oh brooklyn, brooklyn, take me in

Today was our two exams of the semester. I talked to my dad about it earlier tonight, complaining about my memory and its lackluster performance. His response, interesting English and all: "Who has a better memory than you? Who? Tell me. Do I know them? That's just human limitations. You probably have to repeat things two or three times before it's embredded in your memory."

I wonder where this sort of support was when I was in middle school and got a low A (I was deathly afraid of telling my parents I got a B). But I'll take it. The picture above is one I took of my dad when he came to visit my apartment last fall.

thin

Image, Rings

when the snows come rolling through, you're rolling too with some new lover

These are so lovely. Simple and sweet. I wish I knew more coffee drinkers. But I especially love the tea mug. So good for fall and winter. Made by Young Alexander.

kayla and other kids

This is Kayla, possibly one of my favorite kids ever. Bold statement. But she was just such a cool kid. I took this picture about 10 months ago when it seemed like it was warm enough to go to the park, but I still felt like bundling the kids up nice and warm.

I love this How Do You Decide Who to Marry Written by Kids. For example:

WHAT WOULD YOU DO ON A FIRST DATE THAT WAS TURNING SOUR?
(1) I’d run home and play dead. The next day I would call all the newspapers and make sure they wrote about me in all the dead columns.
-Craig, age 9

and

HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?
(1) You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids.
- Derrick, age 8

I know some kids who would say things like this.

write letters and eat food

Goals: Write lots of awesome letters and eat delicious food. I have a specific idea of what kinds of food I want to eat and although it's not always totally healthy food, I think it should be interesting, new, or unique in some way. And if it's healthy also, that's great. I'm going to be okay with eating out a little more than I'd typically like because at some point, I don't want to feel guilty about that in order to save time, which I seem to always be lacking. Hopefully soon, I'll learn how to be better about not losing huge chunks of time and I can focus on cooking and making healthy things taste good. That's the goal, but one thing at a time.

[images here and here]

goals: give flowers

Goal for 2012: Buy flowers for someone. The perfect opportunity presented itself when a bunch of tango students decided that we wanted to present our teachers with flowers at the Winter Ball. I am sad that I totally forgot to take a picture of what I chose from the Chicago Flower Company, but it looked a little bit like this. Pink lilies, white flower mums, eggplant calla lilies, and green berries. I wanted to make sure it looked great so I was a little bit obsessive about handpicking the bouquet, but the flower shop owner was great and let me do my own thing. I've never bought flowers for anyone before, but I would definitely recommend this florist because when I apologized for taking forever and being annoying, he denied it and even gave us a discount for "being cool." It was a very chill experience, even for someone like me who wanted a perfect bouquet. I even learned that hydrangeas don't hold up well in a bouquet that will be sitting out all night. Most importantly, the recipients were thrilled and said they were just to their taste.

[image from here]

#3 and #4: there's so much world to see

from here

I'm pretty much always thinking about going places, but recently some of my friends have begun planning their trip to Costa Rica in May/June. I was so close to going. We have contacts there and a purpose for going, although no rhyme or reason is really needed to go anywhere. I decided it wouldn't work out since I'm going to Poland in July and it would make more sense to save money for that experience. One major element I considered too was traveling with people. There are many advantages to traveling alone, with one other person, or a small/big group. My favorite is definitely traveling with one other person. It's the simplest. I like going places by myself too, but the one time I took a trip and felt the most alone (although I wasn't totally alone), I felt lonely. I kept wanting to poke the non-existent person next to me and say, "Hey! Isn't that cool?" I loved the feeling of being independent and getting to see whatever I wanted to, rather than having to navigate uncertain waters with other people to figure out what the less-than-optimal compromise might be for the day's plans. But I need someone to poke. Someone to be in awe with me. Someone to help me remember. Traveling with someone totally compatible with you is amazing and you build unique memories.

My dream is to take my mom somewhere. She is adventurous, but so incredibly selfless that she seems to always be helping me find tickets and doing research- but not going places herself. I used to think that, since she has never forced planned her own trip, that maybe she enjoyed the planning stages. I can't believe I ever thought that; how dense. She never wanted to impose herself on my plans and always thought too prudently about saving money to go somewhere on her own. My goal this summer is to change that. I've already invited her several times and plan to continue to do so. There is a good chance that she won't be able to get out of work, but if not this summer, then I do hope to someday be able to help her fulfill her travel bug.

My other dream is to go on a trip with someone I care about, travel the world, if you will. Most importantly, I want to take someone to Taiwan, specifically Penghu, where my parents grew up, and one of the most beautiful places I can imagine. I don't know who it will be yet and I think it'll be a long time away, but hopefully it's one of those things that when you know, you know.

ode to food trucks

Things that are not awesome:
1. I spent more time researching food trucks last night than I spent studying, until 12 AM hit, and I was on point.

Things that are awesome:
1. The Brown Bag Lunch Truck. My school has organized a Truckin' for Haiti fundraiser and got some food trucks to come all this week to school. The only problem is... I don't really go to school. Not to sound like a slacker or anything, but I'm a slacker because all classes are recorded. However, we had lab today so I figured I might as well try it. More on that later.

2. The food was delicious and benefited a good cause.

3. This playlist by wit + delight to help me wake up in the morning. I love this site in general, it's full of awesome and lovely stuff.

4. I think I'm going to take advantage of food trucks coming into the area for the next two days and (over)indulge.

conscientious

I have a professor who is like this. He drank his first sip of water ever during a lecture this past fall semester during a 7-hour lecture. He takes breaks for our sakes. His knowledge is staggering. As is his kindness. Two things really stand out to me about him:

1. His conscientious approach toward everything he does. I suspect this is also how he knows so much Anatomy. But also, he is conscientious about his relationships and every aspect of his life. For example, he has been known to respond to e-mails extremely thoughtfully and punctually. As someone who at times struggles with all the ways that I am to keep in touch with people or that I can be contacted, I often feel overwhelmed. For the past few years, I've been attempting to be much more on top of all my correspondence. I can't even imagine the volume of responses that are required of him but he handles each one with so much care, it astounds me. This is a small thing, but to me, it reflects the standard to which he holds himself and respect he shows others. There is no excuse-making.


2. The grace and compassion with which he treats everyone. It doesn't matter who he is (a badass), or who you are (probably less badass), he takes the time to help you with whatever you need, or at least to feel heard. He and his wife taught us tango this past month and not only have the dance lessons been very fulfilling, but the personal lessons I've taken away have been invaluable to me. For example, when I was stuck late in, ironically, Anatomy Lab, and sent him an e-mail, his response was overwhelming. The same applies for the thank you e-mail he and his wife sent our class for the flowers, collage of our tango class, and gift certificate to a restaurant they'd been wanting to try. 

I feel that my experience with him and his wife was just the reminder I needed to continue all my boring goals of 2012 to be on time, to prepare for things earlier, to exercise, sleep, waste less time doing pointless things on the internet- because these habits become part of your character. I have a long way to go, but also recognize that I've already come a long way. Maybe this is what growing up and growing into your responsibilities are about?

[image from here]

Happy Chinese New Year!

I can't believe I almost forgot, Happy Year of the Dragon! Six is a really lucky number in Chinese culture, so parents always give their kids some money amount that includes the number 6, i.e., $66, in a red envelope and kids are supposed to sleep with it under their pillows for good luck and a good year. The dragon is one of the most desirable zodiac animals to be, as far as I can tell... probably because the dragon is one of the favorite animals of the Chinese. Since Chinese New Year follows the Lunar calendar, it's different every year, but usually falls around the beginning of February, so I was just on the cusp of being a dragon, but instead, I'm a snake.

According to Wikipedia, the dragon is the 5th animal of the zodiac:


Dragon – 龍 / 龙 (辰) (Yang, 1st Trine, Fixed Element Wood): Magnanimous, stately, vigorous, strong, self-assured, proud, noble, direct, dignified, eccentric, intellectual, fiery, passionate, decisive, pioneering, artistic, generous, loyal. Can be tactless, arrogant, imperious, tyrannical, demanding, intolerant, dogmatic, violent, impetuous, brash.

and snake is the 6th:

Snake – 蛇 (巳) (Yin, 2nd Trine, Fixed Element Fire): Deep thinker, wise, mystic, graceful, soft-spoken, sensual, creative, prudent, shrewd, elegant, cautious, responsible, calm, strong, constant, purposeful. Can be loner, bad communicator, possessive, hedonistic, self-doubting, distrustful, mendacious, suffocating, cold.


It's important to note that each animal has its positive and negative qualities. Although I've never heard about this, Wikipedia also says that each hour of the day is represented by an animal (24 hours, each animal covers two hours). This is supposed to represent your truest nature. Mine is Dragon (I was born at 7:30 AM).

I will have to ask my parents about that one, because I've really never heard of that custom. They also haven't mentioned Yin/Yang to me before, so I don't know significant that actually is in modern-day culture either. However, there are many traditions related to animals of the zodiac. For example, females who are tigers are not allowed to attend weddings because it brings bad luck to the couple. I remember that when I was a kid and my aunt and uncle got married, one of my cousins, who is a Tiger, was not allowed to attend. The adults didn't portray it like that back then and even tried to play it off, by also giving her a flower girl dress and getting her hair done, but it was later explained to me that she wasn't allowed to come, much less be a part of the wedding, because of her zodiac sign. My family never seemed very superstitious to me, so it seemed strange, but I suppose some superstitions aren't worth the risk!

The origin story of the animals is also interesting- they participated in a Great Race and had to cross a river- their final placement in the race determined their numbers. Interestingly, the snake rode on the horse and jumped off at the last second, scaring the horse, who finished 7th, after the 6th place snake. (This is interesting to me because my brother is a horse and I am a snake). The cat, who had ridden on the Ox with the Rat, finished in 13th place and did not make the Zodiac because the Rat pushed the Cat into the river at the last moment. What's your Zodiac sign? For me, growing up, knowing your zodiac animal was the same as knowing your birthday. Very strange not to know it!

This reminds me that I've been wanting to visit China for awhile. I always go to Taiwan and had never wanted to stop by China before, but discussed it with some family friends who visited recently and am totally interested in the idea now. I really want to see Heaven's Stairs, pictured above. But to me, the big opening "to heaven" just looks like Taiwan. (Insert political commentary? Nah.)

for a minute there, i lost myself

This looks all peace and serenity to me. A picture and a song as a reminder to breathe and stay focused. We're going to make it.

cutest video ever

why letters are awesome

Letter from James, age 81, to a fashion blogger

five hours

[from here]

goal reflections

I've been posting about some goals that I have had the past few weeks or so. I was thinking that I should reflect back and think about my progress each week. But that didn't work out so well, so I am now left to think about the past three weeks.

Up until this past week, I was doing a pretty good job reading every day, like I was hoping to. I'm finished reading Why We Believe in God(s) and started Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. These past four days, however, I started going back to my old ways of being too immersed in school to read. That's not even a reason; I just haven't allocated my time the way I want to. My goal to eliminate unnecessary and uninspiring internet usage should help. I have days when I'm really good about not wasting time on-line and days when I'm not so good at it. I think this is the main goal I should focus on. I'm not against using the internet so much as I am using it for things that aren't ultimately that interesting to me. There are so many resources and articles that I am willing to spend time on to learn more about thought-provoking topics, or even to check out restaurants and programs- to learn about the world around me. I will be really consciously looking at this issue because I think it's one of my biggest ones.

Health-wise, I've been sticking to my plan to work out twice a week. It's not a lot, but in one week, I worked out the same amount that I worked out the entire past semester. So I feel really good about that and want to maintain this trend. As for eating healthy, I'm doing okay, but could do better. I need to make more interesting food that is delicious and healthy. I've been working on eating proper portions, but I eventually want to work on eating consistent hours and not going forever without eating, and then being super hungry and eating a lot. I think I will have to think more about specifically how to achieve this goal.

I've also been attempting to do simple things that seem to come naturally to other people but must be labeled under "Goals" for me. Things like doing my laundry when the laundry basket is full... not when I run out of clothes, which is never. Especially when I think you can wear pants a few times before needing to wash them. Also things like packing my backpack and lunch the night before so I don't forget things in the morning and am less rushed running out the door. I haven't been so good at this. I've done it maybe four or five times in the past three weeks and it's been helpful. Today I forgot my anatomy scrubs when I didn't get everything together. I did however, do a pretty good job of doing my dishes right away and catching up on laundry (and folding it, which is also key to not having my room look like a massive explosion). These little tasks will make my life better. So far I've been starting to work out how to use little chunks of time more effectively.

[image from here]

quick note on parental love and goals

"Mom, my Fantasy Basketball team is getting killed."
Mom: "Of course! Bad manager."

This is more offensive than when she thought my ACT score was a sample score they use to teach you how to read the form your ACT score comes on, "Where's your real score?"

Sidenote. Things I don't want on my bed right now but alas, they are there, because I started doing homework in bed tonight: 5 Anatomy textbooks. Too tired to move them now and I'm going to bed. Another side note: totally unsuccessful at going to bed before 2 AM tonight. But last night I was. Is it totally crazy-sounding to be proud of going to bed before 3 AM and thinking anytime before 4 AM is "acceptable"? Yes? Okay, just checking.

best thing ever that is simultaneously the worst thing ever

Getting gyros at 11 PM with Nitin and Saad at Mr. Greek Gyros and having the fact that I'm not one of the guys re-iterated by these two many, many times. So delicious and so bad for you. I'm talking about the gyros, but talking to these guys is also really bad for my confidence level. I like that we can discuss basketball, my birthday party and their rival birthday party, and... literally I think that's all we talked about, for an hour and a half. I'm lucky for friends.

These pictures are not from last night, as we were decked out in sweatpants and boots. (Okay, just me) But rather from a salsa night we were planning on going to and instead went to Pasta Palazzo. Oops.

inspiration

I want to do this! I don't know if it's very reasonable since I don't know what kind of training it involves. But I do know it looks pretty awesome. I'm not adding it to my bucket list yet, but it's one of those things that could inspire bucket list items, I think.

the world i love, the tears i drop, all to be part of the wave can't stop, ever wonder if it's all for you

[image from here]

One thing is for sure- I need to download a new browser. Since I got my new computer in September or October, I've been using Safari, which comes with it. It seems to freeze at least a few times a day, but I can't tell if it's because it's worse than Firefox, which is what I was using, or if it's just that I've been using my computer a lot more often, as well as the internet, to look things up. In its most recent rebellion, when I re-started it, it seemed like every page that I visited last night and today came back up. It was entertaining and a little bit strange to see all the pages that I'd been looking at come up all at once. And have all the music that I've been listening to start playing at the same time:

1. Isn't She Lovely- Stevie Wonder
2. Can't Stop- Red Hot Chili Peppers
3. Homecoming- Kanye West
4. My workout exercises- I was reviewing some of the exercises from my workout last night to make sure I did everything with the correct form today (nerd alert).
5. Basketball videos, stats, and my Fantasy Basketball league. I was doing some research last night about whether I should take some players out today to improve my free throw percentage (even bigger nerd alert).
6. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies on Amazon ready to be ordered.
7. Blackboard (where all information for school is posted).
8. The site I use to stream basketball games.
9. Rhino Iguana (Buddy) and Logan Eating Breakfast. For some reason, Saad thought it would be a great video to send me at 2 AM. I'm confused why that thing is a pet. Should it not be running around in a jungle somewhere?
10. A hotel with a room that has everything knitted in it. Seriously. Also embarrassing.
11. New York Times blog post about economic and social effects of diabetics

I obviously spend my time on the internet in only the best, most productive of ways.

days of summer

Awesome summertime dates.

paris

[image from here]

I love this city. This picture makes me miss it a lot.

#2: Coffee in Bed

[images from here]

Bucket List #2: Coffee in bed. I think it'd be luxurious to have a cup of delicious coffee before having to be fully awake. I thought of this when I realized that I get through most of my day without coffee and end up drinking a cup at night, but then can stay up forever. Coffee mornings sound so much better. Don't know how I'd accomplish this one, but I'm not above a coffeemaker/espresso machine in the bedroom. Maybe I'm a little bit above that. Not sure.

#1: Northern Lights- Information

[image from here]

Just a note to myself to save this link Alex sent me with some information about the Aurora Borealis (when/where) for starting to look into seeing the northern lights as part of my bucket list. We're thinking Alaska.

collect moments, not things

This is my goal, every day.

"science will win because it works"

I just finished reading this book. One of my goals has been to read a little bit each day of non-school material. I think I've been reading fewer than ten minutes a day, but it is better than zero. Also, not as good as 20. This was a quick, simple read. Although this book described some evolution and neuroscience as reasons we constructed religions, I think the most important thing we can do is to realize that every single person has the right to believe in what they choose and and to be respected for having their own (hopefully informed) convictions. And I (almost) always enjoy learning what opinions people and books have to offer.

"In religion faith is a virtue; in science it's a vice." -Jerry Coyne

#1 See the Northern Lights

After a conversation with Alex today, I started thinking about having some sort of bucket list. I sometimes feel nervous about having a checklist of things to do when I travel because it seems like it might take away from the exploration, adventure, and spontaneity. Sometimes, though, it can simply be used as a reminder of ideas. And I know that I could always use the reminder. Rather than try to sit down all at once and try to come up with a list, I've decided to blog things when I think of them.

I decided today that I would like to see the northern lights. I have a lot more to learn about the aurora borealis to figure out how to go about this.

[image from here]

thanks hal

I didn't even know what a meme was until this past summer, but luckily, my friend Hal always sends me e-mails with memes that he thinks I will find funny. Recently, with medical school, I am constantly open High Expectations Asian Dad e-mails (I don't remember the exact name of that meme). I used to try to respond to the rest of his e-mail and ignore the meme. However, I have to admit that they have started to grow on me. And they helped me understand this proposal, with was I thought was really cute.

It ended on a much higher note than these following proposals. I feel really, really bad for these guys. I don't know that it was necessary for the girl to literally run away from him.

just one question

HOW YOU LIKE MY HAT? (Really exciting) pictures from a short Indiana road trip we took soon. 

stress less, do more

[image from here]

As part of my goal to stress less, I will plan ahead: Pack tomorrow's lunch, lay out tomorrow's clothes, have everything in backpack. I sound like an elementary schooler. I hope that this will help me rush less, get places on time, and be more in control of everything going on. I'm going to wash dishes immediately and put away things when I'm not using them. Catch up on laundry one day at a time. I'm not going to become the most organized person ever, but I can do these things. I've gotten better at planning some things and that has made my life easier and allowed me to do more, but I can do it even better. One huge thing is to do one thing on the internet at a time. Multi-tasking does not work and just leads to more time wasted. Also, spending less time on the internet doing non-learning/non-inspiring/non-communicating things is something I'm going to really, really focus on. I want to make these small changes to build good habits.

some inspiration

[image from here]

I found some inspiring sentiments for today to consider for some goals, but more specifically, general life themes. (Also, I love the calm of this picture)

"Develop an interest in life as you see it: the people, things, literature, music--the world is so rich, throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls, and interesting people. Forget yourself." -Henry Miller

When asked in Matchbook what advice she would give girls to live interesting, stylish, and adventurous lives, she responded, "First, to have a companion in life to share things in life is fantastic. It can be a husband, friend, a partner. That is my way to energize. Second is... to explore, to travel, go to museums, go to films, find beautiful vintage books that are meaningful. Make your individuality and your identity strong--that not only will make you different, it also gives you ideas to create something that is different, and that is very important."

Also, an article from a traveler through some of eastern Europe that I like.