Musings

bye bye, blogger

2007-11-16T11:35:00.000-05:00

The time has come. My little blogging experiment is at its end, due to a variety of reasons, most of which are that school is taking over as top priority right now. Also, I think I've come to a point where instead of reflecting on life, I need to concentrate on living it for a while. So, if you've been back to this mostly-abandoned blogspot in a while...thanks. Thanks for reading and commenting over the past year and a half. I'll still be poking around in your blogs every once in a while, and hopefully leaving a comment or two. But for the time being, mine is over.

Thanks for making the experience worthwhile!

~Greta

this weekend

2007-10-16T15:42:00.001-04:00

I can't wait for this weekend to come. I'm going on an outing with some of my Yosakoi friends to a special performance in the area. We're going to...

Visit the Nelson-Adkins Museum of art....

Possibly go to the Country Club Plaza or the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art...

Eat yummy Japanese food...

And the reason for the entire trip: the Yamato Taiko group from Japan. The video just doesn't do it justice.

penny for your thoughts

2007-10-10T11:14:00.001-04:00

Should I be so lucky to find a penny today, it would be the fourth Wednesday in a row that I came across spare change lying on the ground. The first two times it was a dime, the second time, a nickel and a penny. At first I thought it was odd, finding spare change specifically on a Wednesday, but I think the more I find change, the more it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy: if I think about finding change, I tend to look for it more, and the more I look for it, the more I actually find. When I told one of my friends about the dimes, he said "Wow, I'll have to hang out with you more." Yeah. And maybe in two and a half months we'll have enough change to go out for smoothies.

Anyway, along the lines of deep thoughts, there's a booth that is set up on our campus every week with a 'question of the week' that students can answer just for fun such as 'who is your hero?' Yesterday the booth was handing out freeze pops and asking 'why do people take themselves so seriously?' (Due to a recent cold snap, I think they'd get more traffic if they handed out hot cider, but that's beside the point.)

I didn't stop at the booth, but it got me thinking. I think people take themselves so seriously because they realize that they have a finite amount of time on the earth, and they feel like they have to accomplish something while they're here. I read some survey this summer that said people's biggest fears weren't heights or public speaking or spiders or anything like that. The biggest fear was dying without having left a mark on the earth, and having no one to remember them. I think that would be enough to make people take themselves too seriously.

In lighter news, it's getting to be my favorite time of the year: fall! There's a million reasons to love it, such as the ones I blogged about last year. But this fall is even more interesting because I got to try my hand at pumpkin carving for the first time. We got pumpkins at a local produce market and carved them in my friend's room. My humble attempts at a jack-o-lantern are documented below.

i will be back

2007-10-08T10:45:00.000-04:00

i found it!

2007-09-14T16:55:00.000-04:00

This makes my day.

I found a carton of concentrate for Calpis water at an oriental food store in town. It was one of my addictions in Japan, and now in the U.S. as well. I can't wait to try it here, even though it probably won't taste quite the same as when a convenience store clerk hands it to you in a plastic bag with a polite bow and a cheerful "Arigatou gozaimas!"

It's still really, really good.

and so it goes

2007-09-12T11:07:00.001-04:00

I have never studied so much in my life. What happened to the transition from freshman year to sophomore? I'm not an upperclassman yet, but the workload seems to have quadrupled. It feels like finals week already.

The first round of tests is here; two down and two to go. So far, so good. And I now know enough Japanese to ask if someone is from China, Korea, the U.S., England, etc. so I must be getting somewhere. I would post more, but I have to go study archaeology. Maybe sometime soon.

the story so far

2007-08-29T18:23:00.001-04:00

I'm just about to complete my second week back at school, and things are off to a pretty good start. This is largely because I just got internet access back in my room after several days of network problems that were annoyingly reminiscent of last semester.

But seriously, I have a good job (night supervisor at the International Student Center = lots of time to do homework), and am settling into my two-person room (although I'm hardly ever there. I seem to live in the library...) And Yosakoi is back in full swing, evidenced by the excruciating pain every time I move my shoulders after Tuesday's practice. We have a lot of new members who ask me how to do certain steps of the dance every time we need a break, which is good, but leaves me exhausted. On second thought, it's good for me too - I have to know my stuff.

Otherwise classes have been pretty good so far. A brief overview:

Japanese is my favourite by far. I was a little intimidated the first day when our teacher walked in the door and started speaking rapid-fire Japanese without any explanation until the end of class. But I'm learning lots of useful phrases and just completed the hiragana alphabet today. Interesting quote thus far (from a handout): "When you are speaking Japanese, you should avoid English speech fillers such as uh, and make an effort to use the Japanese ones."

Archaeology is interesting; it's been a little dry, but we have learned about the Three Age dating system, and that all archaeologists do not run around with a pith helmet and whip like Indiana Jones. Interesting quote thus far: Professor - "You've all used grids since elementary school. Can anyone tell me briefly what a grid is?" Student - "It's a bunch of triangles put next to each other."

Information Gathering is basically a semester-long research tutorial leading up to what will be a ginormous paper on a media policy issue. My topic of choice, though still in the brainstorming stage, is the implications of using English-only or bilingual newspapers. Apparently we will learn to use the library and other databases, and how to track down and interview experts. Oh, and we will learn how to use Google in ways we have never used Google before. If there has been an interesting quote yet, I've missed it.

American Ethnic Studies is just what it sounds like - studies of different ethnic groups in America. Racism. Cultural pluralism. That sort of thing. Interesting quote thus far (during roll call on the first day, when calling my last name in front of 80 students): Professor - "There is no way you can get (insert last name) from that spelling. See, look -" Yeah, my name was on the chalk board for the entire class period.

Population Dynamics has only met twice, but I think I'm going to like it. Kind of like Am. Ethnic studies, but it tells what the groups do, and why. My professor is from Hungary and likes to slip in comparisons of his country into class, which makes it interesting. There are only about 10 of us in the class, too - not a bad ratio. Interesting quote thus far: "Now, let's get down to the black soup, as they say in Hungary."

And that's the story so far.

little bloggy b-day

2007-08-17T17:31:00.000-04:00

It was one year ago today I started my venture into blogging. It's been an interesting experiment, and I've enjoyed the other blogs I've been able to read and comment on, and receive comments back.

Over the last year I've blogged about my first year at college, my first trip overseas, and lots of zany and mediocre things like haircuts, food and quirky people I've observed or overheard.

The other day I added Google Analytics to my page so I could see how truly depressing my blog ratings were. I was actually surprised by the small but steady stream of people who visit it.

Some of them get here by interesting routes. One Google search that has lead people to my blog was 'alcohol free birthday etiquette.' I don't remember blogging about this subject, although it's worth finding out about. I don't know why 'picture of breaded fish cutlet' would lead anyone to my blog, either, but it did. I hope they weren't upset not to find such a picture. And my personal favourite, 'the art of slurping' must have had something to do with my experience eating ramen in Japan. Interesting stuff.

So, thanks for sharing my little corner of cyberspace - listening in, commenting, and sharing your own stories. Sometimes my postings are sporadic at best, but I've enjoyed keeping a blog. Hopefully I'll be able to keep it going through the next year.

last day at work

2007-08-16T07:43:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was my last day at the library before moving back to school. And oddly enough, it was probably the most interesting day I spent working there, if only for the variety of stuff I got to do.

Typically when I go in to work at the library, I steel myself in preparation for six hours of the same cycle of work: get a book from the cataloger, type up the label in the front of the book, affix the label with con-tac paper, check the label against the online catalog, fit it with "tattletape" so the sensor at the door beeps if someone tries to walk off with it, shelve the book. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Since the library is in the process of changing every book from Dewey Decimal System classification to Library of Congress, there is no dearth of labeling to deal with. Carts and carts of books on end, in fact.

Yesterday had its share of "processing" as it's called, but I also got to interact with patrons, something that doesn't happen a lot when all the students and most of the professors are gone from campus for the summer. I got to try various other things that librarians are responsible for, such as unlocking the conference room for a guy in PR to take pictures of the windowsill. Unlocking it again 20 minutes later because he took the "wrong" pictures of the windowsill. (We were baffled as to how you can take wrong pictures of a windowsill; we were both quite certain the remodelers who wanted the pictures would come look at the actual windowsill before building anything for it.) I supplied patrons with paper clips and hole punches, and took a trip to the business office to get my paycheck. And after lunch, I moved approximately ten times my weight in reference books.

And today, some coworkers and I are going out to eat a local Mexican restaurant as a "goodbye for now" to the job. It was a good job to have during the summer. I can't say I'll really miss it, but it was nice to have while I was here.

haircut, school and other unrelated musings

2007-08-14T23:38:00.000-04:00

You'd think that with less than 48 hours remaining until I will be settling down for the night in my dorm for the fall semester, I'd be doing something productive. Checking my schedule to see when I start classes. Seeing if I have enough food to last the weekend since the dining hall doesn't open until Monday, and I'm moving in on Thursday. Packing, maybe. But no. As you can see, I'm on the computer. This has been a serious addiction lately. Youtube has become my central music fix. I surf blogs at random. I'm on Facebook like some people are on crack. But hey, while I'm here I might as well update my blog.

I got my hair cut last Friday. It is the first serious cut I've had in about three years, and the stylist said she cut a good 9-10 inches off in the back. It feels wonderful and is easy to take care of, despite being the first hairdo I've had that requires me to style it and actually use a blowdryer. I don't usually spend a lot of time on my hair, but the new style is easy and I love it. It looks somewhat like the picture below. (The picture, by the way, is not me. It is German actress Franka Potente. However, if you would like to pretend this is what I look like, I would not be offended in any way.)

As I mentioned, the start of the school year is fast approaching. I'm actually eagerly anticipating my classes, although they are scheduled so close together that I will have to miss lunch several days a week. My schedule, as it is set now, looks like this:

AMETH 160 Intro to American Ethics

MC 195 Information Gathering

JAPAN 191 Japanese I

ANTH 260 Intro to Archaeology

SOCIO 535 Population Dynamics

It's going to take some getting used to, as usual, when I move back in. But I'm looking forward to the semester. New classes, new job, new people to meet. Bring it on, I say.

thoughts on camp

2007-08-12T14:13:00.000-04:00

It's been almost a week since I got back from seven days in a cabin with 16 screaming 7-to-9-year-old girls. My thoughts have had time to marinate in my head (what do you call these? Marinatings? Marinations? I'll settle with musings for now...) and the weird thing is...I kind of miss it.

Being a "cabin mommy" as one of my campers put it isn't always fun. There is the rush to get ready for chapel in the morning. The perpetual spilled drinks - I don't think we went one meal without tipping a glass. There is lots of homesickness, and in some years (like this one) lots of puking. But there are lots of cool things about being a cabin leader too. One is that you become a hero to lots of little kids for simply having a band-aid when they need one or know how to braid hair. You inspire awe because you are A Teenager, and go to college.

But the other cool thing is that as a counselor you get to do stuff that you haven't had a chance to do since you were their age: get your hands messy making hommade paper, belt out silly songs in music class, play dodgeball and scream at the top of your lungs going down the water slide. You're a sort-of parent, sort-of older sibling, and sort-of friend.

I think that anyone considering parenthood should be required to be a camp counselor first. Sure, one week isn't anything compared to a lifetime with kids. But it sure gives you a preview of what life might be like. At times it's endearing, at times frustrating, and sometimes just fun. I have no idea if I'll ever have kids...I havn't thought that far down the road yet. But will I be a cabin mommy again next year at camp? I think so.

bourne again...

2007-08-11T17:43:00.001-04:00

I took my brother to see the Bourne Ultimatum as a last-weekend-out-of school outing. And I have to say (without any spoilers here) that it was a pretty good film. It was a great third installment, and left me wanting to know more at the end, but not for lack of a good plot. Its cityscapes were just as vibrant as in the first two films, and made me want to travel to the locations where it was filmed in London, Madrid and Morocco. An all-around good movie to round out a great trilogy.

overheard at camp

2007-08-07T08:06:00.000-04:00

I'm back from counseling at a week-long Orthodox youth camp. I'll probably post more about it later, but right now I'm still recovering from the exhaustion, so I'll give you a sampling of quotes from the 7-to-9-year-olds I counseled. If nothing else, it was worth the week to hear the amusing things the kids said.

After I taught an impromptu dance class when the actual teacher had to leave, a little boy ran up to me and said, "I've never seen a parent jump before!"

One of my girls at lunch: "You're not even old enough to get married!"

During chapel: "Make my sister stop hitting me! And my appendix hurts!"

While doing a bread-making activity: "I have lots of practice working with dough. I just took a cake-decorating class, and now I decorate all these cakes. I'm working on one shaped like the White House. The President ordered it, and I'm going to send it to him. I'm going to make all his cakes."

One of my campers: "Well, their names are Katie and Sarah. They're not identical twins - I think it's called fraternal. They look exactly alike, but their names aren't twins."

sojourns in careerland

2007-07-26T18:47:00.001-04:00

I think I'm finally going to do it - I think I'm going to change my major.

It's not that I don't want to be the globetrotting National Geographic reporter anymore. It's just that as I'm going through classes, I'm realising that my skills don't always necessarily match my aspirations. Which is part of the reason I've thrown around so many career ideas. There are a million possibilities I'm interested in, some that I'd be proficient at, but few I'd really be good at.

When I took my aptitude test my sophomore year of high school, two of the top ten careers that matched my aptitudes were pastry chef and mortician. Maybe I should have paid attention to those sooner - if one thing's for sure, people are never going to stop eating or dying. The job outlook for what I'm interested in now - social scientist - is a little less in demand, but I think it's something I could get excited about working on every day.

Anthropology is the area of social science I'd like to concentrate on, although I don't have a specific career in mind yet. I've already taken linguistic anthropology, and am starting my Japanese minor this semester, so the linguistic aspect is looking interesting right now. There are a few jobs outside the fieldwork/academic setting that I could go into, as well.

First there is Interpretor. Although I haven't started Japanese classes yet, I am very interested in mastering the language, and if I'm going to be taking it anyway, I might as well put it to use careerwise. Interpretors translate spoken words at conferences or interviews. You have to have a complete knowledge of the language and be able to translate it quickly. I'm not sure if this is the branch for me, but there are others. Especially not my area if the movie The Interpretor was any accurate depiction of the job. Apparently if you are able to translate an obscure language for the U.N., scary masked men will show up at your apartment, and then Sean Penn will have to stare into your window from across the street in order to "protect" you. Not sure which of those alternatives is creepier.

Then there is Translator. This is more my style - translators are often able to work from home, and there is less immediate pressure because you can take time to translate written words. In the case of Japanese, though, I would have to have a more thorough knowledge of the alphabet, and with 1945 kanji characters mandatory for proficiency in everyday reading, that is no small task.

There is also Linguistic Anthropologist. This could be closer to my original idea of traveling around, doing fieldwork, and writing reports. I'm interested in helping unravel the mysteries of the indiginous Ainu language in Japan.

Whatever option I choose could be an interesting career, I suppose. And there is some comfort in the following saying by Mother Gavrilia, an Orthodox nun: "What does God want me to do? Be here or go there? The answer was: God is not interested in where you are or what you do...He is interested only in the quality and quantity of the love you give. Nothing else. Nothing else." This, however, is a lifelong vocation. Anything else I do is just a job.

Right now I'm still in the mindset of "what I want to be when I grow up." But then again, I'll probably be in that mindset until one day I suddenly realise I'm old, and that last thing I was doing was the closest I came to an actual 'career.' "Ha," I'll say. "I used to want to teach English in Japan!" Maybe I'll laugh about it over a plate of pastries with my coworkers at the morgue.

on life in the library

2007-07-25T23:23:00.001-04:00

My summer job, as it has been for the last three years, is to work in a small college library near my house. For me, it's the perfect part-time job, since I'm fairly organized, like to work by myself, and am interested in books of all kinds. But those aren't the only reasons working at the library is a pretty good job. I've decided that there are more perks to this job than you might first imagine, such as:

- First dibs on interesting books. If you see something you like that hasn't been put out on the shelf yet, it's yours for the taking (after it's been catalogued, labeled, proofed, and tattletaped so it beeps if someone tries to steal it, that is.) This is especially handy with books that look like fun, or even, in my case, the new Harry Potter book. While I have not read the first six volumes (these people do exist!), I'm tempted to read the last few pages just to see what happens. I figure that if I ever do decide to sit down and read the entire series, I'm going to know the ending long before I get there.

- You find humour in unexpected places. For example, the way Thomas Jefferson looks on the cover of a children's book with a barcode placed directly over his face. Or the barcode placed over a promoting comment on the cover of another book so that the previously praising statement now reads 'forgettable story! Brilliant!' Even the titles of some books are enough to crack me up. My latest favourite is At the Tomb of the Inflatable Pig.

- There is time to daydream. It's amazing what kinds of story ideas, job opportunities and memories drift through your head when you stand there for three hours wrapping books in contact paper.

- Free muscle toning. You thought the extent of librarians' exercise was lifting date due stamps and flipping pages? Hah! With all the lugging stacks of reference books, pushing persnickity shelving carts and rearranging furniture, it's practically the next best thing to a membership at the Y.

So the next time you're attempting a comedian position, coming up with a short story idea, or heading off to boot camp, maybe you should consider a stint at your local library as preparation. And then again there are the books...

interview

2007-07-17T23:17:00.000-04:00

So...I've been scrambling a bit to come up with blogging topics lately, and I decided to let Enemy of the Republic interview me when she volunteered on her blog. The questions were more thought-provoking than your typical 'what would you do with a million dollars' type, so I've spent a little longer answering them -here's my best attempt.

1. You are a follower of the Orthodox religion. How does it meet your spiritual needs?

Although I would say that I should try to conform to the principles of my religion more than it should meet my needs, the rich history and theology of the Orthodox church is a very meaningful in my life. I believe it is the True faith, the original Christian church from the time of the apostles until the present. There are aspects of the church that are integrated into every part of my life - church services and daily prayers at home, ancient melodies sung in the services, and a history full of apostles, saints, angels and monastics that give modern Orthodox Christians an example of how to live everyday life. The idea of theosis - God becoming man (as Jesus) so that man can become God - is something to strive for in my spiritual life. No human can ever become truly God, but the pursuit of this, with the right intentions, can lead to a fulfilling spiritual life.

2. Is there a particular saint or icon that is especially meaningful for you? If so, why?

The icons in the Orthodox church are all beautiful and awe-inspiring, but for me especially the icon of Christ the Pantocrator. It is simultaneously comforting and intimidating. On the left, Christ raises his hand in blessing to show that he loves and cares for his creation. On the right, he holds the book of life to remind us that when our lives are over, we will also have to answer to him for the choices we have made. I also have a special place for St. Christopher, as a protector and the patron saint of travelers.

3. How does God and mysticism fit into today's culture?

Unfortunately, today's culture has strayed far from the ideal that God set up at creation - that we would be in dialogue with him, worship him, and care for His creation. Instead, today most organized religions tend to "box" God - to create their own personalized Saviour, and to pick and choose a religion that suits their ideals instead of the other way around. I believe that God has a rightful place in any society, past or present. It is my job to sanctify the activities that I participate in by giving God the honor and obedience that are already his. (Not that I have achieved this... it's much easier said than done.)

4. If you were to name two things about American society (not government), what would they be and why?

Hmmm...any two aspects of our culture? For one, I would say consumerism. Americans often take for granted all the amenities that are available to us. We're used to scouting out the latest electronic gadgets, buying the coolest brands of clothes, and sampling new restaurants. We're programmed to buy, and society tells us that more is better. I think that often we are so caught up in what we "need" or want that we forget that others are less fortunate, and also forget to be grateful for what we do have.

Another aspect that we offer, on the upside, is diversity. Although sometimes groups may clash in the U.S., it's interesting to see a country being built by people from so many different countries, cultures, and social backgrounds. The potential for language exchange, cultural awareness, and dialogue about world issues is exciting. The plethora of ethnic recipes, different styles of architecture and art are an added plus.

5. Is there an historical figure you admire? Why? Do you think our present society still can boast of some individual greatness? Who would some of them be?

I don't have any particular historical figure that sticks out as a hero in my mind. There are several I admire, mostly for bringing people together and fighting for justice. Marting Luther King, Jr., Mother Theresa, Mother Gavrilia (an Orthodox nun), Ghandi and Joan of Arc are all people I look up to for their willingness to fight for an ideal, to give themselves wholly to working for the greater good, and simply loving their people.

I think that there is always potential for "greatness" in today's society, if you define greatness as some or all of the above qualities. There are a few people alive now that I admire, but their names don't often show up in the mass media. I think that Wendell Berry has a lot of good things to say in his essays and poems about reverence for the created world, and love for family. I admire Zana Briski for her passion for children in poverty, and her work in exposing their conditions to the public through things like documentaries and her Kids With Cameras program. But mostly I think that the potential is there in everyone. It's our choice to change the world or just watch it spin by.

what's your global iq?

2007-07-14T18:11:00.000-04:00

I tried this quiz from Newsweek magazine that featured 130 questions about current politics, sports, entertainment, environmental and economic issues. I scored a 43% - pretty average. If you've been keeping up with the news over the past few months (and know a little bit of historical trivia), it's an interesting evaluation. Give it a try!

the times they are a-changin'

2007-07-13T08:43:00.000-04:00

Sometimes it's weird to think about all the things that have happened since I was born. In the past two decades kids have gone from playing with Razr scooters and Pogs to iPods and DS gaming systems. You even see 12-year-olds running around with cell phones. Google and Facebook have become verbs. Smashing Pumpkins and N'Sync are no longer new music.

It is strange to think that someday I'll look back and say, "Harry Potter - yeah, that was popular when I was in college," or "My brother was obsessesed with playing Halo." But then again, it's fun to see how things change. Like a quote I found by Colette that I really liked:

"I love my past. I love my present. I'm not ashamed of what I have had, and I am not sad because I have it no longer."

Maybe that's why I'm not too disturbed that my interests are constantly changing. Sometimes I think I'm a different person every day. Even the 'Visual DNA' widget in my sidebar is different from the one I posted a few months ago. When I clean out my desk drawers or look back in my old journals, I sometimes wish I could be as interested in a particular subject as I was then. And sometimes I look at what I was interested in, and I just have to laugh.

(Know what else makes me laugh? The word widget.)

taiko at its best

2007-07-12T18:15:00.001-04:00

One of the many Japanese traditional arts I've become intrested in over the last few months is Taiko. A friend who was fortunate enough to be part of a taiko group in high school said I should check out this group. Even if you've never been into drumming before, their level of energy and artistry is almost incredible. Enjoy!

banana pancakes and the travel bug

2007-07-10T09:00:00.000-04:00

The travel bug has bitten me - bad. I already want to go back to Japan, and it's the one country besides the US I've been to...there are so many more to see! And who knows when I'll even be able to travel again.
My latest interest, however, is Thailand. On the plane from Chicago to Tokyo, I sat by two very nice and interesting students about my age; one was a girl from Seoul, returning home from studying in the US. The other was a premed student going to teach English in Thailand for a few weeks, after hiking the base of Mt. Everest. It turned out the girl from Korea knew a bit about Bangkok, the Thai capital where the other student was going. We all talked about Thailand for awhile, and she said that if we ever visited Bangkok, to find Khao San Road, a mecca for backpackers from all over the world.
I looked it up the other day, and the street looks fascinating - kind of a hippie beach town meets a crowded strip mall. This site had some really cool pictures of the road. It's also fascinating to trace the road itself on Google Earth.
In my reading about the road, I discovered that street vendors often cook up a treat called banana pancakes, made right in front of hungry tourists and drizzled with chocolate sauce or sweetened condensed milk. I tried it for myself last night using this recipe, but substituting sour cream with a little sugar since we didn't have any yoghurt. The result was delicious!

sapporo, day 9

2007-07-09T14:13:00.001-04:00

The last full day we spent in Sapporo, I spent the morning walking around the streets near our hotel and taking pictures. This door was just a few blocks down the street; I had never noticed it before. Susukino in the morning is a completely different place at night; there are just a few taxis on the street, and most people are going to work and school via bike and foot.
This is a Shinto shrine near the hotel. These are statues of Jiso, the Shinto patron of children and travelers. The shrine was dedicated to children who had died in childbirth, been orphaned, or died when they were young. People brought lots of trinkets and toys to leave at the shrine area before praying.
We attended the Shrine-jinja festival on the edge of Sapporo at a grouping of Buddhist temples. This festival is one of Japan's largest Buddhist festivals. We got to see lots of cool performances including yosakoi, taiko, and the dancing these ladies were performing (above.)
We also attended a martial arts demonstration and got to see the participants do all kinds of kicks and flips, and break concrete blocks with their feet and stone roof tiles with their foreheads. The kids above are watching the demonstration.
More pictures, as always, on flickr.

sapporo, day 8

2007-07-09T14:04:00.001-04:00

We visited the Hokkaido Historical village, which had reconstructed buildings from around the 1920's. There were a lot of different styles of architecture, but the most interesting to me was that of the fishing village (above.) It was especially significant, because a lot of our Yosakoi movements mimic activities depicting fishing and rowing.

That evening we went out to MOS Burger for a delicious red bean parfait, and tried our hands at purikura and some arcade games.

sapporo, day 7

2007-07-04T00:38:00.000-04:00

The seventh day was a free day spent sightseeing around Sapporo. Check out the rest of my pictures on flickr.

sapporo, day 6

2007-06-26T14:37:00.000-04:00

On the sixth day, some of my Japanese friends who had joined us in Sapporo left to go back to their schools and jobs. The rest of the team split up to do some sightseeing, and I joined a group of twelve who went to visit some museums and hot springs.

We took an hour-long train ride to the small town of Shiraoi where the Ainu museum was located. The Ainu, Japan's indiginous people, had set up a reconstruction of one of their villages, and we spent a few hours walking around there and learning about their history, and watching some traditional performances.

This is a statue at the entrance to the Ainu village.
These are some of the artifacts we saw in the museum. There was also a lot of interesting clothing there; the Ainu do not believe in depicting nature realistically in art, so all of their designs are abstract. While at the museum we also watched some Ainu singing and musical demonstrations, and tried to learn how to play a tiny wooden instrument kind of like a mouth harp. For lunch we ate at a noodle shop, and I had tempura ramen - a bowl of ramen with fried batter-dipped shrimp in it. It was delicious!
After the Ainu village, we went to Noboribetsu, a tourist-y town just a few train stops away. Because of the large amount of volcanic sulfur springs in the area, the region is called Hell Valley, and there are statues of all kinds of demons and ogres all over town. There are also a plethora of onsen, or community baths where Japanese often go to relax and treat their skin with different kinds of mineral water. Above is a statue of an oni, a kind of ogre.
Here is the sulfur springs just before sunset. We hiked some trails through the springs before some of the braver group members went to try out an onsen. The scenery was beautiful, but the smell was nauseating.
This stone marker was near a volcanic cauldron-like crater on one of the trails. The posts were scatterd around the park.

This is a statue in downtown Noboribetsu. The Spiderman figure was placed there by our coach. He always takes Spidey with him when he travels, and photographs the figure in strange or famous places.

sapporo, days 4 and 5

2007-06-26T14:27:00.000-04:00

I didn't take any pictures on these days because we were rushing all day to get to performances in different parts of town. Some of the highlights involved dancing for a large audience on a baseball field in front of the Royce' chocolate factory, attempting an odori-style version of our song (dancing in a circle around a platform tower, and dancing our routine six times in a row parade-style on live TV.
We celebrated being the first American University team to be invited to the Yosakoi Soran festival at an after-party the night of the fifth day. We started at our hotel by watching the finals of the competition among the big teams on the TV in our hotel's lobby. Then we ate a dinner provided by the sister of one of our members, who worked at a family restaurant a ten-minute walk away. Then we went to a bar for drinks and food, and even after that some people were still awake enough to go out for karaoke, but a couple friends and I took a taxi back to our hotel to get some sleep. Five performances each day was enough to completely wear me out.

sapporo, day 3

2007-06-24T20:30:00.000-04:00

On our third day in Sapporo, we moved from the hostel to a business hotel near Susukino, the downtown entertainment district of the city. Below is a picture of our hotel from the back. From the front it's just a concrete building; I didn't even notice the aqua and red paint until I was walking on the street one day.

After we checked our baggage into the hotel we walked about five minutes to a large open park with a view of the city. We had intended to practice there for our upcoming performances, but since we hadn't been able to officially check into the hotel until afternoon, we weren't able to change into practice clothes. Instead, we spent the morning attending an open house at the University of Hokkaido, a lengthy walk away.
The first thing we did at the open house was try to find lunch. All the different international student groups had stands set up, and everyone wanted us to try theirs.
This is where I was introduced to Japanese "advertising." While American student groups might yell out that they had fresh or hommade food, these vendors would walk around in costumes, carry signs, dress in costumes and practically sing and dance to get people to buy their food. I was accosted by one girl who wanted me to buy her ice cream. She literally grabbed my arm and started jabbering in Japanese. When I said 'wakarimasen' (I don't understand), she switched to English. "You like sweet? Yes? You buy our ice cream!" I didn't want the ice cream, so I settled for taking a picture with her, then moving on.
I actually ended up getting chicken shwerma for lunch. I never thought I'd have my favourite Lebanese food in Japan.
This is an elderly woman doing a watercolor of one of the historic buildings on the university's campus. We actually saw quite a few elderly people doing this scattered throughout the campus.

Later in the evening we went to watch some of the bigger yosakoi teams perform on the big stage in Odori Park. This was what we had come for. It was so cool to be in an environment where everyone knew what Yosakoi is, and where competition for the top spot is as competetive as a major US sporting tournament.

I believe this is the team that eventually won second place overall. Teams are judged based on their energy level, costume and makeup, costume changes and use of accessories. There are also requirements for the music. This group did one of the more traditional performances.

This team didn't do a lot of traditional yosakoi moves which kept them from making it to the finals, but it was the most memorable performance I saw. The group were dressed as train conductors, and the music involved a lot of audial cues that were train whistles. The song had a lot of hip-hop influence, and the dancers were the most synchronised I have ever seen. It was unbelievable how together they were - almost robotic.This group was all girls, and did a flamenco-style routine.Another traditional-style group.

This team had a lot of accessories, especially the flags in the back. The taiko drummers in the front were really cool, and there were even two tiny kids doing taiko drums. When the drumming part was over, a dancer picked up the littlest kid and ran off the stage with him to make room for a formation change. In a few days we would be dancing on the same stage.

sapporo, day 2

2007-06-21T09:08:00.000-04:00

(More photos on flickr - I seem to have removed my day 2 pictures from the computer. Oops.)

The second day in Sapporo we were a little more oriented with our surroundings, so it didn't take us long to walk to the nearby convenience store in the subway to find something for breakfast. I tried a sesame pastry and some juice that contained fruit and vegetables, notable radishes. That was the one drink I tried in Japan that I would rather not repeat. After breakfast we started practicing the dance routines we'd been working on for months. There was actually a little gym in our hostel so we practiced there. The TV crew came to videotape us practicing; it was a little intimidating, but we learned to ignore the cameras and just perform.
At lunchtime, we walked to the nearby 24-hour supermarket and got some food from its bakery. I learned that in Japan, what appears to be one kind of food is often another once you take a bite. I got a sandwich containing what I thought was a breaded fish patty on lettuce. When I actually bit into it back at the hostel, I discovered that it was some kind of creamy potato concoction that had been breaded and fried. While it was delicious, it definitely wasn't fish. We also got to sample white bean sweets, traditional dainty desserts.
In the afternoon we practiced again, and after practice the Sapporo TV crew took us on a tour of some of the city's attractions to tape our reactions.

This was the first place they took us, Mt. Moiwa. It is a small mountain that overlooks the city of Sapporo. They treated us to melon-flavored ice cream, a Hokkaido local specialty. We also spent some quality time in the mountain's gift shop, which abounded with cell phone accessories, Hello Kitty memorobilia, and trinkets related to the marimo, a strange type of local algae. Of course they had personified it into a living character as well, and there were numerous marimo puppets, dolls and keychains and things of that sort. It seems that every living thing in Japan can be characterised as a cute cartoon character. There were cartoon raccoons painted on the sidewalks telling children to look both ways before crossing the street. There were cartoon stuffed animals of every kind in arcades across the town. My personal favourite was a cartoon crying pudding in a job-searching advertisement. It had a giant animated tear running down its vanilla-flavored face, and sobbed 'Find me a job!'

The next intent of the crew was to videotape me and one of my friends eating ramen in a ramen shop, but when our bus passed by the shop was closed. I was relieved; in Japan there is an art to slurping ramen noodles that I have not mastered, and I'm sure the tape would have been interesting. Of course I'm sure they were counting on some amusing mistakes, but I was relieved all the same.

Instead, we went to a Yaki-Niku restaurant. We received plates of various raw meats in courses, and grilled them over a charcoal grill set into the table in front of us. The restaurant was called Gaja, and the atmosphere was very upscale. There was even live lounge music while we were there. The meats we tried were very good, and ranged from pork and ground chicken to squid, and even beef cutlets, an expensive rarity in Japan. For dessert there was a small scoop of ice cream with the ever-present cornflakes as a garnish.

When we went back to the hostel, we were too full to have an intense evening practice, so we just limbered up and stretched for half an hour to get ready for practice the next morning.

sapporo, day 1

2007-06-18T14:06:00.000-04:00

There are no pictures of my first real day travelling to Japan. That might have something to do with the 3:50 a.m. alarm before a two hour trip to the airport, followed by a flight to Chicago, then to Tokyo, then finally to Sapporo. On the plane I was either sleeping or talking to the people sitting next to me, who were both around my age, travelling abroad as well. One was returning home to South Korea after backpacking around Europe; one was meeting some friends in Tokyo before heading out to backpack in Thailand and Nepal. When we arrived at Chitose airport in Sapporo, everyone in the group was ready to nod off for the night, but we still had an hour bus ride and short subway trip before arriving at our hostel. When we did finally get there, there were reporters from Sapporo TV there to interview us for a documentary they did on our Yosakoi group, since we are the first American team to ever perform in the Sapporo Yosakoi Soran festival. We settled into the hostel, which was actually very nice, found a nearby convenience store for some food, and then turned in for the night. My photo-taking started the next morning.
This is the bell tower of a Buddhist shrine near the hostel that we ran across while looking for somewhere to eat breakfast. According to Buddhist tradition, you ring the bell to wake the god living in the shrine, then deposit some money in an offeratory box, say a prayer, clap two times, and bow before leaving.This is more of the temple at the shrine. There were other statues and a small garden there as well.This is the vending machine in our hostel. While in Japan, I never saw any vending machine with food, but these drink-dispensing machines were on almost every corner. They had all kinds of drinks ranging from beer to coffee to juice and soda, and even an interesting concoction called a pudding shake that tasted fine, but had a slightly repulsive texture.We finally found a place to eat after checking out all our options. In Japan, breakfast is quite different from the U.S. There are no sweets like the pastries or pop-tarts we might have, and cereal is almost unheard of. A typical breakfast might consist of miso soup, some kind of potato, or salad. This is a rice burger from MOS Burger, Japan's equivalent of a Starbucks for burgers.The MOS in MOS Burger stands for Mountain, Ocean, Sun. This particular one was a very short walk from the hostel, and offered more standard burgers as well as parfaits and coffee. This is a dish called doriye, which I had for lunch. We ate at Victoria, a western-style sit-down restaurant complete with forks and spoons, and a salad and soup bar. The food, though, was uniquely Japanese, and so were the drinks. Soda in fruit flavors like melon and apple are common in Japan. This doriye contained shrimp and squid in a white sauce over wheat noodles.
Later in the day we went to rehearse for the opening ceremony of the Yosakoi Soran festival. This is one team getting ready to rehearse. Across the street is the back of the bleachers where the spectators sat facing the main stage. Announcers and TV crews sat at the top of the platform to film the stage.
After our first performance, we all went to eat dinner at an okonomiyaki restaurant. Okonomiyaki are cabbage pancakes, and we got dishes containing the ingredients for the pancakes, which we cooked ourselves in a small stove set into the short tables we sat around. The tables were only about a foot off the ground, and we sat on cushions around them. There were several other things we could fry as well, such as shrimp and vegetables or spiced rice.
This was dessert. The cup was filled with strawberry milk and cornflakes, which we fried together with the whipped cream and fruit from the top.
Ours turned out a little runny because we added the milk too soon, but it tasted good all the same. It was fun to get to cook our own food and hang out as a group after an exhausting day of getting used to Japan, and ready for the rest of the festival.

coming soon

2007-06-16T11:43:00.000-04:00

First, some changes to my format under the assumption that simpler is better.

Also, I'll be recounting my trip to Japan, along with some pictures I took while I was there. All I can say is Sapporo was awesome!

i'm off

2007-06-03T16:06:00.001-04:00

Well, I'm off to spend the night at a friend's house, before carpooling to the airport at 4:30 tomorrow morning. There won't be posts for the next two weeks (but you're used to that, right?) Hopefully I'll be able to put together a summary of the trip and some pictures when I get back.

Sayonara!

six days...and counting

2007-05-29T14:22:00.000-04:00

I am actually going to Japan.

Now that it's within a week until I jet off to Sapporo, it's actually starting to sink in that I will be spending 11 days in a country that one year ago I never would have dreamed of traveling to. There are lots of things I'm looking forward to, like:

- Yosakoi community. We're actually going to be interacting with hundreds of groups who do the same thing we do! Here in the U.S., the typical reaction when I say I dance Yosakoi is "You do what?" or at the very least, "Oh, you're in that Asian dance group." When we practice in the student union, we've been mistaken for the ballroom dance club (which meets next door) and a karate demonstration. It's going to be fun to hang out with people who know what yosakoi is.

- East meets West. It will be interesting to see the combination of Western technology and development with Eastern art and thought. Where else can you see Shinto shrines set up next to skyscrapers?

- The food. I don't claim to be an expert on Japanese cuisine, but eating food that is so different from what I'm used to should be a cool experience.

And then there are some things that should prove interesting, although a little uncomfortable. Among them:

- Community bathing. Enough said.

- Japanese style toilets. You have the choice between traditional Japanese style, and modernized Western style toilets, both of which are a bit intimidating. Luckily, the internet abounds with information on exactly what they are, and how to use them. Interesting articles here and here.

- The language barrier. Although we'll be with a lot of people who speak both Japanese and English, I'm sure I'll run into a situation where I won't have them as an interpreter. I guess that's why I'm practicing my Nihongo now. Too bad my Japanese I class doesn't start until next semester.

All in all, I'm looking forward to the trip. Now if I could just get all my packing figured out...

summer reading, a little cooking and passport woes

2007-05-21T20:05:00.000-04:00

Finally, the last thing standing between me and an 11-day trip to Japan is my University post office's ability to obtain and hold onto my incoming passport. It has been a nerve-wracking series of events that has taken place over the past three and a half months.

It all began in late January, when I decided that I actually was going on my Yosakoi group's trip to Japan, and that getting cleared for international travel was going to be a necessity. Apparently if you are going to do that, you need one of these:

I applied for mine of February 22, apparently the beginning of the busiest season for obtaining passports. The new laws about needing passports when traveling to Mexico and Canada by air are making this pretty much the hardest time ever to get such authorization. However, "You won't need expedited service," the man at the passport office told me. The trip being months away, and wanting to save an extra $60, I took his advice.

It is now two weeks until I leave for Sapporo, and only this morning did I find out that my application was completed and mailed. However, since I moved out of the dorm address where I was anticipating receiving the passport, I will have to have my university's post office hold the passport for me so I can come pick it up, because they do not forward passports, according to the National Passport Information Center. It's a relief knowing the application is actually processed, but until I hold the little booklet in my hand, I'm not going to be completely at ease.

So, other than waiting for my passport to arrive, what have I been doing with my one week of summer so far? (That is, besides not updating my blog.) I have been...

- Reading. It seems college has ruined my ability to read, or at least complete, a book for pleasure. So I am working to regain that ability. Right now I'm working on The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. So far, so good.

- Cooking. I made sushi and okonomiyaki (cabbage pancakes) for my family the other night, as well as some very tasty green tea tapioca-filled cupcakes. Yum.

- Working at a local college library, and searching for a second part-time job.

- Practicing my Yosakoi skills and running in preparation for the Yosakoi Souran festival in Sapporo.

I'm excited for the trip, but at the same time it's nice to be home for awhile.

finals week

2007-05-07T00:50:00.000-04:00

I am still alive.

I guess the recent lack of posts has been because I'm actually getting some stuff accomplished, so maybe I can claim productivity over inconsistency.

Anyway, it's getting down to the end of my first year of college. It's been a blast. I'm really going to miss some things here during the summer, like:

- Making my own waffles for breakfast, and mixing in blueberries or chocolate chips whenever I want.
- My awesome room and the people who randomly drop by every day.
- Being within five minutes of Wal-Mart, a coffee shop and an Oriental grocery store.
- Being able to walk through the student union and hear five different languages.

But I'm also looking forward to some things I'll be able to do away from school this summer:

- Try out some new recipes on a real stove and a real oven.
- Read a book for fun - textbooks have practically killed my ability to do so.
- Go to Japan!....if my passport gets here in time, that is...
- See my friends and family from home.

I can't believe there's only a week left...

japan festival

2007-04-25T12:43:00.000-04:00

Last weekend was the Japanese festival at my school. Japanese student groups (including my Yosakoi group), students in Japanese classes and the community came together for the festival, which turned out to be a lot of fun. A lot of preparation including advertising, setup and performance practices paid off.

Here is a giant fan with the word "matsuri," or "festival" written in Kanji. It was set up by the registration table.

This sign was set up outside a room where the traditional tea ceremony was being demonstrated. It shows the proper way to hold the tea cup.

Japan is famous for traditional flower arrangements called "ikebana." Here is one such arrangement.

This is a geisha doll in traditional dress.

Someone receiving a lesson on the shamisen, a four-stringed guitar-like instrument.

Yosakoi danced at the end of a two-hour series of performances including singers, a boyou dancer, and a storyteller. Here taiko drummers are performing a song on their drums.

I helped in the Traditional Toys room. In this game, you remove the hammer from the center of the stacks of blocks. Then starting at the bottom of the stack, you try to knock out the bottom block without knocking over the entire tower. I was really bad at this game, but there were some little kids who were really good.

This is another tricky game. You're supposed to swing the ball up into the air and catch it in one of the cups at the top of the stick. Then, if you're good, you can flip the stick over and catch it in the cup on the bottom of the handle. I never got past step 1.

Most of the day I helped kids with three different kinds of top games. This little guy was determined to get the big tops to spin.

These are a variety of paper cranes folded by the people in the origami workshop. There is a Japanese folk tale that says if you fold 1,000 paper cranes, you will have your wish come true.

obi

2007-04-16T10:44:00.000-04:00

I tied it myself! Granted, it took three tries and it came loose later, but at least I know how to tie an obi now. Putting on yukata is a lot harder than it sounds!

This week was international week on my campus, and my yosakoi group performed four times, last night being the biggest show. It was a really cool show - we got to have awesome lighting effects and perform on the most prestigious stage at our university. Plus, we got to see other international student groups perform: dances from Nepal, flute playing from Sri Lanka, a Hispanic maypole dance, music from India, and a singer from the Philippines.

And afterward, I got to go out for ice cream with my roommate and her family. A pretty sweet day, all in all.

new skin

2007-04-12T16:29:00.000-04:00

Again.

I'm not sure I'm done. But Clowngirl was right; it was just too industrial. And the previous layout, too autumnal. And this one...too chintzy? I'm not happy with it yet. But it'll get there.

amusement amidst boredome

2007-04-12T15:19:00.000-04:00

Tuesday morning in my Sociology class, I was extremely bored. There is nothing new about this, except that on Tuesday I decided to sit in the very back of the classroom so I could leave right away for my advising appointment. This meant instead of sitting in the third-to-front row where I may as well have been the only student in the classroom, I was sitting back with the people who were sleeping, surfing the internet, or doing calculus homework. (One boy did this throughout the entire class. He was so concentrated on his math that he didn't look up the entire class, and spent a good deal of it entering equations into his calculator. I was impressed.)

My professor and her TA were trying to hook up a DVD player to the projector to show a film, and while the screen was calibrating, it turned white and brought up a message:

[BLANK SCREN]

I found this amusing for several reasons:

1. My teacher and TA can't seem to get the DVD player to sit there and be ready to play. It has to be re-started every time.

2. The fact that whoever designed the initializing screen apparently didn't take the time to spell-check their work.

3. The simple irony that due to the huge message 'blank screen', the screen is not actually blank.

It's the little things that get me through the day...

echoes in a vacuum

2007-04-11T21:13:00.000-04:00

Some days cyberspace scares me.

It's just so...BIG. To think that even a few people filter through the cracks and end up here, lingering long enough to post a comment often amazes me. Why do we do it? Blog, I mean. Do we do it just as a personal catharsis, or in hopes that someone might catch our words and holler back?

It seems that as the internet becomes a more integral part of society, we seem to hope for those answering calls. Sites like Flickr, YouTube and Vimeo allow us to post snippets of our personal lives - kind of like bait - and see if anybody bites. Sometimes the videos are boring home videos or stupid pranks. But sometimes they're touching portraits of one life, questions about humanity, or platforms for social change.

There are even some websites, like takenote.com that exist for the express purpose of posting a note that may be completely meaningless to anyone else ("What exactly is vegemite?" or "Dearest Lester, Why does it appear that your beard is stuck on with 'silly putty'?") Some of these notes, however, can be quite profound. ("Be the first domino." "Love, like paint, can make things beautiful when you spread it, but dries up when you don't use it.")

When I started this blog, I wasn't exactly sure how long I would keep it up, or what the purpose of the blog would be. I'm still not sure about either. I've probably used the blog mostly as a way to fire off random thoughts and see what happens. Most of the time it's meaningless stuff ("I have a lot of homework!" "I liked this quote a lot." "I suck at consistency.")

But at the same time it feels good to have a networking opportunity, as virtual as it may seem. Another note from takenote.com sums it up pretty well. Maybe the intrigue in blogging is not just to say what we've done, but to "meet" someone who's done that too.

"Hello Stranger,
Just like you, I love, suffer, and yearn. We're not very different."

musical prank

2007-04-09T21:56:00.001-04:00

My linguistic anthropology professor showed us this video in class today, since this is supposedly the time of year when students begin to suffer boredom in class due to spring fever, approaching finals, etc. It was a lovely idea for a prank, and expertly executed. Brilliant!

Christ is risen!

2007-04-09T10:33:00.000-04:00

By descending into Hell, He made Hell captive.
He embittered it when it tasted of His flesh.
And Isaiah, foretelling this, did cry:

Hell, said he, was embittered
When it encountered Thee in the lower regions.
It was embittered, for it was abolished.
It was embittered, for it was mocked.
It was embittered, for it was slain.
It was embittered, for it was overthrown.
It was embittered, for it was fettered in chains.
It took a body, and met God face to face.
It took earth, and encountered Heaven.
It took that which was seen, and fell upon the unseen.

O Death, where is thy sting?
O Hell, where is thy victory?

Christ is risen, and thou art overthrown!
Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen!
Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice!
Christ is risen, and life reigns!
Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in the grave.
For Christ, being risen from the dead,
Is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
To Him be glory and dominion Unto ages of ages.

Amen.

- from the Paschal Homily of St. John Chrysostom

Happy Easter to all! Xristos Anesti!* Al Maseeh Qam!** Harisutosu Fukkatsu!*** And 'Christ is Risen' in whatever other languages you happen to speak!

* Greek (of course ;)
**Arabic
***Japanese

holy week

2007-04-05T22:07:00.000-04:00

Today, He who hung the earth upon the waters is hung upon the Cross.
He who clothes Himself in light as in a garment stood naked at the judgement.
He who is the King of the angels is arrayed in a crown of thorns.
He who wraps the heavens in clouds is wrapped in the purple of mockery.

It's nearing the end of Orthodoxy Holy Week, the week before Pascha (Easter). I'm looking forward to going home tomorrow to celebrate the Good Friday lamentations, the Saturday morning liturgy, and finally the glorious Pascha service itself, late Saturday night into Sunday morning.

You can find out the basics about Orthodox Holy Week here.

gullible

2007-04-05T14:22:00.000-04:00

Have any of you heard of a website called Peter Answers? It could be one of the creepiest but most convincing practical jokes anyone has pulled on me. If you don't want to put your closest friends through trauma that may require therapy to recover from, don't use it to pull the joke on them. If this particular problem doesn't bother you, then by all means use it to mess with their unsuspecting minds.

Let me explain.

Last night I was hanging out in one of my friends' rooms, talking and being bored in general. One friend, who I'll refer to as Tyler in order to protect the not-so-innocent, was messing around on his laptop. "Have you guys ever tried this Peter Answers website?" he asked us.

I peeked over his shoulder, seeing what looked like an answer-generator, one of those things you can type a question into and get a random answer that might be vague or amusing. Something on the level of fortune cookies and magic eight balls. Had I noticed the title 'virtual tarot' in the corner, I probably would have backed out right away. I'm not one to dabble with the supernatural. I don't even read my horoscope, just for fun.

Anyway, he explained: "You can ask it any question and it will give you a specific answer," he said. He demonstrated by typing in the question "Who is in the room right now?" The only stipulation? You had to first type "Peter, please answer the following question:..."

The computer answered, "Gretta, Becky and Laura."

Creepy. It was right. "It spelled my name wrong," I said, beginning to wonder if he was pulling a prank. He didn't seem to be typing anything besides the question, and nobody else in the room was sending him a message from their computer. He kept asking it questions, which it answered correctly - about articles of clothing people were wearing, things that had happened to us that day, and a noise outside the room. By this time, I decided it was best to leave the thing alone. I didn't know if Tyler was just messing with us, or if we were really getting into something we shouldn't be.

Then, in response to a question Tyler typed in, it answered with a question: "Are you scared, Orthodox Christian?"

That buzzed me to the core for a minute. Then I realised, why should I be scared? My faith is more powerful than anything that computer could have inside it. I was determined that I was not going to let whatever was going on get me upset, and just to stay away from it. By this time I was on the opposite side of the room, trying to ignore the questions it was answering about Becky, who was convinced it was some kind of trick.

A few minutes later, we discovered that the site was a hoax. Tyler showed us that when you type in the phrase "Peter, please answer the following question:" you first type a period. The cursor appears to type out that phrase, but you can actually type in the answer to any question you have decided to ask, then hit the period again. When you type in the question and hit enter, the answer appears.

So, I learned some things about myself. One, I should be quicker to rely on my faith rather than let weird circumstances mess with my head. Two, I am probably one of the more gullible people others might find it fun to pull similar pranks on. Regardless, I should probably be a little quicker with my practical reasoning skills. And stay away from time-wasters on the computer.

Looking back on it, though, I'm impressed by Tyler's ability to keep a straight face through the whole thing. I bet he found our reactions pretty amusing.

look!

2007-04-03T16:12:00.000-04:00

On a bored whim, and the suggestion of my roommate, I joined Stumble (stumbleupon.com), a site that randomly generates sites I might be interested in, based on categories I selected that are interesting to me. These photos, and many more at Creative Photos by Chema Madoz are thought-provoking as well as aesthetically pleasing. Head on over for a gander, if you want.

finished

2007-04-02T17:34:00.000-04:00

Finally, I may just be ready to hand in my News & Feature Writing article. Good thing, too, because class starts in less than an hour.

My article is about a local program that seeks to improve physical fitness through the designed environment - things like creating bike paths, making shopping areas that are concentrated and can be reached on foot, and installing sidewalks along roads. It's been very interesting to research.

How long did it take me? I'm not sure in minutes, exactly. All I know is that it's taken two CD's (Rooney and the Hush Sound), one bottle of water, one apple, seven peanut-butter crackers, two bathroom breaks, one editing session, two paper copies edited to shreds, and absolutely no time spent outside on this gorgeous spring day. I'm hoping the end result will be worth it.

yum

2007-03-27T15:04:00.000-04:00

This is how good the food was at boot camp. Kind of makes me wish it wasn't over.
(Pictures courtesy of Kimiko ;-)

boot camp

2007-03-26T10:01:00.000-04:00

Feeling pain means you're alive, right? Then I guess I'm still alive. The last three days of spring break I was back in town for what my Yosakoi coach called 'Yosakoi boot camp'. And it was - nine hours of practice each day plus stretching and yoga. But it was well worth the effort...after the entire weekend, I am more familiar with the dances we will be doing in Japan this summer. We practiced everything from large stage formations to parade style where we dance in rows down the street, to individual auditions in front of a video camera (not my favourite.) We tried new formations, and even did some yoga to develop flexibility. We took measurement for the tabi shoes we'll be wearing to dance in Japan. And when we weren't dancing, we enjoyed some amazing food prepared by the mom of one of our captains - we had awesome rice, salad, sandwiches and on the last night we had shrimp and scallop pasta and fruit pizza.

It was tiring, and I definitely felt some muscles I didn't even know I had. But it was a great time to hang out with friends and get ready for spring performances and the Japan festival. It was definitely worth coming to camp, especially since in three months, we'll be here.

new layout

2007-03-22T15:46:00.000-04:00

"But the name," said Kevin, leaning forward. "Is it real?"
"The name?" Archie shrugged. "Every name is real. That's the nature of names. When she first showed up, she called herself Pocket Mouse. Then Mudpie. Then - what? - Hullygully, I believe. Now..."
"Stargirl." The word came out whispery; my throat was dry.
Archie looked at me. "Whatever strikes her fancy. Maybe that's how names ought to be, heh? Why be stuck with just one your whole life?"
- Jerry Spinelli, Stargirl

That's kind of how I feel about my blogger layout. Maybe I was bored. Maybe I have blogging ADD. Or maybe I'm really so indecisive about picking a favourite colour that I thought it wasn't fair to the other colours that green got to be my layout for so long. Regardless, it's something I get restless about, as with other things like writing stories, styles of clothes, or the arrangement of furniture in my room. Every once in a while it feels good to scrap everything and start over.

if

2007-03-21T21:57:00.000-04:00

"You mean," said Lucy rather faintly, "that it would have turned out all right - somehow? But how? Please, Aslan! Am I not to know?"
"To know what would have happened, child?" said Aslan. "No. Nobody is ever told that."
- C.S. Lewis, Prince Caspian

Have you ever wondered what might happen if you could hear everything people ever said about you? Or thought that life would be simpler if everyone in it came with an instruction manual? What if you knew what you were going to be when you grew up from gradeschool on? What if the person you were going to marry had a little red heart floating over their head that said "I'm the one!" and light-up maps showed us where we would live and travel?

What if we could know what might have happened if we'd made a phone call to a particular person, or said something differently during a conversation? It might take a lot of the adventure and spontanaeity out of life to know this stuff, and it might save a lot of confusion and embarassment. But what if a book showed up on your doorstep that contained all that information. Would you open it?

Would you really want to know?

visual dna

2007-03-19T12:59:00.000-04:00

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

you know you've put off blogging too long when...

2007-03-19T12:34:00.000-04:00

...you come home for Spring Break and your mom tells you "One thing you have to do while you're home is update your blog. It's been the same thing for too long!"

I guess it has.

So I am finally home for a week of relaxing (read: job-hunting, shopping and cleaning out my room) before the final stretch of school (six more weeks sans finals week) kicks in. I can't believe how fast the year has gone by! It's even scarier to realize that in three of my five classes, I have only one more test to determine what my final grade will be.

On a lighter note, spring seems to be coming early. The weather has been almost unseasonably warm lately, and buds are beginning to appear on trees - some lacy green, some almost yellow, and some bright red. And daffodils are opening, too. Grass is beginning to poke up from last year's brown remains, practically singing that soon there'll be a big green carpet to run barefoot in. I love this time of year.

when i grow up

2007-03-04T21:56:00.000-05:00

Sometimes when I start thinking about what job I'm going to have after college, a little hut in the Himalayas with nothing but a cozy fireplace, a shelf full of books and maybe a yak or two for company starts to look mighty inviting. I've spent a good portion of this week trying to think of a job that I could wake up every day and be excited about in six months, in ten years, and ten years after that. I haven't come up with anything yet. So, here's a list of things I've been seriously (and not-so-seriously) considering before next fall, when I'll have to decide whether or not to apply to the school of journalism here. Here's your chance to pitch your say this way...what should I be when I grow up?

it seems I have been tagged

2007-03-03T13:59:00.000-05:00

Sonnjea B. of the consistently humorous blog Koji's Kitchen tagged me to play the iPod game. Since, like her, I do not own an iPod, I will also have an iMaginary list of songs. (Since my computer got reformatted, I don't even have a MediaPlayer library. I'm picking songs at random from my CD case...how sad is this?) Anyway, here are ten songs picked at random from my CD collection. Now you know how strange my tastes really are:

1. Enya, Orinoco Flow
2. London Symphony Orchestra, Duel of the Fates (from Star Wars)
3. Charlotte Church, Carrickfergus
4. Bryan Adams, Here I Am
5. Coldplay, White Shadows
6. Ravi Bal, Captain Bhangra De
7. Jaci Velasquez, Crystal Clear
8. Hollywood Film Chroal, Learning to Fly (from Peter Pan)
9. Angel of Music from Phantom of the Opera
10. Oasis, Some Might Say

I, however, am not going to play by the rules and tag five people. If anybody feels the urge to look up the last ten songs on their actual iPod and reply in the comments, feel free.

war stories

2007-03-01T23:45:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago Washington Post columnist (and Pulitzer prize winner) David Finkel stopped by our News and Feature Writing class to talk about a story he was writing. He was shadowing a soldier who was preparing to deploy to Iraq.

Last week the story, 11 Days Till Baghdad appeared in the Post - it was interesting, but also gut-wrenching to read. The things that soldiers have to be prepared to witness and to do themselves aren't tasks most people like to think about. The story really brought home a local impact of the war. If you have some time, it's an informative, if sombering read.

just when we thought winter was over

2007-03-01T22:33:00.000-05:00

And then it snowed. I almost left my window open last night...it was in the 50's. This morning I woke up to a blanket of snow almost 3 inches deep. By afternoon it was almost all gone and the gutters were gushing with melted snow. As pretty as it was, I'm ready for spring...

colours

2007-02-25T02:05:00.000-05:00

Here's a meme I nicked from Sonnjea B. Feel free to add your own answers in the comments or nick it yourself.

Red.
1. Closest red thing to you? A Valentine's Day chocolates tin my roommate gave me. (No, I didn't get to eat the candy.)
2. Last thing to make you angry? Myself...for not studying when I had plenty of time.
3. Do you have a temper? At times...
4. Are you a fan of romance? Yep

Orange.
1. Closest orange thing to you? A package of Hall's cough drops.
2. Do you like to burn things? It makes it worth getting up for a 7:30 botany lab when we get to ignite spores...
3. Dress up for Halloween? Not usually.
4. Are you usually a warm-hearted person? I'd like to think so...but maybe I'm wrong.
5. Do you have anything against redheaded people? I think it would be silly to pass judgement based on hair colour...
6. Are you usually full of energy? Some times more than others. Generally I'm pretty laid back. Give me cappuccino, though, and I'm liable to do just about anything

Yellow.
1. Closest yellow thing to you? My string of bamboo lantern lights.
2. The happiest time[s] of your life? Right now.
3. Favorite holiday? Orthodox Pascha (Easter.)
4. Are you a coward? Depends on the situation.
5. Do you burn or tan? Burn, big time. (Shouldn't this go under red?)

Green.
1. Closest green thing to you? A pair of flip-flops
2. Do you care about the enviroment? Yes I do
3. Are you jealous of anyone right now? Yep - my friends who know what they want to do with their lives, major-wise
4. Are you a lucky person? Not lucky, blessed
5. Do you always want what you can’t have? I usually want something I don't have. That doesn't mean I can't have it, though...
6. Do you like being outdoors? Absoloutely
7. Are you Irish? No, but just the other day I told my roommate I wished I was...she thought that was hilarious for some reason.

Blue.
1. Closest blue thing to you? A tie-dyed sarong hanging on my wall
2. Are you good at calming people down? I can be
3. Do you like the sea? Yes. Someday I want to ride a ship out to sea and see what it feels like to have no land in sight.
4. What was the last thing that made you cry? I almost cried while watching Stranger Than Fiction tonight. Pathetic, I know. It made me laugh out loud more than feel like crying, though.
5. Are you a logical thinker? Sometimes overly so.
6. Can you sleep easily? No

Purple.
1. Closest purple thing to you? My undergraduate course catalog.
2. Like being treated to expensive things? Nope...time spent is better than money.
3. Do you like mysterious things? Intrigue is the spice of life.
4. Favorite type of chocolate? I have yet to meet a chocolate I don't like.
5. Ever met anyone in royalty? Does homecoming royalty count?
6. Are you creative? I suppose

Pink.
1. Closest pink thing to you? A pair of Asian-inspired casual flats
2. Do you like sweet things? Too much for my own good
3. Like play-fighting? As in...mock sword duels? If so, then yes
4. Are you sensitive? I can be
5. Do you like music? No - I LOVE it

White.
1. Closest white thing to you? Printer paper
2. Would you say you’re innocent? Until proven guilty
3. Are you good at keeping the peace? Most of the time
4. How do you imagine your wedding? I don't
5. Do you like to play in the snow? Yep
6. Are you afraid of going to the doctors or dentist? Yes...the dentist's office creeps me out

Black.
1. Closest black thing to you? My computer
2. Ever enjoy hurting people? No. I'm actually disturbed that this is even on here...
3. Are you sophisticated or silly? A little of both
4. Would you like to go to space? I like my home planet...but it might be cool to see it from the air
5. Do you have a lot of secrets? Nah
6. What is your favourite colour? Don't have one
7. Does the colour you wear affect your mood? No. But my current mood might affect what I choose to wear

isn't it gorgeous?

2007-02-20T14:42:00.000-05:00

(Pics from tashian.com, chocolate-fish.net and wgu.hu/art.)

My art history class is studying 15th century Italian art. While I think Michelangelo's sculptures and Duccio's paintings are moderately interesting, what really blows me away is the architecture. Just look at the facade of the Duomo in Florence, Italy (bottom picture.) How does someone even dream up an idea like that, let alone mathematically calculate it, and actually build it?

I've become increasingly interested in architecture since the beginning of the year. I have a friend who is (quite passionately) pursuing an architecture degree, and based on his stories of endless hours in studio and excruciating attention to detail in model-building, I know I could never make a career that way. Which oddly enough, seems to make it even more interesting. For now, I'm just content to see what structures other people dream up.

* This happens to be my 100th post. Wow, 100 random musings. Thanks for reading along!

our lovely language

2007-02-17T23:11:00.000-05:00

As hilarious as this translation is (photo snatched from an article in the Wall Street Journal), I don't really blame Chinese speakers for not being able to figure out the complexities of the English language. My linguistic anthropology class is teaching me just how complicated it really is.

However, the Chinese are cracking down on such English translations for the 2008 Summer Olympics. This BBC article tells about the undertaking, and adds additional mistranslations spotted by visitors to China. Among them:

- "Please do not climb rocketry," in order to keep tourists from climbing rocks.

- "The oil explodes the shrimp." Mmm...chef's surprise?

- "This tastiness cannot be carried, even with both hands." (on a chocolate snack cake package) I want to try those...
- "Show Mercy to the Slender Grass" (from the Wall Street Journal article)

arghhh

2007-02-17T16:47:00.000-05:00

When one door closes, another one opens. Or in this case, the reverse. I finally got my computer re-formatted after a killer virus gutted the hard drive. ("It's just a pinched Ethernet cord," the repairman told me when he came up to my room. The internet was down again five minutes later.) The only original stuff I have left are the documents and pictures I saved on a flash drive. And now, although I can blog and surf the net again, I have no sound driver. Alas, I can only stare at my YouTube 'Favorites' list and hum the sound of Coldplay's 'Yellow' or 'Losing My Religion' by R.E.M. But it's just not the same.

The one good thing about computer repair on campus is that it's free. But that doesn't make the quality quite top-notch. "You can bring your tower down to us and we'll look at it," I've heard three times in a row now. But do I really want to lug my entire modem two blocks through icy patches and slush, down slippery sand-covered stairs of doom for the fourth time this week? Not so much. Maybe when the sun comes out...

sushi night

2007-02-15T21:26:00.000-05:00

We had a sushi-making night at the home of one of my Yosakoi friends the other night. It was really cool to see how sushi was actually made, and try it for myself. Plus we got to eat some other amazing Japanese food as well.

There were lots of colourful chopsticks to choose from. There were also forks available, but one of the girls who was there said "It tastes better with chopsticks." I think she's right.

The first step was to cool down some cooked white rice and combine it with a mixture of rice vinegar and sugar. I learned how to stir the rice with a "slicing" motion so it gets sticky, but doesen't form big lumps.

Next, we put down a seaweed sheet on a little bamboo mat, and covered about half of it with rice.

After the rice comes the sushi filling. This one has sliced carrots and cucumbers. We also made some with cooked salmon.

These are the seaweed sheets we used to wrap the rice mixture.

We curled up the rice and seaweed inside the bamboo mat. Once it was made into a roll, we took it out and sliced it up.

This is another kind of sushi we tried - it has egg and cream cheese in the middle. I was a little apprehensive about the combination, but it was actually good. The cream cheese made it sweet.

We ate our sushi with a variety of other Japanese foods. In the bowls is miso soup - cubes of soft tofu in fish-flavoured broth. There was also salad and gyoza, little meat dumplings. And for the very brave there were pickled plums - probably the most sour thing I've ever tasted. We also had brown rice green tea (in the blue cups), and banana bread for dessert. Definitely a meal I wouldn't mind repeating...

you don't know what you've got...

2007-02-15T10:55:00.000-05:00

They say you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone.

Recently on campus, a bicycle turned up lodged in the branches of a very tall tree. It was definitely a conversation piece for everyone walking along the sidewalk between classes. I don't know how many people I saw stepping off the path to take a picture of it on their phones. It was a random object that made us realise that sometimes the important question is not "why?" but "how?" (It was a pretty tall tree - I really want to know how they did get it up there.) I kept wanting to take a picture of it, but always forgot my camera. Then, after almost a week, it was gone. It was up in the tree when I walked into class, and when I came back, it wasn't.

Weird to say, but I kind of wish it was back there. I'm just waiting for it to turn up in another tree somewhere else...

normal people make me laugh...

2007-02-10T17:41:00.000-05:00

Sometimes people just have habits that amuse me to no end. The things they say and do, which might be totally normal to them, make me want to burst out laughing. (What is "normal", anyway? If you meet one sometime, let me know.) Some examples:

- A boy in my Composition class last semester, who was extremely logical and rational about everything. He got good grades, always had assignments in on time, and always had argument to back up whatever he said in class. On the day our paper was due he walked into class halfway through the period, red from running from the library burst out with: "I am on Step 12 of my stress relief strategy!"

- A girl who gave my roommate and I a Mary Kay facial yesterday. She sounded so rehearsed, just like a Mary Kay commercial. While she was going on about the products we tried, I was trying to stifle my laughter, and thinking of the scene in Napoleon Dynamite where they try to sell Tupperware, and throw in the model boat for free. "I want that boat..."

- My roommate in general, who has a fetish for tearing down outdated posters around campus, and running out of her way to step on crunchy patches of snow around the sidewalk.

- My botany teacher, who keeps saying the most interesting things, like "You can draw meiosis vertically or horizontally, but I'm going to do it like this, because it's my drawing. So there."

music meme

2007-02-10T00:18:00.000-05:00

It's February, so that means I can do another meme, right? I've been discovering some intriguing bands, so I thought one to do with music was appropriate. Here goes.

Music that changed my life
Deep End by the Newsboys - it pretty much exactly reflects my trip to Boston two summers ago.
Byzantine chant - visit an Orthodox church sometime and you'll understand.

Music I can listen to on repeat
Dil Nai Lagada - great Bhangra dance
Snow Patrol
Eisley

An album I'd take to a deserted island
Something by Oasis - and not just because of the name. Probably the second disc on their Stop the Clocks collection. Good stuff, that.

Music that makes me smile
The Numa Numa song by O-Zone. Fortunately it's in Romanian; the actual lyrics are quite sad. good thing the tune is so catchy.
Million Ways to be Cruel by OK Go - just watch the music video.
Fivetweezy by Axel F
Celebrity by Brad Paisley - one of the few country songs

Music that makes me cry
Run by Snow Patrol - so sad, even though it's a little hopeful

Music I wish had been made
Not sure exactly what this means...music I had made? That probably wouldn't be so amazing. But the world could always use another Beatles album...

Music I wish hadn't been made
I can do without most screaming rock and country. But there is a time for everything.

Music I'm currently into
Kings of Convenience
Oasis
Eisley
Bhangra, or anything Indian
Snow Patrol
Jack Johnson
The Beatles
The Hush Sound
World Salsa
Caesar's Palace
OK Go

Music I've been meaning to explore
The Cranberries
Bob Marley
Carly Simon
The Decemberists
Shhh ( a local band)
R.E.M.

And there you have it.

busy busy

2007-02-05T15:26:00.000-05:00

I guess the one good thing about not having any posts lately is that I've actually been getting some stuff accomplished here. Since the last post I have successfully:

- conducted my first interview for News & Feature Writing class
- tested my spit for enzymes in Botany
- begun applying for my passport
- recovered from the trauma of realizing how much it's actually going to cost to go to Japan
- survived my first meeting as President of our school's Orthodox Christian Fellowship
- restrained myself from beating my dormroom computer after two weeks of next-to-nonexistent internet connection
- started learning a new Yosakoi dance that's harder than all the other ones I've learned combined

Yeah, it's definitely different than last semester.

1987

2007-01-30T10:38:00.000-05:00

In 1987 (the year you were born)

Ronald Reagan is president of the US

Wall Street crashes sending the Dow Jones Industrial average down 22.6%

President Reagan and Soviet Leader Gorbachev sign an unprecedented missile reduction agreement

Televangelist Jim Bakker resigns amid accusations of sexual infidelity and financial impropriety

Wall Street financier Ivan Boesky is sentenced to three years in prison in an insider trading scandal

Gary Hart withdraws from the 1988 presidential campaign under accusations of infidelity

The Food and Drug Administration approves anti-AIDS drug AZT

Prozac makes its debut in the US

Bow Wow, Joss Stone, and Hilary Duff are born

Minnesota Twins win the World Series

New York Giants win Superbowl XXI

Edmonton Oilers win the Stanley Cup

Three Men and a Baby is the top grossing film

"Walk Like An Egyptian" by The Bangles spends the most time at the top of the US charts

Full House, Married with Children, and Star Trek: The Next Generation premiere

What Happened the Year You Were Born?

Interesting. Anti-AIDS drugs? Not too bad. Giants winning the Super Bowl? At least it wasn't the Patriots. Wall Street crashing? Thank goodness for Prozac.

japan

2007-01-28T11:12:00.000-05:00

I never thought I'd get to say this, but it's finally starting to sink in: if all goes well, at this time in about five months I'll be getting ready to leave for Japan!

That little red dot on the map is Sapporo, the capital of the island of Hokkaido. It's there that hundreds of Yosakoi groups meet to perform and compete in an annual dance festival. This year, my Yosakoi club is planning to be one of those groups. And what's even better is that we'll be able to perform our own original dance. This is a very special privilege, because normally each Yosakoi song has a traditional dance to accompany it that might vary slightly from place to place, but not by much.

Of course there are a lot of preparations to do before then. I've started applying for a passport. I've purchased a Japanese phrasebook from Lonely Planet. I'm honing my eating-with-chopsticks skills. But most of all I'm just looking forward to getting to see a country I've never been to before. Five months is a long time to wait.

mark your calendars

2007-01-24T20:21:00.000-05:00

It's getting to be that time of year: florists are having sales on their dozen-rose bouquets. Stores are putting out those chalky candy hearts with cheesy sayings on them. There are decorations everywhere involving hearts and little cherubs with bows and arrows. No silly, I'm not talking about Valentine's Day. To think that all that commercialism and depressed/nervous/apathetic apprehension culminates with just a single day? Pish tosh. No, I'm talking about Singles Awareness Week. SAW, if you will.

Now, I don't have anything against those of you who actually have someone to spend a romantic evening with on the approaching holiday. (Of course I'm not bitter. Why would I ever be bitter?) In actuality, I've never spent a Valentine's Day with a significant other, so I can't justly comment positively or negatively on the virtue of using the day to declare your affection for someone special. It just seems somehow strange that there be one specific day set aside for this purpose...what about the other 364 days of the year? Aren't those just as acceptable for telling someone you love them, or buying them a present? I can't help but feel a little bad for the thousands of young men in America shaking in their boots as we speak, trying to come up with a Valentine's Day date that will be especially "magical" or "romantic."

It just seems to me that in America at least, Valentine's Day has become just as much about the sterotypical depressed single who becomes painfully aware that they lack a significant other at this time of year. But what about those of us who are (maybe blissfully) single? There's nothing wrong with waiting for the right person to come along; maybe you've decided that dating isn't the right thing to be doing at this point. It seems that this holiday advocates those who are in relationships and assumes that those of us who aren't must be feeling dejected and miserable (an article on depression.com listed 'related topics' to Valentine's Day depression including 'Disability Rights', 'Grief and Loss' and 'Suicide and Self-Injury'.)

So, if you're a single, the upcoming Singles Awareness Week could be a time to wallow in said depression, or it could be a chance to realise how many options there are besides going on a date. I think a group of people from my dorm are going to go ice skating or bowling - something like that. I'm not saying I don't think it would be great to spend Valentine's Day with someone I could look forward to spending the rest of my life with. I am saying there are a lot of other fun things going on out there for those of us who have decided it's not the right time to find a partner. For some of us, it still might be a little disheartening to know we don't have someone who wants to spend the day just with us. And for those, there is the slightest bit of comfort...at least chocolate is on sale.

photos of the day 1.20.07

2007-01-20T20:31:00.000-05:00

reconfigured

2007-01-19T23:16:00.000-05:00

Apologies to those who might have been confused while visiting the blog earlier on tonight. I tried to post 'here it goes again' with the OK GO video last night. When YouTube popped up with the message 'the video will appear shortly on your blog', I didn't think it would take 24 hours, hence the three copies of the same post. I've also added some links to my sidebar...check 'em out, if you want. There's some good sites to while away a boring afternoon, if nothing else.

here it goes again

2007-01-19T21:13:00.003-05:00

It's starting to feel like the beginning of the school year all over again. Only this time the syllabi are coming faster, the classes are more intense, the teachers tougher than last semester. I guess as time goes on it can only be expected. That doesn't make it any more fun to hike across campus to look at chloroplasts under a microscope before the sun has come up, or keep my skin from crawling in a small journalism class, hoping I'll know the answer to the pointed questions our instructor fires at individuals without warning. It's going to be an interesting semester.

In Sociology, things are going pretty smoothly. It's just the same old lecture, notes, exams format. My teacher is pretty good. I don't agree with her all the time (No, not everyone in America was brought up to believe that individualism is best. Yes, I would love to boycott Wal-Mart, but what happens to the sweatshop workers who provide their products when the mere cents per hour they earn are taken away?) All in all, no surprises thus far.

Botany is, well, botany: cells still contain a nucleus and DNA; plants still produce sugar using energy from the sun. Nothing has changed there since freshman year of high school. What has changed is the pace at which we're learning these things. And lab is so...early. But one perk is that our professor teaches the early lab: "You don't get students that are going to fool around in the 7:30 section; that's why I teach it," she told us. She's 65 years old and this is the last section she'll be teaching at this university. She is very strict, but carries on lecture like she's talking about one of her favourite hobbies, and will occasionally throw in an amusing expression (grana in chloroplasts are "stacks of green pancakes"; if you mess up a slide under the microscope, it's "gone gollywobbles.") "She's just like my grandma," some boy behind me is fond of saying.

The most intimidating class is News and Feature Writing. Not only is the professor the most no-nonsense teacher I've ever had, but this is exactly what I'm majoring in, so I feel like I have to do a lot to measure up. And her standards are high. Up until now, I've done some creative writing, and more informal yearbook features. I have not done any AP-style stories. I have not read the newspaper religiously. I do not have a picture of Walter Cronkite on my desk. I feel like I have a lot of catching up to do, even though I am one of two freshmen in the class. Some of the other students are already reporters for the paper or do broadcasting for the sports station in town. One even did publicity for our nearest NFL team. Either I'm going to discover the journalism is not for me, or I will adapt to the situation and do what it takes to get good sources, and a good story. I'm shooting for the latter.

As for the video, I thought it seemed appropriate because of the title. And it has guys dancing on treadmills. Just watch it already.

photos of the day 1.19.07

2007-01-19T15:31:00.000-05:00

because everyone else is doing it

2007-01-16T23:23:00.000-05:00

Have you ever tracked a meme? I did. I got this one from The Thinker who got it from Terra who got it from Gem who grabbed it from Linda who nicked it from Skittles...you get the idea. Here are my answers to The Silly Question meme.

1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought? Why did I go to sleep without drying my hair?
2. How much cash do you have on you? I don't have pockets, if that answers your question.
3. What’s a word that rhymes with DOOR? Adore.
4. Do you label yourself? Oh yes. And it changes every day.
5. Bright or Dark Room? Bright. I need the sun. Plus, the monsters can't hide in the room when it's bright.
6. Why is there always a missing question? Because if we knew the question, then the answers (which we already have, of course) would make sense. We would know everything, and then the universe would unravel.
7. What does your watch look like? Nonexistent
8. What were you doing at midnight last night? Sleeping. I'm exciting like that.
9. Where is your nearest 7-11? No idea.
10. What’s a word that you say a lot? 'Sweet'. Or 'Oh, good.' Basically little words that make it sound like I know what's going on in every conversation I have.
12. Last furry thing you touched? A scarf that one of the ladies at my work made me for Christmas.
13. How many rolls of film do you need developed? Nada. I have digital.
14. Favorite age you have been so far? Nineteen. It gets better every day.
15. Your worst enemy? Myself.
16. What is your current desktop picture? My entire Yosakoi group having a mock fight at our Christmas party. I crack up every time I see it.
17. What was the last thing you said to someone? "Sounds good," in response to my roommate who wants to have lunch tomorrow.
18. The last song you listened to? Show Me the Money by Petey Pablo
19. What time of day were you born? 2:15 in the afternoon.
20. What do you do when vending machines steal your money? I can't remember the last time I used a vending machine. I would probably pound on the machine before walking away depressed.
21. Do you consider yourself kind? Most usually
22. What’s your life motto? "Preach the Gospel always and, when necessary, use words." - St. Francis of Assisi
23. Name three things you have on you at all times. University ID. Keys. Ummm...clothes?
24. Can you change the oil on a car? I've witnessed the act several times. Does that count?
25. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it? I wrote a letter to my pen pal right before Christmas.

if it fits...

2007-01-15T19:18:00.000-05:00

Sometimes you find that a situation just fits. So far, that's what I'm feeling with this semester - I love my roommates (not that I didn't last semester, but sometimes switching it up can be for the better), I'm less shaky about my major, and I have a good church, a job, and I can relax and make the most of things. The last few days have been some of the most fun since I've been at school. My roommates made me a collage (above). I've learned how to play Guitar Hero (getting better) and Dance Dance Revolution (I'm hopeless). I spent the afternoon thrift-store shopping and went for coffee to a cozy little bistro where I had a great time eating lemon bars and laughing hysterically with eight girls on my floor while it snowed outside. Today I went sledding with a group of people from my hall at a hill near our parking lot. It was a blast, but painful. I disovered that I am not the best at steering (it is not the best to discover this at high speed, careening toward a light post.) I tried to bail. Didn't make it. Got a nasty jolt...but ended up laughing anyway. I realise that at some point (soon) it's not going to be all fun and games, and I'm going to have to buckle down and focus on things like sociology papers and less-than-enjoyable botany labs. But it just seems like a good foot to start the semester off on.

getting colder as we speak

2007-01-13T13:21:00.000-05:00

It's late January and we're finally getting the first really nasty winter weather of the season. It started with frigid temperatures, then freezing rain, then super-icy sidewalks, and then ice pellets. Now it's finally snowing in slightly fluffy flakes that wouldn't actually make a mark on your skin if you walked outside right now. After some serious thought, I've come to the conclusion that it should be illegal to be this cold. Not that making a law against it would change the temperature any; it would simply give me some consolation to know that it was actually a crime to be so terribly bone-chilling.

Classes are off to a start, and only one has me shaking in my boots thus far. Sociology doesn't look too bad. According to my teacher, we're going to be discussing things like politics, religion and money in addition to sociological topics; things "you probably haven't discussed in any college class so far." Apparently she has never discovered what we talk about in cultural anthropology. Sociology seems similar to my anthro class, except slightly more biased and definitely more scientific. Botany, the bane of my semester schedule thus far looks to be the most intimidating class. Nothing a lot of studying won't cure; it's just that I'm not fond of labs of any kind. At least we get to walk around and pick up leaves and pine cones. Linguistic Anthropology looks like it's going to be one of my favourites. Among other things, we'll get to create our own language and do projects with a conversation partner from another country.

Sounds like it will be really fun. That is, if I don't freeze first...

christmas stuff

2007-01-11T11:00:00.000-05:00

Yay! I finally have internet in my room. A "squirrely" connection at times (according to my roommate), but it's better than nothing. As promised, here are the pictures of what I got for Christmas. I'll admit, I mostly just happy to be able to publish pictures again. Anyway, here's what I got: A stocking from one of my friends who go to school in Chicago. It's a very sunny yellow colour, and matches my walls at home exactly.
These bamboo lanter lights weren't technially a gift, but I bought them with Christmas money so they count. Now they're hanging up under my lofted bed right here by the computer. Only problem is, there's no extension cord to allow them to reach the outlet. Good thing they look pretty.

Chinese soup spoons. Very colourful. Very useful. Very coordinated with pepper-and-corn ramen.
A "bonsai tree". I use quotes because it is the Wal-Mart brand, and I don't think it's actually a tree. Not like the really cool "real" bonsai trees. But this is one gift I can criticise - I picked it out myself. Nonetheless, it's still a really cool looking plant, and it's sitting on my bureau at the moment.
Wooden chopsticks! They're supposed to be disposable, but they're so pretty I don't want to use them once and throw them away. Maybe I'll make an art project out of them?
Icon Christmas tree ornaments. Except they didn't get put away with the Christmas decorations, so they're now decorating my dorm room. Very cheery.
Boots! My mom got me these...they're very soft, very comfortable and very warm.

Baby beginner's chopsticks. (Does something about me scream Asian eating utensils magnet?) These are from my Yosakoi white elephant Christmas party. Maybe studying them has done me some good...lately, my chopsticks skills have gone from laughable to passable.

All in all, very thoughtful and useful gifts. I'm lucky to have such generous friends.

waiting...

2007-01-09T11:37:00.000-05:00

...for classes to start. For a stable work schedule. And most of all, for someone who can help me get the internet hooked up in my room.

I'm back at college three days early. I thought I would spend the time working, but it turns out there are too many employees, not enough computers and one really bad internet connection at the little bookshop where I price books on Amazon.com. So, until Thursday morning I'm basically killing time by reading, moving my stuff into my new room and surfing the internet at the library.

The room is nice. My new roommates (one an art major, one in family & consumer science) share my love of bright colours and lots of posters on the wall, so my random posters and gaggle of origami cranes fit in nicely. But there's still a lot of moving in and cleaning up to do. Which I should probably get back to...

i heart chinese food

2007-01-07T21:29:00.000-05:00

I am full. As a last-day-at-home outing, my family took a trip to see Night at the Museum (a pretty funny movie, actually) and ate at our favourite Chinese restaurant.

The difference between this trip to the restaurant and the other trips that we usually make is that today is not a Fast Day. In the Orthodox Church we fast on certain days and seasons to remind us of the sacrifice Christ made in giving up his life (we figure giving up certain foods for a little while might not be so bad), and also to remind us of the simplicity in the garden of Eden before living things ate each other. On these days we don't eat meat, poultry, eggs, or dairy. In other words, most of the other trips to the Chinese restaurant involved eating fruits, vegetables and sea creatures that don't have backbones (in ancient times things like shrimp and other spineless sea-snacks were considered 'trash', and therefore are ok to eat.)

That's just fine with me, because even though today we were able to enjoy honey chicken and an unidentified meat wrapped in bacon, I was also able to ingest the food of the gods. Yes, I'm talking about coconut shrimp. And when I say food of the gods, what I mean is that if I were suddenly whisked off to Mount Olympus in a parallel universe where Greek gods are real, and was offered the choice between a container (platter? goblet?) of nectar and ambrosia, or a plate of coconut shrimp over rice, I would consider (for a good three seconds, at least) and choose the coconut shrimp. It's really that good.

It was a nice end to a long stay at home for the holidays. Tomorrow it's back to work, back to school, back to chaos. Right now it's time to pack...wish me luck.

happy theophany

2007-01-06T22:27:00.000-05:00

What is Theophany?

"When Thou, O Lord, wast baptized in the Jordan, the worship of the Trinity was made manifest! For the voice of the Father bare witness to Thee, and called Thee His beloved Son! And the Spirit, in the form of a dove, confirmed the truthfulness of His word. O Christ our God, who hast revealed Thyself and hast enlightened the world, glory to Thee!"

from the mouths of 2-year-olds

2007-01-06T22:17:00.000-05:00

My godbrother is learning new words. His latest favourite is 'awesome', usually an exclamation used after seeing a cool car or figuring out that he can actually feed himself with a spoon now.

Yesterday he was playing with his toy cow, a plastic animal figure. After studying it intently for a few minutes, he turned to me and exclaimed, "His neck is awesome!"

Okay.

some random things

2007-01-05T14:10:00.000-05:00

I've really wanted to upload some pictures lately, but since my USB cable is 70 miles away and my brother's doesn't fit my camera, that's going to have to wait until I finish settling into my new dorm. I've got a photo essay on what I got for Christmas in the works, but it's not finished yet. In its stead is a meme stolen, once again, from Sonnjea B. I'm going to try to limit myself to one of these a month. Maybe two. But while I'm waiting for high speed internet and photo uploading capablities, here is the Alphabet meme, each question starting with the letters of the alphabet (in order). Enjoy.

Available/Single? Depends on who wants to know.

Best Friend? Confusing question, this. If it’s asking if I have one, I would say yes. Probably two. Maybe three. If it’s asking if I am one…you’d have to ask someone else.

Cake or Pie? Pie. And none of those fruity things either, although rhubarb and mulberry pie must be given credit where credit is due. I usually go for the denser ones: pumpkin, chocolate, coconut crème. The more calories per square inch, the better.

Drink Of Choice? This honour absoloutely goes to grapefruit-tangerine juice. Though to be fair, passionfruit chai and hot cocoa have their merits as well.

Essential Item You Use Everyday? Hooded sweatshirt, now that it’s winter. An online quiz I took about ‘what part of fall are you’ had it right when it compared me to apple cider: ‘downright nasty when cold.’

Favourite Colour? Don’t have one, although there are shades of every colour I like. The blue of sky in September, green of spring leaves, maple-leaf red, pumpkin orange and sagebrush purple are just a few that amaze me.

Gummy Bears Or Worms? Neither. Haribo wine gums would be my chewy candy of choice, although I’ve decided that I don’t like ingesting candies whose primary ingredient is…fake sugar? This includes fruit roll-up and Jell-O.

Hometown? Small. Farming community. Midwest. Where exactly? Wouldn’t you like to know.

Indulgence? A beautifully bound journal and nice pen. There’s nothing like opening up an inviting-looking binding and flipping through miles of empty pages…and thinking of all the things to fill those pages with!

January Or February? I honestly don’t know. January has New Years, February has Valentine’s Day. January is partially taken up by winter break, but February is closer to summer vacation. I don’t know…I guess it’s January now, and it’s not so bad, so January it is.

Kids & Their Names? Not quite there yet. Although I’ve been thinking about names lately, mostly boys’ – Neville, Seamus, Ambrose, Audio Science…oh wait, that one’s taken. In all seriousness, I would never give my kid a first name that would cause them to be taunted for eternity, or at least have a passable shortened form. However, middle names are up for grabs.

Life Is Incomplete Without? Love. I know, so cheesy. So cliché. So true.

Marriage Date? Not there yet either.

Number Of Siblings? One brother.

Oranges Or Apples? Hmmm, a conundrum. Oranges are so juicy without being over-sweet and they make killer cider. Apples are crunchy and tangy and you can make pies out of them. With oranges, you can’t eat the outside. Apples, you can’t eat the inside. Both make great juice. With apples, you can spread them with peanut butter, and stick in a toothpick with a piece of cheese and call it a boat. Can you do that to an orange? I didn’t think so. Apples win this round.

Phobias/Fears? Oh, there are so many. To name a few: busy traffic, small dogs, clowns, falling and hitting my head while running and having no one know where I am, oversleeping and missing class, speaking to large groups, walking in front of the fire station while there’s a fire across town and getting run over by the hook-and-ladder truck that suddenly appears out of the garage, the monster I know is lurking under my bed…okay, so maybe I have an overactive imagination…

Quote, Favorite? I have waaaay too many. In that case, I’ll go with my most recent, from The Matrix:
Oracle: I’d ask you to sit down, but you’re not going to, anyway. And don’t worry about the vase.
Neo: What vase? *Knocks over a vase of flowers and breaks it*
Oracle: That vase.
Neo: I’m sorry.
Oracle: I said don’t worry about it. I’ll get one of my kids to fix it.
Neo: How did you know?
Oracle: Ohh, what’s really going to bake your noodle later on is, would you still have broken it if I hadn’t said anything?

Reason to Smile? What? There are reasons not to smile?

Season? Probably fall. Changing leaves, cool nights, warm days...ahhh.

Tag Three People? Never. I want absoloutely everyone to do this meme, if they so desire.

Unknown Fact About Me? I like jazz. Wow, it took long enough to come up with something...

Vegetable you don’t like? Used to be most of them, but I’m getting better. The untouchable list has diminished to only cauliflower, most squashes and the occasional radish.

Worst Habit? Talking about myself all the time. Oh wait…

X-rays You’ve Had? None that I remember, unless you count the zillion dental slides I got before getting braces.

Your Favourite Food? I’m going to make that foods. Right now I really like sushi, Indian food, chicken shawarma and chicken enchiladas. Oh, and anything you can eat with chopsticks.

Zodiac Sign? Capricorn, but I have no idea what that means.

punctuation education

2007-01-03T17:09:00.000-05:00

Since I began blogging and reading the blogs of others, I’ve discovered just how entertaining the little quirks of the English language can be. I think there should be a beginning blogger’s manual to take advantage of some of these quirks. It would sound something like this:

Bolding a word can give it emphasis; as opposed to the method of typing in all CAPITALS, bolding conveys more serious or intriguing importance, rather than being the typographical equivalent of YELLING.

Italics: They’re no longer just for titles of books. In my experience, italics come in handy when posting a poem or passage of someone else’s, or a foreign phrase.

Ellipse… These are useful when conveying a deep thought or unresolved opinion, in order to leave the reader with a sense of pondering. They’re also great when you can think of a great beginning for a sentence but don’t really know how to finish it properly…

“Quotation marks”. This is a wonderfully simple punctuation trick. You can put quotes around “anything” and readers will automatically “wonder” what you’re trying to “imply”.

TyPiNg LiKe ThIs: I actually have no idea what this technique is used for, other than annoying the reader.

Emoticons: These interesting ^_^ little faces can convey a variety of emotions like anger >:-( , happiness ;P or even a queasy stomach :$.

The Dash - the typgraphical equivalent of a dramatic pause or flourish - Voila!

salsa!

2007-01-02T13:58:00.000-05:00

Listening now: Makes me feel like baile!

resolutions

2007-01-01T20:06:00.000-05:00

Winter break: T- seven days and counting. It's been nice - I've been able to hang out with family and friends returned home for Christmas; I've also been able to put some of my Christmas gifts to good use. Money spent at Barnes and Noble yielded some books to hold my interest; a guide to kanji and kana writing is helping me gear up for Japanese I next fall, and a copy of Educating Alice: Adventures of a Curious Woman by Alice Steinbach has been a very entertaining travelogue.

New Year's Eve was a low-key but highly enjoyable day. I spent the morning at church, then hung out with my cousins in the afternoon, reading, playing board games and making messy poster-paint pictures. A Harry Potter marathon at another friend's house brought in the new year, followed by noisy yelling of 'Happy New Year' and ringing bells outside. I usually don't make any rigid resolutions, but here are a few I want to keep in mind over the next year and try to do better at:
1. I want to take better care of my body - exercising more, eating better food, and trying to eliminate more sweets. Yeah, yeah, easy enough to say...
2. Develop better study habits and learn to focus.
3. Get more involved at school, if just by attending more lectures and exhibits, or discovering new stores and activities in the area.
4. Do more photography.
5. Spend more time reading my Bible and spiritual books.
6. Be more consistent at blogging.
We'll see how that goes...

merry christmas!

2006-12-25T13:46:00.000-05:00

"Thy Nativity, O Christ our God, hath shined upon the world the light of knowledge; for thereby, they that worshipped the stars were taught by a star to worship Thee, the Sun of Righteousness, and to know Thee, the Dayspring from on high. O Lord, glory be to Thee."

"Christ is born!"

"Glorify him!"

Those were the shouted greetings in the wee hours of the morning at our Orthodox Christmas service. The day was ushered in with a Christmas liturgy, followed by a meal to break our month-long meat/dairy/eggs fast...it was a great way to start a holiday full of family get-togethers and gift giving.

Merry Christmas to everyone else celebrating out there!

here i am!

2006-12-18T22:27:00.000-05:00

Wow. Can I still call this 'blogging'? I think the '-ing' somehow implies that the activity is ongoing, which my updates certainly haven't been of late. I could tell you that I came down with a disastrous cold and couldn't muster the strength to blog, but I've been pleasantly healthy. I could claim that I was trampled by herds of Wii-happy gamers or Tickle-Me-Elmo obsessives during Christmas shopping, but my buying is blissfully over. I could tell you that I was displaced from my home because our Christmas tree went up in flames, and I wasn't able to save the computer. But that would be a complete lie. (Our tree is a fire-redtardant synthetic fir. Where is the fun in not knowing if your tree is going to spontaneously combust, you ask? I couldn't agree more.) In all reality, I guess in the end-of-semester, pre-holiday rush, my priorities got in a tussle, and blogging did not come out on top.

What actually has happened since the last time I updated has not been all that amazing. But if you really want to know, here's the rundown.

- I officially ended my first semester as a college freshman. Finals were fantastic; anthropology and mass com were easy as expected; two days of hard-core studying in macro paid off. It's a load off my mind to have these prerequisites behind me - now I can look forward to next semester's load: Art History, Sociology, News & Feature Writing, Linguistic Anthropology...and a Botany lab at 7:30 a.m. across campus. Oh, the joy.

- I packed up most of my life and got ready to switch dorms at semester. It's amazing how much stuff you have that you never rememberd was there.

- Came home for break. It's good to be back...the Christmas decorations are pretty much the same as every year; I'm ready to do some relaxing. After this week, that is...I'm headed back to my university town to work for three days, then coming back.

- Celebrated my brother's birthday today. We went out to see a movie and went to a Chinese restaurant afterwards. It was fun to eat with chopsticks and make fun of each other's weird fortune cookies.

And that's pretty much it. I'll be taking a three-day dive into blogosphere oblivion to do some work, as stated above, but hopefully I'll be able to be a little more consistent here with my entries. Maybe that's something to put on the list of New Year's resolutions...

eavesdropping

2006-12-10T10:26:00.000-05:00

The other day before our last Macroeconomics lecture, our teacher started off with a random story, as she sometimes does. She explained that she has a habit of listening to snippets of people's conversations as she walks to and from class. She mentioned a particular day where she was walking behind the anthropology building and overheard a young man walking with his girlfriend past some "ugly" trees with big brown pods. The guy turned to his girlfriend and said "Do you think that's a potato tree?"

It's definitely interesting to hear what people are saying when you walk by. My teacher sounded a little sheepish about listening in on others' conversations, but I think it's pretty entertaining. If you just happen to catch a little bit of what is being said, almost any conversation can become amusing, or even profound. Here are a few things I've overheard on my daily walks.

"Oh my gosh, they got married in Vegas!?!"

"Every time I'm about to fail something, I have the same dream. It's about my brother, and this ferret is trying to bite his toe."

"One time we went camping and I was scared to go to the bathroom in the woods, so I didn't pee for four days."

"Free speech is over, man!"

miniature earth

2006-12-08T13:19:00.001-05:00

Sometimes we don't realise how fortunate we are. This video shows a breakdown of what the world would look like if there were only 100 people living in it - how many would have homes, how many could read, or have access to clean water. Sometimes watching these things can be a little overwhelming, so I'll also include this story that my anthropology professor sent out to our class after the last lecture:

This story is an ancient story from Latin America, often attributed to the Aztecs though it seems to have been known by others as well.

The elders would sit around and tell this story about a little bird and a great fire. The fire started out small and harmless. The people and animals saw the fire and thought nothing of it. They thought it would go out on its own. But it didn't. The fire grew and grew and by the time the people and animals realized how dangerous it had become it was too late. It was hopeless. The fire was going to devour the world. The people and animals all fled, running up a mountain for safety. As an owl was flying along, fleeing with the others, he looked down and saw a little bird by the fire. The bird was hopping between a small stream of water and the fire. Looking closer, the owl could see that the bird was filling its beak with water and then hopping to the fire to dowse the fire. Again and again the bird did this as the fire raged on. The owl dove down to the little bird and yelled, "Are you crazy?! This fire is out of control. What are you doing?!?" The little bird emptied his beak full of water and offered this simple yet profound reply, "Everything I can."
Inspired, the owl joined the little bird. Others followed. And now the elders tell the story of the little bird who saved the world.

our little world

2006-12-07T17:57:00.000-05:00

This might clarify some of my ramblings from my previous post about our anthropology simulation. My group was the Starbark-Crombie in the southern hemisphere on the 'New Zealand-ish' island.

where does it come from?

2006-12-06T21:55:00.000-05:00

The other night some friends and I went to a coffeeshop to study. These are what we sampled, along with a white chocolate cocoa (my friend) and an iced green tea (me). After anthropology, being in a store that markets things like coffee, tea and chocolate makes me more contemplative. Where did those things come from? Who grew them? Who packaged them? How much were they paid?

end of the world

2006-12-06T10:38:00.000-05:00

The world as we know it has come to an end. In our anthropology world simulation, that is. The culmination of eleven weeks studying rituals, subsistence, love and marriage, gender roles, economics, art and religion played out in a two-day interaction last week. And boy, was it interesting.

All the "cultures" made up of the discussion groups in the class were each assigned a table that was our landmass for the game. We had Froot Loops to represent a rich natural diet, a stuffed fish to represent our dependence on fish and respect for nature, and various cards representing natural resources and power. We played five rounds of the simulation, each representing about 150 years, beginning in 1450 and extending into the future. Our goal was to interact in the way that our culture would normally respond to things like being attacked, trading, or making alliances.

In breif, our small foraging group, the Starbark-Crombie, formed trading alliances with our peaceful neighbors, were attacked and colonized by an industrialized group, and forced to produce luxury goods for them. Fortunately our population eventually increased dramatically due to a food surplus (dictated by an instruction card we received) and we were able to take back our land from our colonizers. However, our indiginous money was no longer useful and we had only the coffee we had been "growing" for our colonizers, so we had to produce even more buy food in order to survive the round. We ended up buying a surplus of food, so the final round, set in the "future", was spent distributing food to other starving nations and protesting against the one industrialized nation who was using cruel methods to colonize many small nations.

Although this simulation was just a "game", it really brought out interesting traits in some of the players. Instructions and classroom knowledge aside, some people were really in the game to win, and to wipe out everyone in their way. Of course this was the product of the way the game was set up, and I'm sure it was the intentions of my instructor that people realise how these feelings come about, at least in part. The results of some competetive players and heat-of-the-moment decisions resulted in the following during the simulation:

- One nation was "killed" by genocide because they peacefully protested against their colonizers and refused to give them the luxury goods they wanted.
- One "suicide bomber" from a colonized nation retaliated against his colonizer and removed one person in the more powerful nation from the game.
- One nation was destroyed by an atomic bomb. It turned out to be an honest mistake on the part of the attacking nation, but the smaller nation was destroyed all the same.
- When most of our "island-like" nations were colonized, they were forced to produce Froot Loop necklaces for their colonizers. During the simulation, 273 Froot Loop necklaces were made, for which the industrialized nations received $42,000 in our "world exchange" store. The "workers" were paid less than $300 total.

Going through this simulation was definitely a valuable part of my anthro class. It makes it real to people how many people are starving, working for literally cents per day, or being abused by nations who come in to simply take over thier natural resources for monetary gain with no thoughts about whether the ground they are taking over even contains the plants that certain groups need to survive. I was only "producing coffee" (wrapping Cocoa Puffs in aluminum foil) for 17 minutes, and it was no fun.

It makes me wonder exactly where and how items are being produced that I buy every day, and how the corporations are being run that produce them. If you're wondering too, here is a website that explains about unfair labor policies in some countries, companies that practise them, and what you can do to help out, because even though some sweatshops really do have terrible conditions and unfair pay, it is all some people have to live on. What I got from the simulation was that we have to remember we are the ones who are a part of this system, and we're the only ones who can change it. In the words of anthropologist Margaret Mead, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

If you're interested in seeing a video of our simulation, you can check out this link. Unfortunately, we weren't able to post the video on YouTube, and this site is a little more frustrating to use. To see the video, you have to click on the blue 'start downloading' button about two inches down on the right side after typing in the number code directly to its left. The downloading does take quite a while, but I think it's worth seeing how our simulation played out. But of course, I'm a little biased. Anyway, I hope this rambling made sense to some of you, and maybe you'll be able to see it in the video too. Enjoy!

christmas shopping and finals mania, part i

2006-12-02T17:44:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was my first official outing expressly in the name of Christmas shopping. I got a few cards, a present for a friend, and some random items for a white elephant party I'll be going to next weekend for Yosakoi. I went with my cousin; it was actually a pretty fun trip considering the biting cold outside. It was also fun to see some of the more "interesting" items that some of the stores carried. Some of my favourites were:

1. Origami paper. Who knew they sold it in a gift shop several blocks from my dorm? I looked all over at Hobby Lobby and settled for decorative scrapbooking paper instead.
2. Incense sticks. I hadn't realised how much I missed incense until I walked into a little shop that had an entire wall of incense sticks. I could have stood there smelling them for a loooong time.
3. Scarves and hats. There were lots of cute ones in stores I visited: Fuzzy scarves, soft scarves, downy hats and felt-lined stocking caps. So cute, and so warm.

...and here are some of the items we saw that won't end up in anyone's Christmas gifts this year.
1. Leopard-print rubber duckies. Who knew the classical bath toy could be so hip. Or so weird. The facial features were all wrong, too, and the ducks just looked creepy.
2. Marijuana smoking accessories. Or so I'm told. It's whatever they sell in the partitioned section in the back of those Third Planet-like stores...even though I'm old enough to enter the curtained area, I did not feel the need, or the desire.
3. Books of Bushisms. Don't get me wrong. I'm going to laugh when I hear anybody say "I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family" or "Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?". But give the guy a break - who hasn't screwed up what they wanted to say when the pressure is on, at one time or another? I'll have to admit these quotes are definitely more fun to read than the newspaper...but I digress.

Later in the evening I went to a coffee shop to study with some friends, in preparation for finals. I had an iced green tea and read my Mass Communications book, and later some fruity chai while studying in my friend's room. It was a good way to ease into studying for the week ahead and wind down for the night.

Now it's early afternoon and time to organise my tasks for the day. Which are, at the moment:
1. Write Christmas cards
2. Finish tweaking final English paper
3. Organise my University Experience and English portfolios
4. Watch a documentary and take notes for anthropology.

I guess I've got my work cut out for me...

cost of christmas

2006-11-28T11:00:00.000-05:00

I'm not much of a macroeconomics person, but this chart on my MSN homepage caught my eye this morning. It's the cost of everything mentioned in the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas", measured at today's price, and compared to last year's price. You can see the breakdown and read the rest of the article here.

PNC Christmas Price Index
Item 2005 2006 % change
One partridge $15 $15 flat
Pear tree $89.99 $129.99 44.40%
Two turtle doves $40 $40 flat
Three French hens $45 $45 flat
Four calling birds $399.96 $479.96 20.00%
Five gold rings $325 $325 flat
Six geese a-laying $300 $300 flat
Seven swans a-swimming $4,200 $4,200 flat
Eight maids a-milking $41.20 $41.20 flat
Nine ladies dancing $4,576.14 $4,759.19 4.00%
10 lords a-leaping $4,039.08 $4,160.25 3.00%
11 pipers piping $2,053.20 $2,124 3.40%
12 drummers drumming $2,224.30 $2,301 3.40%
Total Christmas Price Index $18,348.87 $18,920 59 3.10%

missing naruko

2006-11-27T20:31:00.000-05:00

These are naruko, the castanets that we use to emphasise rhythm when we do Yosakoi dance. Unfortunately, we will be seeing a lot fewer of these wooden instruments at practice, due to a theft from our coach's car. It boggles the mind why someone would want to steal from a random car in the first place, but what they'll do with 60 wooden castanets is beyond me. Here is the e-mail our coach sent out after the theft (humorous to us because we thought the naruko had disappeared several weeks ago, but it turned out they had accidentally been stowed in a member's closet.)

Hey all!
Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving holiday? :-)
Unfortunately, mine started out with a theft of items from my car (my car is still ok though, thank goodness). The thieves took around $350 worth of stuff (including a box of tissues...weird). Anyways, the old NARUKO in the cooler were in the back of my car and they took that. What they will do with 60 NARUKO I don't know? Luckily, I didn't have the radio in my car! But anyways, real sorry that it happened. We still have the 80 new ones that I brought back from summer. And some Japanese students have already offered to buy some more over winter break when they go back to Japan. Anyways, if you see any naruko in a trash can somewhere, let me know. Or if you see someone who isn't in Yosakoi walking around with NARUKO, do-koi-sho on them! >:-(

"Do-koi-sho" is a fast dance move that involves stomping. :P At least we still have some naruko left...

make ready o bethlehem

2006-11-27T11:46:00.000-05:00

Ok. I can now officially start gearing up for Christmas. Thanksgiving is over, the last traces of pumpkin pie and cranberry Jell-o have disappeared and Christmas trees are appearing in department stores and local windows. In the Orthodox Church, the Advent fast has begun, and we'll eat no meat, dairy or poultry until Christmas day. Also, Wednesday evening Paraklesis services have begun. These candlelit services are solemn but also bursting with anticipation as we chant hymns that explain church traditions surrounding Christmas, and sing as if we are rejoicing with the angles and shepherds, awaiting the birth of Christ:

“Make ready, O Bethlehem;

for Eden hath been opened for all.

Prepare, O Ephratha;

for the Tree of life hath blossomed forth

in the cave from the Virgin;

for her womb did appear

as a super-sensual paradise,

in which is planted the Divine Plant,

whereof eating we shall live and not die as did Adam.

Verily, Christ shall be born,

raising the likeness that fell of old.”

it's beginning to look a lot like...wait a minute...

2006-11-21T12:08:00.000-05:00

It seems strange to be back after slacking at this particular pursuit for awhile. Although slacking might not be the best word for it...a death in the family and a mad push to study for end-of-the-semester projects might actually merit a break from blogging. But I'm home for Thanksgiving, which gives me a few days to relax before plunging back into the frantic stretch toward finals, and Christmas shopping and decorating...

Which makes me realise it actually is only about a month until Christmas. Where did the time go? I'm one of those people who likes to wait until just before Christmas to decorate so it seems more special...but lately I've caught myself humming a few Christmas carols and wondering when to decorate my dorm room. It's almost as if I've mentally skipped Thanksgiving and am heading straight on towards Christmas and New Years'. I'm sure that will all change when we have our Thanksgiving dinner here on Thursday, complete with my mom's awesome cranberry-walnut salad, bread-and-butter pickles and sour cream country potatoes.

What is everyone else doing for Thanksgiving? I love to hear family traditions, especially ones centered around the holidays. Hope it's a great day for everyone!

so it's been awhile...

2006-11-16T19:07:00.000-05:00

Yes, it has been quite awhile since I've been able to post. Mostly it's due to craziness with the end of the semester coming up, and tests to study for that seem to be popping up in exponential numbers. I'll figure out something more interesting to post soon, but until then here is a picture of the henna tattoo I got at an Indian festival we had on campus last weekend. Among other things, I got to make a traditional sand-art drawing and try my hand at spinning a toy top - easier said than done.

Well, that's as good as it gets for now...over and out.

birthday, etiquette, language exchange

2006-11-10T13:38:00.000-05:00

Birthday: Yesterday was my roommate's birthday, and it was fun to celebrate it with her. She got a new pet Betta fish, who is our official room pet now (his name is Gus, Gustin for long.) It was fun to see her having a good time on her birthday, wearing the paper tiara she got while eating out with some friends. We also cleaned our room together, which may not have been the most exciting birthday activity, but definitely made the room seem more comfortable. And we had fun in the process.

Etiquette: I went with some of my Japanese friends to a business dining etiquette class. We learned all about fancy dining during an interview from how to pass the salad dressing (to the right; the first thing passed is always passed to the right), to how to order drinks or an entree when an employer asks you (turn their question of 'What do you want to order' into another question - 'What do you reccommend?') The food was delicious as well - buttered rolls, various pastas, basil chicken, and vegetables, with a choice between raspberry sorbet or chocolate raspberry torte for dessert. We dressed up in business attire for the occasion. It was informative, and helpful if I ever have to do a lunch or dinner interview in the future. Definitely a tasty way to learn.

Language Exchange: After dinner I went back to my friends' room to help her with an English essay she's doing for her written communication class. I simply answered some questions about what it was like growing up in the US. In turn, she wrote down Japanese characters and some common words for me to work on. She also let me borrow a book about Japan that translates various words into Japanese, as well as Hirogana characters. And she added some lemon and milk flavoured candies into my 'learning about Japan' materials. This should all be fun to study - I'm excited to finally start learning words and phrases!

plaza, brownies, emails

2006-11-06T23:27:00.000-05:00

Plaza: A lovely way to start my day: after an anthropology lecture on art, talking with the teachers' assistants and meandering to the Union plaza to study and draw in my sketchbook. It's so fun to people-watch as students trek to and from class, or to get some lunch in the Union. There are businessmen and women in formal attire, runners in athletic wear, artsy-types in berets and colourful scarves, a man lounging smoking a cigarette, a Wiccan woman handing out candy, and a cheerful African American man saying good morning to everyone, me included. "Good morning, young lady," he said with a big smile. "Isn't it a beautiful morning? Just like the littly birdy said...'It's just right!'" I made a sketch of a tree growing outside the Union, and decided I might do a sketch of it a day, from different angles: bark, leaves, the surroundings...could be interesting.

Brownies: Coming back from a mediocre lunch without any dessert, and having our neighbour offer me a giant brownie made by her little brother. It was delicious.

Emails: Two surprising and nice messages in my inbox today. One from a highschool friend checking up on how things were going with me; one from a new friend whom I've barely talked to - a completely unexpected pleasant note.

untitled

2006-11-05T14:52:00.000-05:00

photo: Tony Dunn/phototripusa.com

who are you little i

(five or six years old)
peering from some high

window at the gold

of November sunset

(and feeling: that if day
has to become night

this is a beautiful way)

- e. e. cummings

randomness

2006-11-04T19:35:00.000-05:00

This meme, courtesy of Sonnjea B, is appearing because I am experiencing both boredom and lack of inspiration. Feel free to steal the meme if you so desire.

When was the last time you shaved? Is this honestly something people need to know? However, I am doing a completely random meme about stuff you probably didn't want to know anyway, so if you must know, it was last night.
What were you doing this morning at 8AM? Sleeping. But not for long.
What were you doing 15 minutes ago? Surfing blogs. And YouTube. And Wikipedia.
Are you any good at math? Eh. I guess I'm ok at stuff like advanced algebra and some trig. But that says nothing for torturous hours of study and headache. Maybe I'm good at math. Math is not good for me.
Your prom night, what do you remember about it? I've never been to prom. I was going to go my senior year, but it turned out prom was on the night of Pascha, the late-night Easter celebration in the Orthodox Christian church, and I wouldn't have skipped that service for anything. But I went to breakfast at my friends' house at 3 in the morning after a glorious Easter service and feast...it was a wonderful night, although it didn't involve prom, really.
Do you have any famous ancestors? Nada. That I know of, anyway.
Do you know the words to the song on your MySpace profile? MySpace kind of creeps me out. I don't have one, don't want one, and consequently don't have a song to memorise.
Last thing received in the mail? A reminder for our residence hall's all-hall "sleepover".
How many different beverages have you had today? Lessee...chocolate milk and water. But tangerine-grapefruit juice is starting to sound really good...
Do you ever leave messages on people’s answering machine? I have been known to do this. However, I prefer face-to-face confrontations...eh, conversations.
Do you draw your name in the sand when you go to the beach? Beach? What's that? Living in the Midwest, the closes thing to a beach I visit on a regular basis is a fishing reservoir... If I write anything in the sand it's random squiggles or other people's names.
What's the most painful dental procedure you’ve had? Hmm. I had my wisdom teeth pulled recently, but surprisingly, it was nearly painless. The most painful dental experience was when I had braces, and the hygeinist tried to remove a band from one of my back teeth. It was on too tight, and they pulled and pulled, and that band would not come off. My mouth hurt from so much prodding around with those pliers-like things, and my head was even jerked up from the chair. The band never came out, in case you were wondering. They removed it several months later when my braces came off.
What is out your back door? We have a lot of doors, but the technical "back" door to our dorm opens towards another dorm and dining centre...a street...a parking lot...sycamore and pine trees. And lots of really friendly squirrels.
Any plans for Friday night? Too far into the future for me to see. I'll let you know...Friday night.
Do you like what the ocean does to your hair? Again, beach? Ocean? I wouldn't know...
Have you ever received one of those big tins of 3 different popcorns? Yes. Unfortunately, I don't eat popcorn.
Have you ever been to a planetarium? I don't think so. But if I did, I think I would be bitter now that we only have 8 official planets. But not so bitter that I couldn't enjoy it.
Do you re-use towels after you shower? Yep. I'm paying for laundry services out of a tiny jar of quarters...I like to keep that jar as full as possible while maintaining a sane level of clean laundry.
Some things you are excited about? Yosakoi! And Japanese culture...my friends here...anthropology...learning new things...Word Cup soccer...travel...writing...life in general
What is your favourite flavor of JELL-O? I think if you blindfolded me and fed me different types of Jell-O, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between flavours. So maybe a better question is 'What is your favourite colour of Jell-O?'. That would have to be something in the red category. I like to think I'm eating something berry-flavoured.
Describe your keychain(s)? About that...I don't have one. Which might be the reason I so often lose my keys in the bottom of my jumbled-up purse...
Where do you keep your change? In my billfold. And my laundry jar. And my random-pennies-for-charity bag.
When was the last time you spoke in front of a large group of people? High school speech class. It was a tribute speech for Red Cross volunteers.
What kind of winter coat do you own? A red and white coat-inside-a-coat with a broken zipper.
What was the weather like on your graduation day? Warm and sunny. Perfect spring day.
Do you sleep with the door to your room open or closed? Always closed.

come to anthro with me

2006-11-04T18:55:00.001-05:00

This is a trailer my anthropology professor made for the world simulation we'll be doing in class at the end of the semester. It's a dramatic 'trailer' of sorts for the students who did the same project last semester. Preparation for the simulation is getting really intense in class, and I hope the simulation turns out to be as cool a project as this video projects it to be. Enjoy.

(p.s. - the video I previously posted of the presidential debates is no longer available due to copyright issues with Comedy Central. That's why it won't work when you click on it.)