It really did snow on Thursday (and also on Friday). I tried to take a picture. You kinda have to know what you're looking for. It looks like little scratches on the picture. But I swear, it's snow. It was cold.
Fri Dec 19 12:03:10 PST 2003
I'm home!!! finally. pictures from Thanksgiving (thank you Sam, Paul, and
Jeff) and new snow pictures are up.
Thu Dec 11 16:01:40 PST 2003
My head hurts, I'm so tired, and I got a final that's due tomorrow at 2PM.
But I can smell the free air. I mean, warm air. Getting out of here in
less than a week! Today I got a card from Teddy, Silas, Colleen, Tim,
Megan, Bing, and Priolo! It totally made my day. So much for thinking you
can't send sunshine by mail. So close to being done. Just really shouldn't
sleep tonight, tis all.
Tue Dec 2 15:38:01 PST 2003
Boston was great. Very relaxing. Not all that exciting, but that's okay.
Pictures will be posted soon, along with pictures of snow, because it
snowed again. This morning when I left home the front steps were
blanketed. Of course, being the first one out the door I had to leave nice
footprints for people to follow. We got a couple inches last night, and
today is freezing cold. I think something like 19 F, windchill 2 F. Whoo
boy. Two weeks and 2 days. I can make it.
Mon Nov 24 20:56:20 PST 2003
New York pictures are up! Check them
out. Still needs some fine tuning and formatting to pretty it up, but
I can call it a day, I sorted through 132 pictures.
Sun Nov 23 23:33:52 PST 2003
Phew. I'm pooped. So tired. It's been SUCH a FUN weekend. I went to visit
Jean in NYC!!!! First time in the Big Apple, so of course I had to do ALL
the touristy things. So let's see if I can recount them all. I bet I'll
miss something. Major brain overload... So.... Friday night I get in at
port authority, which is right next to Times Square so I thought I'd walk
around since I was there already anyways. Then I was tired of hauling my
bag trying to squeeze my way through the crowds so I got on the subway
to go up to Columbia. After dropping off my stuff in Jean's room, we went
to this place that sells HUMONGOUS slices of pizza, cuz I was hungry. I
ate on the steps of one of their libraries, dripping pizza grease all over
the ground. Oops. Then we went to this big supermarket that has a walk in
refrigerated section, with a LOT of meat. heehee. meat. Then after a
failed attempt at finding a good recipe for chocolate mousse, we made
pumkin-apple muffins instead. Reminds me of the good ol' days when we used
to bake together with our little toaster oven. Wow that was a long time
ago. Saturday we set out around noon, armed with Metro card funpasses,
which I milked for all it's worth. So, let's see if I can get it all
down... Subway to Lincoln center (ooh so much interesting things going on
there), walk through central park to see the nice fountain and people
sailing little boats, bus back across to the west side of Central Park,
where we took the subway to Times Square. Bought a knish and a shish
kabob, ate it inside Toys 'R Us. Then went down to Macy's, then took
subway to ground zero, which is a haunting sight. Then we got on a subway
and went up to Chinatown..... Oh man chinatown is awesome. I haven't been
around that much Chinese culture in a long long time. After dinner and
some Chinese grocery shopping and some street food, we took the subway
over to Brooklyn, where Jean went to see a show and I went off on my own.
I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, took the subway down to Bowling
Green, hopped on the Staten Island Ferry to see the NY skyline, but alas,
my camera batteries ran out. After that, subway up to Grand Central...
oooh. that's a pretty train station. Then walk across on 42nd (it took
me 10 minutes to figure out which way to walk) over to Times Square,
stopping to admire the Empire State Building along the way. Take pictures,
get on subway to go back up to Columbia, it was past 12. I was tired.
Sunday we went to Jean's church, then afterwards I walked over to the
Metropolitan Museum of Art. The doormen at them posh apartments on the
East side look really bored... and somewhat annoyed that I was peering
into their front lobbies. The Met was awesome. That place is grand.
And the art is great. But the museum layout is SO confusing. I met up
with
Albert afterwards (after a little bit of confusion with meeting times),
and we took the subway to Union Square, walked down to Soho, but missed
the chance to walk into Prada, since we didn't know where it was. Got
on the subway in Chinatown to go back to Columbia. Alright. That's it.
After dinner, subway back to Times Square, to catch the 8:30 bus back to
Ithaca, on which I got a pretty solid nap. Turkey and super exciting
weekends help me sleep on buses. Tata. I think I'll stop now.
Thu Nov 20 13:10:40 PST 2003
So tired lately. EM hw sucks. HW sucks in general. Well, almost weekend.
I'm going to NYC!!!!!! I get to see Jean!!!! Well, after I grade prelims
all night tonight. And when I say all night, it is all night.... until
I crash at like 11 PM :-P
Wed Nov 12 12:54:35 PST 2003
Quiet day in lab today, but I don't really feel like working. Perhaps
because I'm cold, but also maybe because I'm hungry and unmotivated, as
always. It's warm today (low 60s) but weather forecast predicts snow
tomorrow. Gah! good thing I did my laundry yesterday, when it was still
"warm." "Warm" is such a relative term. It so isn't warm here.
Sat Nov 8 08:45:39 PST 2003
There's snow on the ground! I took some pictures for you all to see. Current temperature 28 degrees Farenheit (-2 C), wind chill 15 F (-9 C). Tell me now, why am I here?
Fri Nov 7 15:53:02 PST 2003
Today was a great day. I talked to my advisor and played basketball. Now
I'm on hold with Domino's cuz they're stupid, but I'm ordering from them
because rich uncle Bing sent us gift certificates. Okay, so he's not my
uncle, but what'm I gonna say, rich buddy Bing? Anyways, and today for
the first time somebody asked me, "Are you a freshman?" Well, the first
time in a long time. Grr. stupid dominos.
Thu Nov 6 11:45:43 PST 2003
Horribly unmotivated. Sleepy all the time. But otherwise, all is well.
I am borrowing a friend's guitar, the women's group at my fellowship
here has started, and I made yo-fan on Monday. I should really just stop
being so lazy.
Tue Oct 28 19:07:07 PST 2003
I miss home. I miss Mommy, Daddy, Jeffrey, Grandma, Auntie, Uncle,
Christina, Alex, Uncle, Auntie, Iris, Angel, Chocolate, California,
warm weather, sunshine, basketball practice, my team, my neighbors,
my room, my alley, my house, my church, my fellowship, my small group, my
friends,
*gasp* Tech,...
I could go on forever. Can't wait to go home. In other news, I like
having dinner guests. I saw Treehouse of Horror 13 on Sunday (first
Simpsons since leaving California in AUGUST!!!!), and UCSD's
having "snow" days. Shoulda gone to SD, shoulda gone to SD. Just a month
and 20 days more...
Sat Oct 25 13:09:34 PDT 2003
It really did snow on Thursday (and also on Friday). I tried to take a
picture. You kinda have to know what you're looking for. It looks like
little scratches on the picture. But I swear, it's snow. It was cold.
Thu Oct 23 12:39:08 PDT 2003
x-ray diffraction sucks. makes for many many questions in section. whoo.
finally calmed down a little. got questions for the prof now. cold today.
it snowed! shiver.
Wed Oct 22 12:17:29 PDT 2003
Back in the swing of things. Went on a retreat last weekend. It was pretty
good, except retreats are just different when you don't know the people.
Oh, and back down in the computer lab, after a relaxing week TA-wise since
there was no homework. But yeah, back now, with more questions I can't
answer. Hrm. What's the professor asking? Beats me. Ask the professor
yourself. Oh and it might snow on tomorrow. Tomorrow..... ditch day...
Tue Oct 14 11:46:02 PDT 2003
WAHHHHHHH! Mommy left. Now i gots to cook for myself again. I've been
watching a lot more baseball than usual these days, since we have FOX
and baseball seems to be a pretty big deal. I can grade HW during
baseball, which is definitely a plus. Niagara Falls was pretty fun,
except that it seems like everything fun is on the Canada side, which
we couldn't get to. Suck. But we did get to go to some big outlet mall,
where I found out that Old Navy makes a separate line of clothes for
their outlets. Weird. Still good, and cheaper. Makes me happy.
Thu Oct 9 17:48:25 PDT 2003
Dang. We have some crystal structures for hw this week, and suddenly both
my lab sections and office hours are popular. Well, I guess this is the
work I'm supposed to be putting into the job, and finally it's caught up
to me. Whoo. Answering questions is hard work. In other news, new pictures
are posted, and I'm going to Niagara Falls with Mommy and Hannah this
weekend cuz it's fall break! Yay! Also, it's warm again, the sun's out,
and we get one channel on tv! Why couldn't it be FOX or something mildly
entertaining?
Sun Oct 5 12:15:52 PDT 2003
MOMMY'S HERE! It's like Christmas and Chinese New Year's and so much more.
She brought so many goodies! Dried mushrooms, dried little shrimp (xia
mi), rice crackers, glutinous rice, down blanket, clothes, teddy bear, and
the list goes on. It's great! I love my family. I love Mommy. God is SO
good. Yesterday was super exciting because I went outlet shopping in the
day and then Mommy came at night. So besides all the stuff Mom brought I
also emptied my wallet and helped out the economy. Yay for new clothes and
shoes.
Thu Oct 2 11:27:54 PDT 2003
Thank goodness they turned on the heat in the computer lab. It was SOOOO
cold yesterday. Today's weather was very strange. It was sunny, then it
rained, then it was sunny, then it rained, then it was sunny, then it
snowed/hailed. White floaty stuff flying around. It melt once it hit
anything though. We were watching from the TA office. Then it stopped,
and now it's sunny. Fun while it lasted, glad I wasn't outside.
Mon Sep 29 19:38:15 PDT 2003
I got to play basketball! I got to play basketball! I got to play
basketball! Just making sure you knew. So what if I missed the AEP
colloquium and still have half of my E&M set to finish... I got to
play basketball! So what if it took us half an hour to find everyone
and find a gym that was open. I got to play! It was fun. I got
court burn. I'm excited.
I got work to do. Ew.
Sat Sep 27 16:32:03 PDT 2003
I realize I've spent a LOT of money in the past two days. Friday
afternoon, I had this great idea to head down to the mall (the inky
dinky mall at the end of the short highway we have here) and buy
myself a basketball, cuz I really should play sometime. So besides
the basketball, I also bought a set of sheets, an extra pillow (for
Mommy when she comes), and a pair of pants. Now depleted of all the
cash I picked up on campus before I hopped on the bus for the mall,
I thought to myself... "I'm making myself poor." Friday night Hannah
and I went out for Thai food with a bunch of people I barely know (okay,
so I knew like 3 out of 11. not bad). Who'd have known Thai food could
be that expensive? Who'd have known that grad students could afford (and
thus suggest) such an expensive place! Sheesh. Okay, I shouldn't complain.
The food's the best I've had in a restaurant in Ithaca so far. I certainly
wouldn't go again, though. I'm too cheap for that. Today we went to Top's
to get groceries, since Molly, our grocery-buddy is out of town. Of course
I needed money to go grocery shopping, so I stopped by the ATM again. So
yeah. This weekend cost me ~$165. DANG! Okay, so part of that is shared
expenses.... but that number scares me. To think, next weekend I'm going
outlet shopping. Time to start eating PBJ for dinner.
Wed Sep 24 12:13:56 PDT 2003
I notice that lab downtime is a great opportunity to get caught up
on things. That of course, includes homework. This week's quantum
isn't as easy as last week. I've seen worse though, and this doesn't
scare me. But it sure does scare my throat-friends. Yesterday I went to
the gym so I'm sore. My neck's sore too, probably from sleeping funny.
Culinary accomplishment of the week: making tsong-yo-bing (green onion
oil pancake) on our slanted dining room table, with Hannah's mug because
we don't have a rolling pin. I got Mom to put that on her list of things
to bring me when she comes. It taste good. Mmmmmm.
Fri Sep 19 16:52:09 PDT 2003
Today was a great day. I finally got my care package today. We had some
wind and rain today from the fringe of Isabel. It wasn't so bad. It's
kinda fun watching rain fly horizontally. I took a bus down to the commons
to pick up the packages my parents sent me. There's junk food and junk
food and vermicelli and spice bags. I was so excited I just had to make
"ant-climb-tree" today. It was pretty good, despite having substituted
celery for zha-cai (some kind of pickeld vegetable). Hey, it worked. Thank
goodness I had pork. mmmmm pork. In addition to my food, I also got some
forwarded mail and my new glasses and 3 books to help me study for the
quals. Gah. It looks so hard. I'm glad people like writing tests in
English. Imagine the fun I'd be having if it was in Chinese. Well. That
was a nice way to end my 3rd week at Cornell. On the agenda for the
weekend: grade hw, read Jackson, start studying for the quals :-P
Tue Sep 16 15:13:28 PDT 2003
Rant and rave, then see God's mighty hand. I have so little faith. Today
my favorite person is Joanne at the UPS store in downtown Ithaca, because
she got the UPS people to deliver the package to a place only 1.5 miles
from Clark, which means if I walk fast, I can make it there and back on my
short short breaks tomorrow. Maybe I'll skip math.
Tue Sep 16 14:52:28 PDT 2003
Grrrr. I seem to miss my package deliveries by a little bit every time.
Yesterday they came maybe 10 minutes after Hannah left home, today they
came 5 minutes before I got to the door. I'm kinda mad, but well, there's
no reason to be, since I could have easily come home half an hour earlier
and spared myself. I never thought deliveries came earlier than they
estimate...
And now I have to go all the way out (6 miles) to some store that's only
open 3-6 M-F to pick up my packages. That'll be fun without a car...
Sat Sep 13 22:55:52 PDT 2003
What a blessed day it's been! Molly drove Hannah and me to Wegmans (the
super supermarket) today, and we bought a 20 lb bag of rice. It's so nice
to go with someone who has a car. We can buy so much more! Hannah and I
made spam rolls, cucumber rolls, and jen rolls (spam, cucumber, and egg).
I ate a bunch before we even got to the potluck. At the potluck I ate
even more. It was all very yummy, and I can probably stop eating for the
next two days. Tonight was a potluck/worship night for the graduate
Christian fellowship. I got to play guitar afterwards too. By January
I should have my guitar out here with me. I think I've learned like 5
songs today and yesterday. There'll probably be more tomorrow too.
Exciting weekend! I've also started grading HW 1. The stack looks pretty
intimidating.
Fri Sep 12 22:06:00 PDT 2003
2 down, 13 to go. Second week was better TA-wise. I will probably go
back on that once I start grading the stack of HW's I have. Whoo. Judy,
who's TAing a ug level stat mech course, spent almost 5 hours grading her
first hw. Her class is roughly half the size of mine. Good thing there's
another TA. I went to an IV meeting today. Makes me feel old. Nobody
thinks I'm a freshman. Maybe I don't look lost enough. Well, not like I'd
want to be a freshman anyways. Hannah and I both got our first paychecks
today. That's exciting. We were thinking about budgets and stuff. Tithing,
paying back parents, rent, etc etc. Growing up is hard stuff.
Thu Sep 11 12:06:07 PDT 2003
Lab. 2 hrs sitting down here trying to help other people with hw I haven't
done. I look pretty stupid. But it doesn't matter. I do what I can.
Sun Sep 7 18:51:46 PDT 2003
One week down, 14 to go. Man, semesters are really long. Well, the first
week of grad school went pretty well. Besides the not-so-good
first-TA-experience, everything else went pretty well. It's interesting
TA-ing for a class of mostly graduate students. They are generally more
forgiving of TA incompetence. What's more interesting is seeing the same
people at fellowship meetings. They all know me, but I don't know them. It
doesn't exactly help that there are 50+ people in the class. So I've now
been to both GCF weekly activities/meetings. It's nice, but definitely
different. CCF didn't have this wide a spread of people. It was also
younger. I think I'll go check out IV one of these days. Hang out with
some undergrads. Hannah and I had our first guest today. Molly, a first
year grad in Classics, came over for dinner. I mis-estimated how slow I am
in the kitchen so dinner was about 30 minutes late, but it's all good.
We also went to have boba in Collegetown afterwards. It's fun introducing
people to boba.
Wed Sep 3 18:49:46 PDT 2003
Today I had my first lab section. It didn't go over too well. At least it
wasn't the full two hours today. Hopefully tomorrow's will be better. I
think I've already established the fact that I'm an incompetent TA. Oh
well. At least this hw was easy so only a few people asked questions. I'm
more than halfway on an E&M set due next week. I don't believe. I never
work this early.
Mon Sep 1 17:44:18 PDT 2003
Today it's been raining all day. The roof is leaking above the
refrigerator. Good thing it's not over my bed or something. Yahoo! weather
says it's going to rain until Thursday. This'll be fun, no
umbrella-15-minute walk and all. Well, so I've been in Ithaca almost two
weeks (but seems like it's been way longer), which means I haven't watched
TV for two weeks (thank goodness we have internet, or I would probably die
of boredom). In these two weeks I have managed to rack up 750+ minutes on
my cell phone. I don't think I've ever talked on the phone that much. I
like free night and weekends. Even grandma has learned to take
advantage of the system. Slowly but surely, she is moving into the modern
world. She can already use the DVD player, any day now she'll learn to
use the computer. Man, when that happens I'm gonna fly home just to see
it.