I need to sleep now, because I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to do two things to become Super Cindy: get enough sleep and only focus on the things for which I have some sort of talent.  Ha.  Right.  We’ll see how that goes.

1 Comment

Beware Internet Chat

December 23, 2008 at 10:06 pm (Awkward, College, Guest Post, Inappropriate)
Tags:

4:15 PM me: hi
Cindy: hi.
4:17 PM this is what i see…
Punal is busy. You may be interrupting.
me: lol
oooo
oops
4:18 PM there
Cindy: hahahaha
who doesn’t?
4:19 PM me: exactly
wssup
Cindy: not too much
just getting ready to get ready to go out
haha
4:20 PM me: ohhhh
where u goingg
Cindy: what about you?
dinner with thursday plan, and then maybe a cookie party, and maybe a cocktail party
4:22 PM what are you up to?
me: im packing
:(
4:23 PM Cindy: ohhh
you’re leaving…the 26th?
4:24 PM me: 25th!!!
4:25 PM Cindy: OH
4:26 PM me: yeah!!!!
4:27 PM Cindy: um
should we hang out?
haha
4:28 PM me: haha
4:29 PM if you wanan come over tonight
after you come back
from whereever you going to
varsha si coming over
Cindy: ok!
i’ll give you a call to make sure it’s ok
4:31 PM me: haha
k coo
4:32 PM Cindy: yay
4:33 PM me: when r u going
Cindy: i’m not sure
my friend’s going to call me
4:34 PM me: haha
okok
4:35 PM Cindy: interested?
4:36 PM me: in ur firend?
who is he/she
Cindy: hahahaha no, interested in dinner
4:37 PM it’s thursday plan
zach
me: oh
naw i gotta hit the gym
wth my friend mohammad
at 7
lol
4:38 PM Cindy: seriously?
4:39 PM also, is mohammad muslim? do your parents know!?
me: haha
my parents know
and mohammad is muslim
are hardcore
*and
Cindy: uh oh!
4:44 PM me: haha
why
Cindy: trouble trouble
4:45 PM religious strife
me: haha
Cindy: so i think i need to try to seduce my genetics gsi
4:46 PM me: how?!
4:47 PM Cindy: idk…i mean, i’m not very seductive
maybe he likes small asian girls…?!
we can always keep our fingers crossed
4:48 PM me: hmm
why dont you try
Cindy: i’ll TRY
but i’m not seductive
4:49 PM me: yes you can be
purr
purr cindy purr
Cindy: wow
that’s quite possibly the most disturbing thing you’ve said to me!
5 minutes
4:55 PM me: lol
sorry
he he he
4:56 PM Cindy: haha
but yeah
i’ll have to talk strategy with you
when next semester commences
and i start working my…lack-of-game
4:57 PM me: oh
no worries
we will talk
and stategize
Cindy: he’s pretty nerdy
me: and etc etc
easy
Cindy: maybe it’ll work in my favor
4:58 PM hahahahaha
but what if i’m not smart enough?
5:00 PM *sigh *
too difficult
me: ur smart neough
cuz u will use MY brains
5:01 PM Cindy: hahahahahahhaa
punal
you basically just said that my brains aren’t enough
5:03 PM me: hahahahha
oops
i didnt mean that
Cindy: :P
you so did
5:04 PM me: hahaha
NOOO
Cindy: which is fine
it just means that we’d BOTH have to date rich
5:05 PM me: i mean
i am
lol
Cindy: wait?
what?
5:07 PM me: i do date rich
5:08 PM Cindy: his name is richard
me: richard!?
oh
RICH
OH
Cindy: => rich
me: i get it
haha
Cindy: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
me: i thot u emant
like
5:09 PM date wealthy
hahah
Cindy: ppbt!
:P
me: please put that on ur blog
lol
Cindy: HAHAHAHA you should
tonight
me: hahahahah
Cindy: i’ll come over
5:10 PM me: alrite fine
Cindy: and log you in
me: haha
kk
5:12 PM Cindy: :)
5:13 PM me: its pris happy birthday !
5:14 PM Cindy: aw yay!
are you guys celebrating?
5:15 PM me: she is in london
lol
so no
haha
Cindy: oh!
study abroad? pleasure?
5:16 PM me: i think pleaseure
before she goes to india
Cindy: oh! cool. how long will she be in india?
5:18 PM me: til
foroever
until school starts
haha
5:19 PM Cindy: aww
5:20 PM me: lol
Cindy: so my mom heard me on the phone with thursday plan just now
we were figuring out what to do for dinner
5:21 PM so she starts going, “we can all go to sweet tomatoes together!”
hahahahahahaha
me: LOL
oh wow
Cindy: that would be random as hell
5:22 PM me: haha
that would be awesome
Cindy: dude
i should bring him over to your house
duh
5:26 PM me: LOL
oh
wow
5:27 PM Cindy: so punal
you like to date rich, hm?
me: yes
i do
have a problem!?
5:28 PM Cindy: um yeah. because i want to date rich
hahahahahahaha
5:29 PM me: no
u want to date Rich
i just want to date rich
difference
thank you
come again
Cindy: hahahahahaha
come again? i sure hope so
5:30 PM ok i gotta go get ready
byyyye

Leave a Comment

This is no secret

December 7, 2008 at 12:49 am (Awkward, Posted by Cindy, Science, Technology)
Tags:

Note the lowest rating!


NerdTests.com says I'm a Kinda Dorky High Nerd. What are you? Click here!

1 Comment

« Older entries Newer entries »