It seems inevitable that when a group of asian adults come together, the topic somehow always veers towards their memorable college years. At least that's what I've noticed.

In other words, my parents had 火鍋 (hot pot) at our place tonight [Wow! what a rare chance, we have people over like... once a year of so! (and what made it even cooler is that I actually got to see Amy-who-I-never-see-and-still-owes-me-senior-pictures). Whoops, I didn't even reach the point of my last sentence yet] Anyway, one of the guests was a former college mate of my dad back in Taiwan... which resulted in my dad being referred to as 學長 constantly throughout the night — quite a ... different but nevertheless amusing experience.

I've also realised that my dad is very good at telling stories; apparently the genes didn't get passed down. So... to end it [since it's nearly 00:00 on my computer clock (yes, military time) and I want to have one final entry], this is one of the many stories told at the dinner table: this is how my dear daddy apparently spent (some parts of) his undergrad days [translated and condensed paraphrased]...: wake up around 9am, play basketball until 12pm, hop in the pool to cool/clean off, take a nap afterwards (because swimming is tiring), and then do some work. This is how my mother reacted to the story: '[to us college junior] 千萬不要學! [to the dad's] Bad models! [to us] 把你們的耳朵shut down!' (Yes, she said 'shut down').

I love my family. =)

-exit 2008-

Today, it felt like a gloomy fall/spring day. After all, it reached almost 70F today; in fact, it was warmer outside than inside my house. in the middle of winter, too. That, my friends, is called climate change.

Happy Christmas, my friends! Hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season wherever you are. God bless! =)

I occasionally like to write random updates. (And then later, I'll think they're terribly stupid and silly). Ah well.

So...
I am back in Cincinnati with my dear parents after a rather (un)eventful fall quarter. Thank dear God that I am still alive and well after my first attempt at an all BME+OChem quarter (though, sadly, I did drop one course out of five). It's actually one of my better (fall) quarters, ironically.

So, since coming home, I've basically resumed my summer schedule: that is, I am working once again at GRI for maybe 2-ish weeks and studying at night. My right thumb is actually somewhat sore from opening & closing so many eppendorf tubes. I basically spent the entire day doing lipid assays and managed to go through 4 96-well plates. I'll stop counting there, lest I ... look too nerdy.

I also got to scrape snow/ice off the car for the first time in my life. Let's just say... it was rather cold. It took me at least 20 minutes in the GRI parking lot; and then I took another 10 minutes in my driveway to avoid flooding the garage with all the melted snow (though, I'm pretty sure it would freeze instead... and give me a headache the coming morning).

I also heard "A New Hallelujah" on the radio; it reminded me of Chicago/HMCC.

Completely random: so lately, my brother's been wanting me to do some things for some game online... basically "spending his gold." I've been such a good sister that it is currently the first quick link on my Chrome homepage. How sad. I must say, though, it's kind of fun since I get to practise my math skills a little. (Basic division, haha).

Today's date is rather pretty, such a nice even (multiple of four's) date. I'm going to miss 2008; one big reason is 'cause the number's so nice and round. Oh wait, I just said that two entries down. Whoops.

Finally, I am done with all the schoolwork for this quarter. It amounts to a total of... 19 problem sets, 3 labs, 2 presentations, 1 paper, 10 midterms ... and eventually 4 finals. That's an average of 3.25 somethings per week for this soon-to-be-over (thank goodness ><) fall quarter.

Within this quarter, I have also - among many other things - lived by myself for the first time ever (and actually enjoyed the experience quite a lot), knitted myself a pair of handwarmers (finger-less-like gloves), and gone through probably at least 8 boxes of plain Cheerios. I am also currently #1 among my friends in every game of "Tetris Friends" on Facebook. Heh, I do like Tetris.

Lately, I have experienced what it feels like to see both ends of the sleeping world. In other words, for the past two days, I went to bed at 12am when everyone was still awake and woke up at 3am when most people were going off to bed. It was a strange experience. I think I still prefer going to bed (ideally) around 1am and waking up at 7am; it's a much better cycle, and 起床-ing correlates much better with the rising of the sun.

How fitting that the first (legitimate) snowfall occurs right on the eve of December.

December's here! ... which means 2008 is almost over. It's a nice year number; I'm going to miss it.

Happy Thanksgiving! =)

One of these days, when my brain isn't completely filled by nightmares of epoxides, nociceptors, periodontal ligaments, and MATLAB, I'll get to work on an entry that goes beyond the academic world. Until then.!

I love numbers. I don't love school nearly as much, but here are some statistics: It has been exactly one month since I took my first midterm (oChem on 10/13). In total, I have had 8 midterms, 1 mid-term presentation, 3 quizzes, and completed 17 problem sets. Add that up, one gets 29, which means.. if averaged out, I would have something every day, save one. ¿Ahora comprendes por qué he estado tan occupda?

It flurried today -- I guess winter really is on its way.

We are no longer on Daylight Savings Time. That means that sunrise is now around 6:30am and sunset around 4:30pm (currently). Ironically, I beat the sunrise today (even though there was none) by waking up at 5:56am.

Actually, I've managed to see the sunrise from my room at least 10 times by now since I tend to wake up rather early these days (earliest is only 6am!). It's actually unthinkable how my lifestyle's / waking-sleeping cycle's changed since last school year. My normal wake up time is now around 7:30am (and leaning towards 7am due to the never-ending cycle of midterms or problem sets); my regular bedtime ranges anywhere from - can you believe this? - 12:30am to 2am. Actually, yesterday I went to bed by 12:03am. Insane, no? I was tired and falling asleep over the blasted neuroscience text. Overall, though, I really like the schedule even though it throws me off from the rest of the college world: everyone's still up when I go to bed, and no one's online when I get up.

I now have around 15,900 photos on my external HD / computer. That's approximately 600 photos in one month (see 10/05/08). Eeks.

Today, we received an assignment in BMD301 investigating the wonderful topic of caffeine; it's due tomorrow. Now, I've never even tasted coffee before, nor am I big on tea (I don't dislike it; I just don't find it very interesting), soft drinks (they really aren't very healthy), cocoa, or chocolate. These are, apparently, the main sources of caffeine these days. That being said, I wonder what my professor (or TAs) will say when they see my virtually blank graph of "Concentration of caffeine in [the] body over a 24-h period starting midnight;" I have a straight line that starts and ends and is always at zero. I guess I really am starting to see that my dietary habits are ... quite unique.

That being said, I got so sick of school today that I decided to fry some pancakes (from mix; definitely not scratch since I haven't the time); I miss pancakes. I also found out yesterday (or was it the previous day? I'm slightly disoriented from the endless stream of midterms and problem sets) that I really like slicing carrots. It's kind of relaxing.

My newest, currently greatest pet peeves are called ladybugs; they're so noisy banging into walls, ceilings, windows, anything and everything. My goodness, if I actually killed bugs, I would've smashed them to bits a long time ago (yuck).

Back to the world of problem sets, labs, and midterms. What a never-ending, vicious cycle.

You know what? I'm happier these days. Or at least I notice that I'm not perpetually bummed about life 24/7. It's a really nice feeling. =)

Side note: I found videos of my concerto performance from 2005 with the Clermont Philharmonic Orchestra, guest conductor David Smarelli. Yes, the/my Sycamore HS orchestra director; weird, huh? Presenting... sad renditions of Saint-saen's Concerto No.2 in g minor: Allegro Scherzando & Presto. They kind of make me miss piano again.

Quick, before the clock strikes twelve! I decided the date was a rather nice number. That being said, I now don't know what to say.

I did go to the 2008 HMCC Undergraduate Retreat held at the FaHoLo Conference Center in Michigan; it was quite nice.

I also went to bed by quarter past 12 yesterday; it was ... such a weird experience heading off to bed while seeing that all my friends were virtually (finally) online. And then I woke up at 6am... =(.

I finally went to the Farmer's Market on Saturday for the first time since coming to Northwestern. It was delightfully cute and brought back memories of ... Europe and Taiwan ... basically anywhere where I haven't been for a long time. It's amazing how the simple sight of stalls littering a pot-holed parking lot behind a hotel could bring back so many memories of all those days I spent wandering through the streets of Brussels or Taipei. Adults sifting through vegetables and fruits; kids running to the eggplants or pumpkins -- every little thing - even the musicians trying to earn a little moolah singing or playing their hearts away - added to the cheerful mood instilled by the surprisingly sunny, warm weather. It reminds me, yet again, just how awesome it is to be alive and to be able to experience these little joyful moments.

You know, I've always found it strange / slightly unsettling how I always associate what I consider "more cultural" (that's probably not the right term) things such as these roadside stalls with anything but Evanston, Cincinnati, Columbus, or even Newcastle -- in other words, places where I've been for more than a week at a time. It's as if, because I live in one place for awhile, I feel like I already "know" enough to get by and won't bother to go out there to 欣賞 all the unique things that a particular place provides. It's such a pity.

As for the academic world, I've recently discovered one of the most disconcerting facts: I have at least one exam per week until my very last day of the quarter, Dec 12. In the coming 3 weeks, I have two exams per week at least. I won't even mention the weekly homework/problem sets for 3 of my 5 classes. Let's just say, it's a rather bleak and mood-deflating discovery.

One week at a time, one day at a time.

Tomorrow I have seven hours of classes, starting from 9am until 6pm with two 1-h breaks; it's as if I'm back in high school with 7 classes a day, except I'm in college.

I really want 太陽餅 right now. Those and moa chi (a.k.a. mochi, apparently; side note: I recently found out that I've always been pronouncing it in Taiwanese-- no wonder some people never got what I was talking about, whoops) are the few exceptions of sweets that I absolutely love. Yum.

Because I enjoy numbers and pictures, here are some statistics: As of right now (15:05 10/5/2008), I have 15,303 (organised) photos. Of those 15303, 46.6% are of the family category, 21.5% NU/college, 19.6% CCCYG/church, 8.04% SHS/high school, and 4.31% other/random. On the computer, this translates to 27.1 GB scattered over 253 folders.

In other words, I sometimes feel like I should just drop out of college and just be an amateur photographer. Amateur because my photography skills are at the acceptable level (think Harry Potter grading style: O,E,A,P,D,T); nor am I non-frugal enough to invest in better cameras). I believe it would be much better for me mentally. After all, photography doesn't require much more than enough brains to know how to manipulate buttons and settings that can be learned by simply memorization and trial-&-error. No taxing the mind with knowledge about oligodendrocytes, Markovnikov's orientations, apatites, delta functions, or the Bessel differential equation; let's not even mention the understanding part of knowledge.

That being said, it should be obvious that I am once again enslaved by the academic world with the lovely classes of Neuroscience, OChem, Biomaterials, Signals Analysis, and Models (in Biochem/MolBio). Isn't that such a lovely selection? They are all major/track-specific by this point — Biomedical Engineering in the area of Biomaterials. I must admit, it gets dull and slightly confusing to go from one class to another and find oneself sitting among the same group of people one day after another.

I've recently told that I sound like a depressed, almost-suicidal (in a passive manner) child; I've also been told that I'm a good/sweet (though strange) friend; I've also been recently told that I've turned feisty, funnier, weirder, and who knows what else. I really wonder what the resulting soul would be if all these qualities were combined into one.

Here's my say: I'm not depressed; I love and am so thankful for my life, my family, my friends, and anything within the tiny bubble that bobs along wherever I go. However, I will admit that I'm not gung-ho for my major; I'll never know why I picked it; I'm not adverse to it; but I'm not going to change at this point — being halfway through. Being halfway through, I also need to begin to think about post-college: right now, I'm looking into a 5-year BS/MS program. That makes me a bit depressed because I hear it's hard; I don't like working hard (yes, I am very lazy/bad, I know =( ...).

I've been working on my interpersonal communication skills (— although whether I've managed to pass the "awkward" stage is still debatable). While I would say that I've definitely improved overall since I entered college, I've also drastically regressed during the summer. While I enjoyed working in a pathology lab, my human companions were busy working adults scrambling for good results and grants; my most constant companions could not communicate with me: they could either only squeak (i.e. mice and rats) or nothing at all (i.e. lipid assays). My conclusion is that -surprise- I do need people. As much as I sometimes despise social activities, humans are still the coolest organisms alive with whom one can surround oneself.

Since I live in an apartment these days (alone currently), it gets "lonely." I am no longer constantly bothered by the sounds of feet pattering down the hall, shouts and yells from outside, knocks on the door, the buzzing of the refrigerator,... nothing. The most noise generated in my place these days is the tapping of keys, the roar of an occasional bus past the apartment, the rumble of the El half a block away, the drone of an airplane overhead, and my music. No humans, no voices. Quiet and peaceful. It's nice. It teaches me to cherish what I have. Silence is a gift. People are a gift.

In light of that, I cherish the opportunities I have to interact with those around me. I know I'm terribly stingy with my time; I don't go out as much as I should; I don't see people as much as I should. However, I promise you: be you/they classmates, church friends, old dorm mates, acquaintances, I like to spend as much time with them when given the chance. So, when are these chances? I find one of the best times is when one is walking from one destination to another. Thus, I enjoy with walking friends - whether it's along the way, out of the way, or the wrong way; I personally find it one of the best times for catching up on one another's lives or — if not so deep — exchanging silly anecdotes or who knows what else. To be able to spend those few minutes with friends rather than in one's own company (which usually results in brooding over the increasingly scary to-do list) — it's really such a sweet feeling.

Trivial note: I think this is the first time (if not first, then the first one in a very long time that) I'm writing an entry without the intention of going back, rereading, and editing.

Every time September rolls around, it's as if some sort of impending doom reappears in anticipation of crashing down upon me as soon as I set foot on the NU campus.

Wow, what a nice way to start an entry.

I'm being realistic. I plan on taking 5 classes this quarter -- all major-related and 300-leveled BME classes except OChem. Is that a possible feat?

Quote. "With God all things are possible" (Matt 19:26). However, we must realise that this was only half of the verse; the full: "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Jesus is talking about the young man who has kept all the commandments yet cannot forgo his great wealth; replace wealth with workaholic tendencies, and you've ... moi. =\ In other words, I don't mind working; I actually enjoy being busy and productive; it makes me happy when I see the end result / what has been accomplished. The unfortunate part is that I sometimes focus on the work too much and forget that there's a world outside... which is then exacerbated by the fact that I tend to be more 仔細 and demand high quality. I hope I don't become a hermit.

On a lighter note, I love working with kids. I really do. It started with tutoring at Kumon and teaching Sunday school at church. Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to interact with kids very much since college; thus, it was absolutely wonderful when Serena suggested that I visit her former SS kids (Pre-K, I believe) this past week. It was such a sweet experience albeit a bit awkward since I tend to talk about things that go way over little kids' heads. Talking about fishes, Nemo, Dory, and piranha (the kid knew what these fishes looked like; I didn't) were okay; colouring was okay; trying to explain why there was a piece of paper on top of the AC covering the window... was not so okay. I started talking about how the sunlight results in warmth; at that point Serena glanced over at us with a "uh, remember you're talking to a pre-K child" expression. Whoops? But honestly, I love working with kids, especially their minds.

Guess what dictionary.com's "word of the day" was?

tintinnabulation \tin-tih-nab-yuh-LAY-shuhn\, noun: A tinkling sound, as of a bell or bells.

And so, I end this entry — the last official entry before I leave for Round 3 of college.

Lost in the flow. Dive.

It's amazing how simple life becomes when one is deprived of electricity for ~36 hours. It's as if time slowed down, and all distractions from life were removed: internet, entertainment, emails, updates, everything. Of course, there was the downside of no lights, limited hot water, and the possibility of to-become-spoiled food; but you know what? It was amazingly peaceful, quiet, and undisturbed.

Yet again, I return with very cold hands after sectioning 3 mice brains. The work area has to be at least -17°C/-1.4°F to keep the brains frozen; then, the slides need to be stored in the -80°C/-112F freezer. Since I was brilliant and initially stuck the slides wherever they fit, I had to take the boxes out of the freezer and reorganize all the slides. Let me tell you, it was very cold on the fingers.

While we're on the subject of temperatures... Autumn seems to be wandering its way in slowly but surely. (I am suddenly reminded of the poem "If you were coming in the fall" by Emily Dickenson). Though the trees are still resolutely green (but probably not for long), and the daytime temperatures can still be considered as 'summer' (around mid-70's), the mornings are definitely much cooler these days. Nevertheless, today has been an absolutely glorious day — sunny, crisp and pure blue skies; not to mention, the temperatures right around the mid-70s. Positively delightful and picnic-perfect weather.

I have just reaffirmed the fact that my appendages are perpetually cold in any temperature below (at least) 77 F. Case in point: I'm wearing three layers on top -- albeit all short-sleeves -- and sweatpants on bottom. Compare that to my dad who even turned on the fan behind me not too long ago.

Cold appendages make typing a painful chore. Especially for my 3rd fingers which seem quite stiff; it feels as if they're about to 'pop' but won't. It's quite a disturbing feeling actually. (Side note: I don't think I've ever tried to purposely 'crack' my knuckles or fingers before).

Ah, actually I lied. My right middle finger has had a habit of popping occasionally when I bend it. Most likely, it's a leftover effect from piano. The culprit: lame fingers and Liszt's Tarantella from "Venezia e Napoli." Just YouTube the piece; 30 seconds into it, and you should be able to see why it's a nice piece overall but not-so-nice on the fingers at times. Strange that I like these kinds of pieces, though. The Tarantella was one of my favourite pieces (others being Saint-saen's Concerto No. 2 in G minor (2nd & 3rd movt) and Chopin's Scherzo No. 1).

Ouch, talking about these really makes me miss piano.

And now, I shall make use of the heat generated by my laptop to warm my hands.

I started this entry in the form of a 'draft' saved in Gmail. It's been sitting here for about.. oh, before Mikey left (I only remember this because he commented on the next topic) -- which is probably at least 2-3 weeks ago.

I spent some time looking back on my older entries. Conclusion: I must have been one interesting and strange creature. So many of my entries were about school, school, piano or violin, more school x 10... did I not have a life or what. Yuck. Nevertheless, it's nice to see that my writing has improved grammatically (at least punctuation/capitalization-wise) as well as — I hope — the depth of my entries overall. Or, at least, random spazzing sessions have been mostly replaced by amused recollections or contemplations. (But, of course, there are still the occasional random spurts of silly observations/inventions).

I've mentioned before how I keep a list of things to mention in my entry. Since I don't really have much to say about each of the next few items, here proceeds a list of paragraphs without transitions.

During one of the Les Mis performances (perhaps even the last one), one of the props fell into the pit and onto a flautist; it turned out to be a stick they used to pound their nonexistent gunpowder.

I finally played euchre for the first time in two or so years. Needless to say, my team won because I had the brilliant Lizzy who is now at MIT. woo! (Oops, that last part was random).

I wonder where my pink mole went; Alice made it for me after I told her how much I loved her version of the mole (mine was a twin with Kat's - they're probably still sitting in Mr. Ignatz's room).

Typos, spelling, and grammatical errors bother me when I see them in not-IM situations. I also cringe when I see the word *squee* these days; it usually precedes or follows extreme silliness/stupidity in my older writings.

I don't like getting out of the car or touching it afterwards because - for some reason - I always get shocked; lately I've remedied this by shutting the door with my foot instead -- it works very nicely anyway since I'm usually carrying things haphazardly into the house.

I have a habit of turning on the tap with my left hand; this means that I usually turn on the hot water. I'm not sure how this developed, but it sometimes results in me scalding my hands when the tap actually warms up faster than most do.

There have been several times this summer where I actually turned on the cold water only to find out that the water was warmer than my hands. Either the tap water was unusually warm - it is summer after all - or my hands were unusually cold.

Strangely enough, I actually find rats relatively cute -- possibly even cuter than mice; they tend to look a bit more animal-like like rather than a ball of fur with a tail, some pink ears - oh yeah, and two small black beady eyes and a dangerous mouth. I remember I used to find the rats extremely creepy compared to mice. The mice are the typical black-furred ones while the rats with whom we work are albino: white fur with disturbingly clear ruby red eyes (it makes me wonder if they're blind). I've also spent enough 2-hour intervals with them (at least 5 separate occasions) to see how boring their lives are; I've witnessed them eating, hording their food (to themselves in their already-own cages), yawning, sniffing (duh), and sleeping (duh). As for mice, I haven't got as many fond memories since they pee, poop, and occasionally spurt some blood everywhere when we do GTT & IST.

That's been life during the day. Life at night finds me slaving away at chemistry with not-too-bad, yet not-too-good results: I'm in Chapter 8 (out of 10) after a month. A bit mental, you might say; I'd agree. I'm rather mentally exhausted/confused these days and find myself dozing off at times in front of the computer/textbook. Even more unsettling is the fact that chemistry even finds its way into my dreams / sleep time: I've had at least 3 instances where the recurrent word I remembered in my dreams were (1) primary hydrogens, (2) propane, and (3) cis-cis/trans.

I think I'm slightly workaholic.

I really like driving through downtown Blue Ash with my windows rolled down on a nice summer day (or just any day as long as it's not too wet or cold). The assortment of sights, sounds, and smells just make me marvel at everything: God's creation/creativity, humans, technology, .. the fact that I get to witness, well, everything around me. It's really cool being alive; God's really cool.

Ah... look at the date; isn't it neat? Wouldn't you think my collection's... well, never mind. Unfortunately, I bet that half the world will remember it (and the time 8:08:08.08 — well, maybe/hopefully not that far out) more as the beginning of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing than a pleasing bunch of numbers to the eye. I really do like numbers; I wonder how many times I've mentioned that.

It's amazing to see how fast things change (— haha, as I've always said). For one, I now find myself talking to the mice and rats when I'm in the animal rooms alone, weighing them (mice only; I have yet to handle rats) and their food. It's not so much conversational talk; rather, it's just simple greetings, apologies when I make too much noise (usually it's just something slipping and falling into their cage — particularly the top), and chastising when they refuse to cooperate. Nevertheless, I am quite fond; they're quite cute in their docile state.

In other news, I've caught some kind of Mikey-bug and now watch/listen to movies when I study at night. I forget all that I've watched recently, but a fairly complete list includes Ratatouille (as always... cute Remy and yummy-looking food), Pride and Prejudice (the movie; the miniseries was, well, a bit too long and the characters too annoying), High School Musical (well, that was a bit weird to say the least, a bit too chanced, and so highschool-ish), Little Mermaid (ah, now I know/remember the story...), Lilo & Stitch (Stitch is so adorable), Charlotte's Web (pardons, I didn't like it that much), Spiderwick Chronicles (it's like a slightly creepy, modern-day version of Narnia), and The Pianist (hm, considerably darker and more depressing than the movies I usually watch).

You know, when I was small, I used to see miniseries as one big word pronounced as 'my-zi-ner-eez' — just like how I still see ogre as 'orge.'

I just spent quite awhile in the animal rooms/area changing cages, weighing food, weighing mice, (repeating that procedure 15 times), and NMR-ing them stubborn creatures (3 times per mice/thing). Today was also the first day I was in the same room while others were sac-ing mice, though thankfully I didn't watch because I was busy with the NMR machine. Let's just say... wow, these mice are pampered maintenance-wise: they get new bedding every week, fresh food every 3-4 days, and all they have to do is sit there, occasionally spend some time in a tube & get blood drawn from them, and then clean themselves whenever they make themselves gross (which incidentally is usually whenever we need to bother them). Handling-wise, I'm not as sure — I'm usually quite nice regardless of whether they're lovely (read: they just sit there & don't try to run away or bite) or irritating (they start a 'can't-catch-meeee!' chase and cling onto everything you don't want them to). I finally got sufficiently mad/annoyed at them today so when they didn't cooperate, I'd poke them in the behind not so gently and pry their little feet off the edges so they would fall in (for NMR tubes) — and, for once, I didn't feel so sorry.

I also - accidentally! - let a mouse fall from the table: I was trying to weigh it, but it was quite small & nervous, so it started scampering all over the place and off the scale. Normally it's okay since they're smart enough not to stray too far, but this one really wanted an adventure and proceeded to crawl on the tablecloth hanging off the side of the table... and then, -plunk- mouse on the floor!; needless to say, I had to go fetch the naughty creature from under the table. To counter that, I've had a mouse that's been really nice and just sits on the scale when I take it out; nice mouse.

So that's my story for/of the day.

Annnd I am back! (and in ET) — hopefully with more than a few random sentences cobbled together. As Les Miserables is no longer taking up my evenings after work, I have one less excuse for putting off one more thing that has been branded across the top of my mental 'to-do' list since the beginning of summer. (On a sidenote, I feel like I say the first sentence a lot; the second sentence reminds me of Bilbo when he said something along the lines of "I don't know half of you half as well...").

It's been exactly one month and one day since I've left NU; actually one month, one day, and one hour ago, I was probably just finishing up my job of handing out diplomas at the 101st WCAS Commencement to those graduates with last names from I through L. Mmm, I like numbers.

Since then my life has mainly consisted of GRI during the day (for exactly one month minus one day — do you see a trend with the numbers here?) and Les Miserables during the night (for approximately one half of that month-minus-one-day), along with weekly doses of church, a drop of 2008 MCCA Summer Retreat here and some movie-watching there (both online & in theatre).

Soo... work at GRI. Overall, it hasn't been too bad; it certainly has been different since it's my first time working with animals in the lab (both my previous experiences have only involved those I-can't-see-you things like bacteria, viruses, or cells). As for 'achievements,' I have finally mastered the skill of picking up mice (really, it's not that hard at all, unless they're all squirmy), stuffing them into big syringe thingies for restraint (this is annoying since they obviously don't want to go in), and collecting blood from their tails (one learns how to 'massage' their tails). And when I'm not working with mice, I'm usually labeling lots of eppendorf tubes, doing lipid assays & using up a lot of those 96-well plates, processing a lot of data (the benefits is that I've discovered nice & simple Excel shortcuts), or reading papers. Hm, that doesn't sound very exciting, does it? I promise it is — to some degree.

Les Mis: ahh, it's over, and I shall miss it (as I say with every musical I've been in; this one being the third). What I've discovered is that I never really find any musical interesting until the first rehearsal with the cast: I'm just not very motivated to practice when I have 23 measures of rests followed by 14 more — it just makes no sense. However... after hearing the cast, it's as if my nonexistent tail gets lit on fire (by the looks I get from Mr. Frank that usually mean I've missed an entrance), and I get this brilliant idea to finally listen to the soundtrack and learn my part. Unfortunately, I coudln't hear the cast very well this time, so it took me the full two weeks before I finally got the entire (musical) story — and, by that time, the show was pretty much over =P.

Movies: if you examine my list of watched movies, you'll see that it is basically all animated (usually Pixar) or fantasy-based. That being said, Wall-E (7/13/08) was my first theatre movie for this year (and just to show you my trend: my previous one was Rataouille (06/30/07), and before that PoC3 (5/24/07)): quite an adorable & oh-so-clumsy/silly robot. My conclusion is that I still prefer animals to ... machines (& humans) — Pixar just makes them look so cute and innocent (if they want to). Actually, whenever I watch those kinds of movie, it makes me wish I had tried on the CS track a bit more (I think I've mentioned this idea of mine many times already); I'm sure I would've enjoyed working with on-screen mice more than real ones. (No bitter feelings towards the real ones, promise! They haven't bitten me yet; only tried to run away).

Hm, actually all this was written 3 days ago, as the real date is now 07.25.08 @ 12:25, but since I enjoy the prevalence of 1's in the beginning of the entry, I'm keeping it as is (run-on sentence, yeah yeah). It goes to show you how long it takes me to finish a simple entry. Since then, I've mainly just been organising stuff in my house (& throwing out quite a bit - though probably still not as much as my mother would like) and on my computer (I decided to go through my photos and upload some old ones that used to be on Yahoo! Photos — goodness, was I annoyed when they closed it down).

Yup, that's my life these days. How terribly unexciting. Wait until I begin to study/review things for school. Ew. ><

Why am I still in CT?

In other news, I like musicals. Did I tell you? (I probably did).

One day I'll get to an entry that surpasses a few mere lines.

Oh, by the way, I'm back in Cinci, but my computer is still in CT. I need to fix that sometime.

Yay, an update! (finally). It's kind of silly/stupid because I actually started compiling a list of 'things to write' around 2 weeks ago (I tend to do this for any kind of 'extensive writing:' entries, emails, letters, notes, etc.). Unfortunately, it kept growing and growing until I finally decided that (1) the list itself was getting a bit too long & vague, and I was in danger of forgetting the meaning/significance of certain words or phrases; (2) the items on my list were quickly becoming archaic due to the passage of time; (3) it bothered me to have so many and such a long stickie; (3) I was sufficiently bored/sick enough of work; and (4) ... let's face it, my writing skills are deteriorating at a frightening pace, so it's time for me to practice... =).

The first item: origami stars and lots of numbers. More specifically, these numbers are 200 + 250 + 292 + 208 + 70 + 165; in other words(/numbers?), I have folded and puffed up at least 1185 stars during the past academic year. (I say 'at least' because there is quite a bit of error in the counting since a lot of my stars go unrecorded: they're either in the hands of friends or lost in this world somewhere). Actually, I no longer have the jar of 200 stars, and the jar of 70 will soon be disappearing as well (there are less stars, but it's got an origami rose inside as bonus!), so I only have 915 on my desk (... only). Nevertheless, I am still adding to the number each day with my daily allowance of 20 stars/day. Hehe. =D

Next item: Bio/BME. My discovery as of late: I don't enjoy biomedical engineering all that much — or rather, it isn't turning out to be what I really wanted / I wish I could enjoy it more. (What a terrible thing to realise since I've already trudged through quite a decent chunk of my curriculum and am nearing the midpoint of my undergraduate life...) I think(?) I wanted to focus more on genetics / molecular biology since it was always my interest back in HS; now, I sometimes wonder why I didn't just go with it in the beginning. I think my lame reasoning was something like 'I like math' + 'I like science' = engineering, and engineering + biology = bioengineering. Unfortunately, NU doesn't have that here (or does it? =X) so I chose BME with a specialization (that I have yet to declare) in biological materials or something to that effect. I actually haven't taken classes with that title yet so maybe — just maybe — it'll redeem itself in my eyes when I reach the very specialized pathway. [Oh my, I think that'

Actually, you know what's kind of funny/weird? (Besides the fact that I say 'actually' a LOT). I have yet to take biology — like basic (well, not really) general biology-for-the-science-majors. Regardless of that fact, I've still managed to work in 2 biology research labs so far and quite enjoyed the experiences; unfortunately, I've just never been able to fully understand the details of what I'm doing until at least the tenth time — and by that point, I've understood the consequences of my actions but still not the specific mechanisms that go on at the micro/tiny-level because of the actions. Oh yeah, and I have yet to work in a BME research lab... I think I might try it next academic year. Before that, though, I'll be working in yet another biology lab back in Cinci for the summer.

[Sidetrack: Mmhmm, yours truly is going back for the summer. For awhile I contemplated staying here for the summer since I would have the chance to develop more connections at NU, and I will be having my own apartment (with 2 other girls) starting July anyway; but, I missed Cinci the place (to some degree, though perhaps not as much as England) and my parents (and my dear piano!) too much. There's always the very big plus of living in one's own comfortable home and dearest mum's very yummy cooking. ]

As for working in my very first NU bio research lab this past quarter (in the pretty Pancoe building — this is kind of why I sought for a bio research lab ... kidding, kidding! Well, partially.), it's been quite enjoyable. I have yet to complete — or even start or think about — my first project, but I've managed to learn and retain much more of what I learned in my previous lab experience at UC last summer. (A big plus factor is that this time I'm being taught in my most familiar language, English, as opposed to Chinese-with-a-mainland-accent; and I actually get to see a more written out protocol instead of just scribbled notes here and there that I was too incompetent to compile =X). I really like working with DNA, I've discovered; cells are okay; chick embryos are... eh oO. I got to work with embryos several times — first, just poking holes in the egg to drain out some albumin and taping them over; then cutting open the eggs, seeing the embryo within the egg yolk, and trying to inject DNA into their spinal cords. -eeks- I never managed to do the last step because it freaked me out a bit too much.

Actually, I have a confession to make: I killed two embryos ='((. The previous day (which, in actuality, is quite awhile back) when I had to drain and tape, I threw some eggs away: It was at the advice of one of the graduate students under whom I work. At the time, I saw these eggs as simply experimental things; the next day, however, when I actually saw that there were embryos inside, it was... quite traumatic. I think I finally understood that I was working with beings that were very much alive and capable of becoming life (well, they were already alive; but like... cute chicks). I don't think I want to work with those kinds of things in the biology labs ever again =S. Which means, I had better not get any assignments dealing with mice over the summer, or I might just become completely traumatized over science & research.

A happier topic! (maybe): picture-taking. [Btw, to update the reader on how far they are through this entry, I'm only about halfway down my list. And it's been over 1000 words already.] Ever since I was given a camera of my own — or at least a camera to use — around 2004, the amount of free space on my computers has been decreasing exponentially (I think my pictures take up ~16 GB). In other words, I'm quite the picture-taking fanatic. It's not like my pictures are even that artistic or worthy of all the space they take up or people they annoy, but it's more like... it's simply my method of remembering events. Since I'm terrible at updating in the written form, picture-taking is a relatively easy way to consolidate what has happened throughout the days, months,... years. In fact, I feel like I take around my camera so much that I'm like the annoying historian of the Ohana sg =P. I don't mind being the picture-taker, but sometimes I feel kind of, well, like I'm being an annoyance to those around. (Forgive me.) That being said, I take ~400 photos per quarter, the equivalent of ~5.3 GB on my HD. In fact, my camera is up to image number 4646; consider that with the fact that I just received this camera last summer... Conclusion? I take a lot of pictures. I really like nature pictures because they're just so peaceful/unblemished; I like taking pictures of people as well because I can point to them and exclaim, "I knew them!" when they become famous. Hehe, kidding, kidding. No matter how we all turn out, I'll cherish all my memories/photos just as much. =)

I think I need a break from thinking, so here's to a hodgepodge of random musings as I run down the list. (1) I do not like Macs. Their keyboards are okay, but other than that... I really don't like the interface or anything else. Maybe it's just the experiences I've had with the pathetic PowerBook that I use occasionally in the Pancoe lab (goodness, the labs are infested with Macs *pukes*), but — duuude — can you get any more annoying?! There's no simple right-click button, no scrolling option on the touchpad (at least I can't find it in the systems prefs), the touchpad is sluggish, the system's sluggish, iChat is irritating/unfriendly, gChat & Meebo both don't work in Safari (at least for this OS)... etc. — I'll stop complaining. I also get my Windows vs. Mac shortcuts mixed up a lot. Hmph, the bad influences of Macs.

(2) I like Forever Friends bears; I think I've mentioned this multiple times. And it's rather evident from my layouts... But, they're just so cute! =D (3) I really like editing; at some low points in my BME career, I jokingly contemplated about editing as a profession. (un)Fortunately, it never became a real idea. I think I'll keep it as a hobby to ensure that my enjoyment remains whenever I pick up another friend's 5-7 paged paper. (4) I like tutoring kids, but I don't think that can become a profession for me either. (5) I also like the idea of doing computer animation. I like coding; I like computers; I like the idea of being able to create such cool or cute things like an Ent or Nemo. It almost makes me wish I had tried to finish the CS pathway in HS and continue it in college. Too bad I never got very far =\.

(6) I miss piano (and even to some degree, violin). I actually 'played' a bit of piano over the course of this quarter. By 'play' I mean stumble through what little bits and pieces of Liszt's Tarantella (from 12th grade) or Chopin's Scherzo No. 1 (10th grade) or Fantaisie-Impromptu (6th grade) that remain in my faulty memory. It was sad. As for non-classical pieces, my ability to sight read, estimate key distances, multitask with hands & feet, and perfect pitch have all degraded considerably. However, I've discovered that I'm not too pathetic at coming up with random filler/background music (is there a formal name for just playing random (usually broken since I like them) chords and melodies?); and I can miraculously play simplified versions (basically, just the melody & chords) of some (Asian =P) songs, such as 童話 or 被風吹過的夏天, although there are still many instances where I have to bang around before I find the right chords. Heh, this is why I'll never be a true musician...

In other news, I'm really craving fruit right now — juicy fruits like peaches, plums, grapes, or cherries. Mmm =D. And now, I think it's time I go do some work. This entry may be one of the longest — if not the longest — I've ever written. I think it certainly makes up for the lack of many in the past few weeks. Don't you?

Approximately one month later...

Goodness, time flies. (I feel like if I went back through my entries, I'd probably find no less than five mentions about how fast time goes while I plod along.)

That being said, I have left my teen years for at least 17 days now. But! I'm still alive, loving music and being a lazy bum with my rather light class schedule this quarter (*whispers* I only have 10 hours of real class and maybe 7-9 hours of bio lab per week).

In other news, I got to see Kaba Modern & Tatum Jones. (And record them =X ... although I was slightly bummed that the girl in my line of sight seemed to be enjoying the show greatly many times...).

In other-other news, I have such a cool/amusing/funny brother. <3

Wow, I really don't like it when my entries are tiny and useless, but... I don't feel like thinking. Therefore, this will remain short and stupid. Wot. (Yes, I didn't spell it right; and I did it on purpose.)

And this is how Stacy spends her last night in England (as her daddy does the same a mere 4 feet to the right): checking Heathrow's flight arrivals & departures and playing around with the awesome bird's eye view for MSN maps. Fyi, the postal code for the England apartment lands right on top of it. What a pretty sight.

It's dreadfully depressing just thinking about how today shall be the last full day ever that I spend in this lovely apartment in Newcastle, England. Mmm, the smell of a new apartment (though it's almost faded by now since it's been a few years), the hardwood, the carpet, even the shower water (it really reminds me of the sea) and fresh laundry (I love the smell of the detergent they use here); the contemporary, clean and simple look of the place; even the siding that used to bang loose due to the strong winds (thankfully, it was fixed a long time ago) and the cracks slowly appearing in the corner of the bedroom just over there -- just everything... I am going to sorely miss it all.

Isn't it also kind of funny how our tiny entertainment center here of an tiny/decent-sized flat-screen TV, dvd player, and maybe some more (I wouldn't know because I've never used it) is cooler (read: much more modern) than the one in Cinci? Goodness, if only America & England used the same voltage, we could upgrade so many of our appliances and such back in our Cinci home. Wireless too... but I highly doubt BT will offer its wireless services in the US. =P

Oh, it's been amazing being here. I'd hug the place if I could, but it's a bit too big for me.

Mmm, see that bear to the right? The one lying in the grass, gazing at the butterfly and holding the droopy flower? My mum gave me a pillow-sized version of him for my (early) 20th to hug at night =). <3 parents.

And so... I am back in Engand, experiencing its paradoxical weather of sunshine one second and snow the next; freezing my behind and fingers + toes (not so much the toes - they are encased in light blue fuzzy slippers <3) off while sitting at the ridiculously squished desk & chair configuration (for those who don't know and care to know, read the late July entries from '07); and using my dad's lovely European Dell - which means I have to reach for that lovely backspace button quite constantly (actually, I just realised, I don't use my pinky to hit it like I should; I use my fourth finger -- an extra stretch for the hand! I almost feel as if I'm at a piano trying to practice a jump... except it's quite the unnecessary jump if one knew the keyboard). The culprit(s): the left shift key has been chopped in half and has been replaced by the \ (that creates an extra stretch for my lazy pinky finger; the return key has been inconveniently squashed width-wise so that it has become tall and skinny (a.k.a. longer lengthwise), its usual space having been usurped by the # key. Actually, there are many other differences, such as the appearance of the £ symbol, a swapping of the positions of " and @, etc. But, if I were to list all the differences/details, this would become a most dull entry (not that it isn't already).

For some reason, I always feel more talkative/in the mood to write whenever I'm in England; it's as if something oppressive has been lifted from inside my brain as I made my few/many treks over here to the lovely island where people's accents are most amusing and smile-inducing.

That being said, this last journey (for the next x years - who knows how long it might be before I ever set foot here again, if ever ) has been one accompanied by a test in patience, and looking on the brightside. It started with a snowstorm in Chicago, which caused many flight cancellations and delays in O'hare; quite thankfully, my flight never gained those statuses. However, we somehow managed to dawdle in the boarding area (to be de-iced among other things) for 40minutes before waiting 40 more to finally take off (we were #5 for take off; I counted 9 planes after us). Hmm, I thought that was inefficient/slow. How inexperenced I was. My second flight from Heathrow to Newcastle started off being delayed by 30 minutes because the plane was late coming in, then by another 30 (really more like 60) because of the gusty winds over England in general and because the plane lost its spot in the takeoff line (due to the previous delay), and then by another 60 minutes because we were 20th in line by the time we reached the runway. Notice a trend? Once you fall behind, the most you can do is fall even more behind. Plane-wise; airport-wise. That being said, I'm quite thankful that neither of my flights were delayed or cancelled and that I didn't miss any. I suppose delays aren't so bad after all...

Seeing my parents again was lovely. They almost ran past me in their hurry to reach the greeting area for domestic flights; actually, they would have if I hadn't yelled in surprise as two asians ran by. Heh. The drive home was quite interesting, with periods of sunshine alternating with stormy snow as my mother attempted to update her and my father on my life (they didn't get very far because the ride was, thankfully, quite short). The only downside to seeing them again is, of course, the nagging -- about sleep, food, food, and more food; and the fact that I keep forgetting to wear the fuzzy slippers (at least the fuzziness is a slight incentive for me to wear them, heheh). Buuut, I still love my parents all the same. And the cooking, mmm. =D

I think I was going to write more, but this is already getting absurdly long. As such, I think I'll stop for now. Maybe I'll go test out the pathetic wireless with Tetris.

Just kidding! (Well maybe).

It's nice to be back at (2nd) home. =)

Whoa, I just noticed: daylight saving hasn't occurred here yet. Talk about uncoordinated human attempts to play with time and Stacy's pathetic mind.

[edit (03/22/08)] Once again, I forget to uncomment this... It was left quite unfinished, hence the abrupt ending.[/edit]

Hey look, pi! 3.141592653589793238... Have I ever told you? A long time ago, my brother and I tried to see who could memorise more digits of pi; of course, my brother won; yes, we were complete dorks. But you know what? I love my brother. I love being dorky (sometimes). I think it's an intrinsic part of me, in addition to silliness and clumsiness.

I just finished my final problem set of this quarter approximately 15 hours ago; it was quite a lovely feeling. I don't think I've ever had this many problem sets due in one quarter. Yes, I've had many classes where "it is advised that you complete these problems for class to make your life easier," but let's face it: I always did the math ones; I rarely did the science (read: chemistry) ones. That being said, however, having four classes with two of them having problem sets due every week and the other two sporadically was ... well, not the funnest (that's a word? I'd thought I'd invented it =(.. guess not) experience: it resulted in at least two weeks where I had one problem set (or lab) due after another (my record was 5 weekdays straight (and it was accompanied by a midterm and a presentation at the beginning & end, respectively, -- but there was a weekend break before the last day); it also resulted in days where I had 2 or 3 problem sets within hours. So what's my point? Well, it resulted in quite a grumpy stacy for the majority of the quarter: the longer the succession of problem sets or the greater the amount of problem sets due per day, the unpleasant-er the stacy. Ouch. =/

I almost wrote the date as 03/03/03... way to go back in time accidentally. Except, we all know that we humanly cannot — well, at least for me. I don't know about such people as Calvin & Hobbes with their imagination.

We watched a Nooma video yesterday for our church's women's gathering: the topic being "A lot of us have done things in our lives we are ashamed of;" the ultimate message being "There's nothing you could ever do to make God love you less. ... Nothing." What a powerful reminder of God's unconditional, unfailing, infinite love for us. *nods* I really needed that, especially as I continue to despise the fact that i am, sadly, a slowly-failing student at NU — to really remember that there's someone out there who loves me regardless (mm, i typed 'irregardless' first, but then.. isn't it a double negative so it cancels itself technically? but non-technically, i think they actually mean the same thing... oO the mysteries of humans inventing words) of how much a failure I am to the world.

That being said (no, actually, this has nothing much to relate to the previous paragraph; I just like transition words/phrases), I have a thousand times a thousand amends to make and forgiveness to ask for the terrible attitude I've had towards life, school, friends, family, ... everything and everyone. =\

Now, somewhat connected to that (for real this time, hopefully), the first step to transforming one's life, I think, is to realise that one needs transformation. Oh, what a common sensical (why in the world is this not a word when nonsensical is?), "no-duh" statement, you say as you figuratively bop Stacy on the head for her silliness. Yes, I know; and yet, I forget sometimes — no, many, many times. It's only when I begin to see how far I am from the ideal (but then again, it is pretty much impossible to reach the ideal - kind of like an asymptotic limit -- *groans* Stacy, you dork) — from being Christ-like (even in the tiniest sense); and how wickedly (used the British way) awesome, amazing & cool God is in all respects ... that I really desire to be transformed. God deserves so much more than I give to Him. It's about time I begin to listen, take note, and give & grow — in love, in joy, in ... hey, the fruit of the Spirit =P:

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.[...]" (Gal 5:22-23).

Mmm, nice date. I approve =P.

It's insane to think that tomorrow shall be one of those days that only come by every four years. It always boggles my mind a bit to think that our calendars just so happen to fit our trip around the earth so perfectly (or imperfectly) that we need only to tack on a day once in awhile (okay, 4 years), and then *poof* we're set for the next few years again to stay on track w/ the universe out there.

I really, really like sunny mornings. Or rather, I really like having the sunlight stream into my room. It always reminds me of peaceful spring/summer days unspoilt by school and makes me rather nostalgic for my childhood. I'd go and lie on the couch, eating grapes (oops, I typed 'graphs' at first) while I read a novel; or maybe I'd be practicing piano while the sunlight streamed through the bay windows in the living room; or maybe, I'd just be up in my room playing w/ my stuffed animals and toys. Mmm, I really do miss my Hightree Drive house - it faced East/West, so it was always nice and bright in some part of the house.

*Trails off...*

Oh my, what a terrible date/year combo.

I'm in the top 1.7% of the Tetris players on Fb. Oh my goodness... Bad me. =X

Disclaimer: I promise I'm not that depressing right now. Quite the contrary, I have many lovely moments these days when I am truly quite =)-y. These are just some thoughts that have been stuffed in a corner of my brain waiting to be released. Hopefully, I'll have a tiny bit more free space in my brain now.

When life starts to be lived a few days at a time, or rather, in the sense of a disfigured sine-graph: with peaks and troughs where the latter are usually four times as long as the former, it starts to become not quite depressing, but more so bewildering.

So many times these days, I feel like I'm become Billy Pilgrim from 'The Children's Crusade' (a.k.a. 'Slaughterhouse 5') in the sense that I'm becoming unstuck in time. Not literally, since I will never be able to yank myself out of the time-space fabric — being only a mere human; rather, the concept of time within my mind has become unstuck: I have been yanked out of time memorically (yes, I just made that up; 'memory' + '-cally'). The line forming the graph begins to disintegrate to the point where short stretches of the graph seem no long present (perhaps until one looks very, very hard to see the faintest of lines)... it's as if sometimes when I'm living, I later forget it was I who lived it. No — that came out wrong: I lived life, but then can't remember off the top of my head that so-and-so happened. As hinted at in previous entries, I constantly mix up days now when trying to remember off the top of my head (but I still remember what's supposed to happen on each day...); I forget what day comes next (yet, I can still remember things such as how much I owe so-and-so)... I can still remember (almost) everything else — I'm perfectly fine in most other areas not pertaining to time, but my brain's just a little faulty in the longer short-term memory section. So many times, recent events are forgotten in my mind, and then when I do remember, many of them seem so far away. Is this what life is to become? Is this what college has done to me? Or is it just part of the process of me aging and becoming even more eccentric as I do?

You know, sometimes I wish I could just think like a typical, normal person (who would fall in that category? or how would it be defined?) — not like me, where sometimes I take things too literally and directly; yet at other times, I speak too figuratively and vaguely. I can only conclude that my life is one full of paradoxes and lived precariously on the brink of unintentional clumsiness, forgetfulness, and silliness; even as I strive to advance (take any connotation that you wish: to get through school, to become more mature (in all senses, especially spiritually), ...), I feel as though my mind's falling apart.

I really hope this is just a temporary thing... to last no longer than this quarter. Otherwise, life is really going to become one sad glop of confused memories to Stacy, and Stacy herself is really going to become no more than a befuddled child lost in this world

"Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." (Col 3:2). Perhaps then I will find some solace to this bewildering world.

And I am back! And perpetually sleepy/tired these days =x. For example, I took a total of at least 4 naps today: one in the morning before classes, one in between classes, one after classes, and one unintentionally after trailing off on my QTs. I have also been mixing up the days: in other words, I accidentally thought Monday was Tuesday and the next day would be Wednesday; forgot what day it was on Wednesday; and then, just today, thought it was Friday and the next day would be Saturday, even though I definitely remembered there would be classes tomorrow. X(

I wonder if traumatic things, such as 4 midterms w/i 3 schooldays (2 of which (were the hardest and) were on the same day with each being 2 hours long ) would be enough to completely mix up my extremely faulty brain these days. I'd like to think they would.

I think I have discovered my basically-basal level of food intake for a day: yogurt for breakfast/lunch, 2 yogurt cups of cereal for late afternoon snack, and 2 oranges (one clementine, one ... dining hall) & some handfuls of cherries. Mmm, I do love cherries. I'm kind of craving any types of noodles right now though.

Happy 20 to Albert! =)

So how does one manage to bruise the second joint of one's second finger on one's right hand to the point where it's slightly swollen and a bit painful if one types/writes too hard? Conclusion: I'm such a clumsy, bumbling child.

In other news, I disappeared off the face of the NU world for approximately two days to attend the 2008 HMCC Winter Retreat at Gull Lake, MI. It was rather nice. More to come when my finger is in a better mood.

Forgive me for the time/date, I really just cannot stand a date that has 1, 3, and 8 all together. Putting that aside, though, I just made excellent use of the "citrus juicer" that my dear roomie got me for Christmas. The result is quite a pretty cup full of grapefruit/orange juice thick with pulp. <3. =D!

It totally does not feel like I'm back in Central Time at college for Round Two of Winter Quarter / Sophomore year. After all, it is in the 50's right now when it's supposed to be in the negatives. But! We shall be thankful for the warm weather while it lasts (which it probably won't). Actually, it just feels like such the typical English weather. Oh my, I do miss England. Why do I have to go to schooool?

Oh my, I really don't like today's date. It just bothers me how two are odd and one is even. And... there really just is no pattern to them. But! I am being such a complete dork, so onto less trivial things!

Wow, so unbelievable / crazy. I just spent the last two or so hours on the Macintosh, which - quite amazingly - still works. The very one from 12+ years ago, which still greeted me in a rather mechanical voice with its customary "It is approximately 8:35 pm on Monday[...]" (I forget if it says the date as well when one first turns it on, but I don't think it does. The things I saved just now did state that it was 8/27/2084; the computer did also tell me that I should look at the "Date" settings).

Needless to say, it was great fun and very, very amusing (and very, very cold since the computer's in the basement: my fingers are quite literally frozen, making it supremely difficult to type even now). Oh, the things I did...

One: Go through the Games folder. (On a side note, I remembered the name of some game that I used to play... except I didn't find it in the main Launch menu: Lemmings. Hehe, that was quite the devilish game with exploding lemmings). The only game I played, however, was Tetris Max. Oh my, I really miss the background music. Not so much the non-randomness (at times), the pitch black background or the obnoxious level backgrounds and the fact that it actually didn't allow me to cheat (as the FB one does, particularly with the rotation of pieces). *shrugs* It was fun nevertheless.

Next, I proceeded to my own folder, where I marveled at my many files of saved Simcity landscapes, folders for school work from fourth to sixth grade, and - of course - my silly stories that I used to write. Oh, the memories they bring back. I had one story in particular — entitled "The Story of the Family" (how lame) — that my younger self really liked. It began (direct copy n' paste — all grammar errors and such kept for original's sake),

It was a cool breezy morning in April. The sun's rays were peeking through the curtains into the semi-lit room. Christine woke up and jumped of her bed. The ten-year-old girl twirled around then flew toward her other sister's room. Just as she ran out of the room, Anna, her older sister, came in and bumped into her.
"Youch!" exclaimed Anna. "May I please ask, why did you do that?"
"Oh, sorry." said Christine. "But, I just wanted to tell you that," she stopped and Anna said the rest for her.
"Today's the first day of April and the first day of Spring Break!" said Anna punching her playfully. "Why yes, I wouldn't forget.[...]"

Mmm, what a silly, idealistic (and grammatically incorrect) girl I used to be. At the same time, I feel like I still (haha, this sounds dumb/stupid now that I'm typing it) sound like myself somewhat — which means I probably still am quite the silly and idealistic girl... hopefully just not as much (my grammar, however, has improved somewhat). To amuse the reader, I had at least five other sibling characters whose names I can attribute to ones that I liked from the people around me or from the books I read (most notably "The Giver"); in particular, I really liked names that started with "A." Also, my characters were already reflecting some of my — I guess — growing love for correcting people's grammar, as in the following excerpt.

"Hey! Whatcha doin' in our room?"
"What are you doing." Arthur corrected him.
Anna looked at him and he grinned at her. Arthur liked to correct people, so did Anna. They found it fun, but the others found it frustrating.

But anyway, so that my entry won't go on for pages (it's already approaching one page in Word, including all the <>'s for formatting text and such), I decided to save this story and another word doc on *gasp* a floppy disk (with a max capacity of 1.44 MB — next to nothing basically) and bring it upstairs to the more current computers. I am quite thankful that my desktop still has a floppy drive =P.

Going back to more current things... I was told that my pendant analogy lost some people =X. What I was going for was basically (and now you get to see a tiny bit of how Stacy's mind works)... When I see the word 'hanging' used as such in the last entry, I get the immediate image of the thread... kind of like looking at it closely and seeing that it's all wimpy and frizzled at the end. By saying that I rather it be the silver chain with a pendant, I meant to say I hope that my hanging thoughts would not end in a pathetic kind of (new) entry but one that has something of value. Perhaps my mind is a bit too vague. Apologies.

That being said, the last two years (2006 & 2007) have been ones of much change. The biggest probably being (no, definitely being) the transition from being a high school student living a rather unvarying life of school, extracurricular activities, work, piano, violin, homework, and meals & sleep to a college student living a just as unvarying life of classes, church, homework, and meals & sleep squashed in somewhere. This required much growth on my part: becoming more responsible for the daily things my parents used to do (i.e. clean up after me/myself), taking the initiative (i.e. looking for fellowships, churches, work. finding friends =P...); learning how to manage my time; and, perhaps the most, learning how to not be a workaholic all the time. The last two are still probably failures, but at least I'm painfully slowly learning through mistakes and prods from those around me.

In terms of notable events... I think I've already mentioned them throughout my past entries, but particular ones (just to be repetitive for my fading memory's sake):

Since Summer 2007, I have:

• Survived freshman year of college [6/13]
• Upgraded from XP to Vista (and sometimes regretted it);
• Worked in a lab and been exposed to (and survived) rather dangerous, carcinogenic, radioactive things [7/19]
• Attended one awesome day (read: 14 hours) of summer retreat
• Spent three months in Europe (probably more on the continent than England, which is kind of insane) during which I...
  • Went Europe-tripping with my parents for over 3000 miles (not counting air travel) and just as many photos (from both my and daddy's camera). [9/12]
    (For your amusement, that's ~4/5 of the (direct) distance from Cincinnati, OH to Newcastle, UK. Crazy, eh?
  • Experienced the ultimate UK weather [7/31]
  • Tried to (and failed at) learning stick shift
  • Learned how to make nian gao, yum.
  • Gotten completely "pwned" by European keyboards [8/24]
  • Taught myself enough Chinese to be a little bit above almost-illiterate
  ... among other things.

Since Fall/Winter 2007, I have:

• Well, just read [11/2] & [12/24] for fall quarter =P
• Visited Sycamore HS twice - which means I entered illegally twice
• Practiced approximately no more than 12 hours of piano over winter break, during which I have managed to relearn (& very roughly memorise) my Chopin Scherzo from 10th grade
• Reviewed some Chinese although I would now say I'm at almost-illiterate, and
• Spent quite some time wandering down memory lane [see above]

.... which, brings me (once again) to the present! =D? Goodness, I started this entry over four hours ago. Of course, I haven't been doing it all this time, but still... that is quite awhile to spend on one entry. Perhaps that is why it is so long. (Word informs me that it is now over 1325 words, and past the two page mark). My most sincere apologies. *bows and exits*

Oops, except that it is no longer 1/1 *goes back to change the date.* But, of course, you will have no idea what I'm talking about since you will never have seen the error in the first place.

Hm, I was going to do a "thoughtful, reflective" entry, but I think I'll save it for another day when I have more time to ramble, edit, and repeat =P. Suffice it to say, ... so many things have happened since 2007. It's mental just looking back at my entries and emails from a year ago to see how much I've changed in some areas. But, for now... I shall leave it hanging -- not like a flimsy knotted cotton thread but perhaps more like a thin delicate silver chain, on the end of which contains a lovely pendant. Whatever that pendant is, though, I'll leave it up to the reader =).