Occupying Yourself For Four Hours

It's actually not a bad movie...

Presented Without Comment

Worst Flight Ever?

Red-eye, SEA to IAD

The plane has a 3-3 economy configuration, and I have the isle seat on the right side. Soon thereafter, a family of 7, with none of the five children seemingly above 6 (and they definitely acted the part), sat down around me-three children across the isle, one more in front of me, and the remaining three across the isle from her. Then a family with a newborn (definitely less than 12 months) sits down the row behind me.

As soon as the plane starts moving (and by that I mean as soon as we pull out of the gate) the baby starts screaming, and I could not drown out the baby's screaming with my over-ear headphones (or at least to the point I could barely tolerate my music without busting my ears). Throughout the flight, the parents tried to placate the baby to no effect, even carrying the baby up and down the plane (and probably waking up half the passengers that could actually fall asleep). I'm not sure how the baby managed to scream almost nonstop for almost 5 hours, but the baby finally fell asleep...as we landed at 530am.

Of course, the fun didn't end there. As soon as the seat belt sign was off, the father of the family of 7 sprung up and grabbed several (probably 7) pieces of luggage from the overhead bins and placed them in the aisle, thereby blocking almost everyone from going anywhere, which was a problem because he couldn't seem to get his kids to take a suitcase and get off the plane, and no one was able to get off the plane for about a good minute after the first class passengers got off.

My advice on flying with very small children: don't. If your child cannot behave and control themselves in public, don't fly with them until they can. If you absolutely must fly, fly when it's not going to disrupt everyone else, especially on a red-eye. You can't go around telling everyone that your child will behave because you think that your child is special and thus obviously can't have any faults because you're a perfect parent. This is obviously not true and is just an indication of people's lack of taking personal responsibility.

RIP Turntable

Sundodger and OFUDG!

These past two weekends I attended my first two ultimate tournaments of my grad school career in my bid to make the A team in my final year of eligibility. Two weekends ago we split into three teams and went up to Burlington for Sundodger, which was sort of wet and cold, just like most of the year in the area. We didn't win too many games, but played strong and finished well.

This past weekend we sent two squads down to Eugene for OFUDG. The main thing I learned was that Eugene sucked and there really isn't anything there, but the ultimate there was much better than the previous weekend and the competition was much tougher. It was another cold, wet, and windy weekend featuring lots of zone defense and some tight games. Our split squad came in second place after beating our other squad for a spot into the finals before losing to a local club/alum/pick-up/??? team. Unfortunately the tournament featured a 5+ hour drive each way to some random location in the middle of nowhere...

Here's to trying to make the A team! Tryouts coming up!

Mathematica 9!

So I finally upgraded my desktop's version of Mathematica to version 9.0 (though my laptop's version is still 8...), and I noticed that the biggest difference is that Mathematica 9 actually lets you attach legends to any plot you have. This is huge! It's also interesting how Mathematica 9 will sometimes suggest commands for you to use while you're typing them, as sometimes they're really off...

Grad School Snap Judgements

I've now been here for a full month and my graduate career/life/purgatory is somewhat underway. Being in labs for parts of the past 5+ years has dampened my excitement coming in, but nonetheless this is a foray into the unknown and a chance to start fresh.

Most importantly I learned (or relearned?) that I tend not to like undergrads (or people in general). The apartment complex I live in has its fair share of undergrads, and most (if not all) of them have the inability to tell time and fail to remove their laundry from the washers more than an hour and a half after they are done. Sometimes when I walk to/from the office I'll overhear undergrads talking about drinking, partying, or the people they hooked up with last weekend. I've never really understood why people choose to be so open about their indiscretions around everyone else, and why they choose to value those ideas over most others.

I also never understood going over homework sets during class time. Class time should be spent learning material, not spent on what was already supposed to be learned. I feel like if there's a gap in understanding then make use of office hours or try to understand what's been missed. I just feel like it's time wasted that could be used more productively (either learning more material or not having class at all).

Seattle has actual working public transit (at least much better than LA) that has buses that run somewhat regularly. There's even an app that tells you when the next bus should be arriving, and at least tries to account for early/late buses. It's pretty cool, and it's made even better by my bus pass. It's convenient when I want to get to campus in the morning when I wake up late and it's raining (which occurs somewhat regularly).

I have found the 99 Ranch, but it's 10 miles away, so I have to have someone drive me there each week. There's also an Uwajimaya in the international district, but there's no good bus to get there from my apartment. The QFC nearby carries a surprisingly large range of products, but of course the produce tends to be more expensive at QFC than at the asian marts. Personally I've just waiting for the Din Tai Fung to open nearby (within a 5-minute walk from my apartment) sometime in November.

Labwork so far hasn't been very productive, mostly because I'm also balancing it with my classes at this point, but I've joined a group and I'm looking forward to doing research for the next N years (and hopefully I'll at least not hate research when this is all said and done).

Woo grad school!

Moved In!

I'm now out in the Pacific Northwest! I've been here a little over a week, and it's only rained two or three times so far, though I'm getting ready for the next 8 or 9 months of not seeing the sun anymore...

US Open!

I attended my first ever Grand Slam this past weekend, and it was definitely really exciting. I had tickets to see the night session in Arthur Ashe this past Saturday, and I was excited to have Federer's match against Mannarino. However, I was not excited to see Wozniacki vs. Giorgi, because Wozniacki is not really a top-tier player.

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I had a really nice seat in the loge level, which is the second level right above the luxury boxes (and almost directly above one of those long screens), which I purchased through the ticket exchange from a subscriber (and given how much an individual session costs per ticket, I couldn't imagine ponying up the money for an entire loge box-6 seats-would cost for the entire tournament).

"I Miss You"

Emotions are tricky business, because we react differently to the same situation; because we have different values brought about by our upbringing. We've been conditioned to say certain things in certain situations, saying our goodbyes (and the occasional "I'll miss you") before parting ways and our greetings (usually with "I've missed you") upon meeting again.

I've spent my life saying "I'll miss you" before shortly falling out of touch, losing tabs on other people that I had spent time with. I've been conditioned to be almost indifferent on the inside, to always accept moving on from the past and look towards the future, because that's what we can change.

This separation never really pulls on my emotions; my heart. I had never really understood how separation can sometimes cause people anguish and anxiety. Previously it had just been a handshake or hug and a goodbye, and then maybe I'll run into them again in a few years and we'll chat and catch up a little bit before parting ways. Never a tear shed, rarely a moment of thought of what could have been, what should have been done.

But this time is different; I have felt the pains of separation and the pulls on the heartstrings. I've discovered that you can miss someone so much that it actually hurts; that causes tears to freely flow. It's the most emotion that I can remember feeling at one time, and it showed me what it really is like to be human. Sometimes life really sucks, but this time there is so much more to "I miss you" and "I can't wait to see you again", even if I don't know when we'll next meet.

Chinese Fashion...Or The Lack Thereof

Chinese people are very peculiar about their fashion. Sometimes they are very well-dressed, but on the other hand some people make very questionable decisions.

-A lot of people like to wear polo shirts-definitely a like, because I tend to like to wear them too.

-Crocs are ridiculously popular. It's really kind of hilarious to see how many people here wander around in crocs. I don't see the appeal of wearing crocs, but there are stranger things that people have deemed "cool".

-Platform (insert footwear here) is popular among a good handful of women. I'm not sure you look that cool when your feet are about three inches off the ground.

-A disproportionate number of men (compared to most any other country I've visited) like to expose their stomachs in public, whether it be unbuttoning their shirts, not wearing a shirt, or pulling their shirt up so it sits on top of their stomachs. Couple that with little exercise and the acceptance that it's alright to be a little fat, it's not a very pretty sight

-Some people just don't dress smart, like the ladies who wear heels while climbing the Great Wall. Sometimes I don't think people think about what they're going to do that day when they dress...

Chinese Classical Music Audiences Suck

When I go to a classical music concert, I go to see the performance, and I'm usually not pleased with the audience. It seems that half the audience is sick and the other half is unwrapping candy. I can usually ignore it and enjoy the performance, but when I went to a concert in Beijing a couple of weeks ago, the audience was the worst I had ever seen.

The audience looked like it just came from a game of basketball or a nice nap. Many people were wearing their everyday clothes, while I fell it's appropriate to dress up a little bit and be presentable, instead of a t-shirt, shorts, and sandals or a tank-top and basketball shorts.

Also, Chinese people tend to not care about many things related to authority, so naturally many of them had their cell phones out and some of them were even taking pictures (and even a few with flash!). Of course I was not pleased.

Between pieces there was also a lot of introductions of the upcoming piece, which I feel is also not appropriate. I can understand that the Chinese audience may not be very educated about classical music, but put that in the program notes (or maybe even have a program...).

Note to self: don't do this again...

Food Is Amazing!

For me one of the highlights of being back in China is the food and eating all sorts of unique and wonderful treats. Granted this time I haven't eaten anything too adventurous yet, but I've still got two weeks left here. Also, I'm not sure about half the things I eat, because sometimes I'd rather not know what I've eaten. But the highlights:

-I'm fairly certain I've had curdled blood. I'm not entirely sure, but I think it showed up in a soup somewhere.

-Chinese snails are different than French snails. In France, the snails are usually somewhat large and picked out with a small fork. In China, especially in rural China, the snails are really small and you actually suck the snails out of their shells.

-白酒 (white liquor). That stuff is really strong and has been described as the combination of gasoline and alcohol, which is not entirely inaccurate. It's pretty difficult to drink the first time around, but it kind of grows on you, even with it's strong finish. It seems that it doesn't go to your head quite as much as other drinks, though it might be because I've only had it with meals.

-Pig ears/tails/etc. are very common, so it's nothing really too exotic, and same for jellyfish.

-Duck head was very interesting. It's not very meaty, and it's a little hard to pick around it if you're trying to avoid any part of it in particular.

-Right now I'm in 湖南 (Hunan) province and there are peppers everywhere and it's pretty awesome.

-Frogs legs, though they taste like any other meat...

-Red dragonfruit, while it tastes like regular (white) dragonfruit, is incredibly rare (and looks bloody if you get it all over your face...)

Going to a restaurant in China is also a much different experience. In a restaurant in China, the wait staff is there to serve you, and they really do-you can ask most anything of them (especially at good restaurants and restaurants where you can get a private room). For example, when they bring out a big bowl of noodles for the table, you can ask them to portion it out for you.

Travelling outside the country is also nice because airlines serve food. It's not really a huge perk, but it's a nice plus. For a 90-minute flight, we got a hot lunch of rice, beef, and veggies that is larger than a meal you'll see on an international flight on a major American carrier.

Driving in China

Rule 1: Anything relating to traffic regulation is only a guideline
Rule 2: The driver/biker/pedestrian with the biggest balls has the right of way in any
Rule 3: Don't hit a cop

这《biang》字我的电脑发不了

说几次就学好了，有58字画：

一点飞上天，黄河两道弯，八字大张口，言字往里走；左一扭，右一扭；左一长，右一长；中间夹个马大王。心字底，月字旁，留个钩搭掛麻糖，推个车车逛咸阳。

这《biang biang 面》是陕西特色的面条。面条又宽又长，做好加辣酱。

Back To The Motherland!

Sometimes I Just Don't Understand People...

...but I guess I don't spend any time trying to understand them...

This Song Is Kind of Stuck In My Head...

A Chinese Virtue Is Now the Law

...or so goes the title of a New York Times piece about a week ago.

I find it an interesting reflection upon China's ever-changing structure, as the country becomes more urbanized and less dependent on the rural lifestyle of even a couple generations ago. Tradition is giving way to new ideas and a more modern mentality (except for food, which seems to be one of the few things that isn't changing anytime soon).

Too Much Clutter

I hate it when there's too much on my mind, especially late at night when I'm trying to sleep. My mind needs to be cleared before I sleep, or else I end up with stories like a few posts below...some things are just too hard to shake easily.

Happy (Belated) 4th!

This past July 4th was the first time I had been home for the 4th since high school, and the first time I had gone to see fireworks. We have a really great show here, an all-volunteer set-up that puts on a spectacular show that's choreographed to music.

 

Of course that's just the end, where they shoot off a ridiculous amount of fireworks. Thanks to Tom and Raveen for getting me a VIP viewing ticket!

Also, no proper 4th of July is celebrated without a funnel cake!

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Typical Pointy-Haired Boss

While growing up I read a lot of Dilbert comics-at one point I had read every strip created. I've always enjoyed the engineers poking fun at everyone else and their slightly sadistic sense of humor.

"Who Do You Think You Are?"

It's early evening, and he's returning from a nice run through the lower hills and is only a few blocks from his apartment. As he approaches an intersection, something catches his eye. He looks across the street to his left, and what he sees shocks him beyond belief. An older man draws out a gun, a 9mm pistol, and points it to someone standing near. He gasps as he recognizes his target-one of his closer friends. He sees through his friend's eyes into his soon-to-be-lifeless soul. His friend does not return his gaze, instead piercing his steely gaze into that of his assailant. In that moment time comes to a still.

Rainy With a Chance of Sunshine

Sometimes you write out something and realize you put too much of yourself into it. You let everyone in while you're trying to keep them out. Mistakes are sometimes unavoidable, but you have to learn from them.

Sorry.

Navigating an Intersection in Central Stockholm

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Sweden, like a good handful of European countries, is generally pretty bike-friendly, pedestrian-friendly, and has good public transport. To outsiders, the intersection might look like a jumbled mess of everyone going everywhere, but within the chaos there's dictated organization. It took me a few minutes of watching to completely figure out what's going on at this intersection. Some interesting things showed up, though. If you wanted to get from the left side of the picture to the bottom (by car), you had to go through the intersection and then take a left turn around the building in the top right to end up at the top of the intersection.

I did forget to draw a green arrow from the buses up top to the bottom (and I misspelled buses in the picture...). I'm too lazy to change it, but I'm sure you get the idea :)

Scandinavia: Snap Judgements

Internet has been really spotty out here and the connections are pretty sporadic, but here it goes.

So far I've been here almost five days, and it's been a good bit of time.

Stockholm:
-The people are really nice (and helpful as well, which is really awesome).
-Also, almost everyone knows Swedish and English. Most people seem to know a third language as well (about as well as we study a secondary language in the States).
-The city is really bike-friendly. There are bike lanes along most roads and intersections.
-Things seem a little expensive here, but I'm not a very good judge of what Swedes consider expensive
-I've had a ridiculous amount of smokes salmon and meats, though from I've heard that's not an everyday occasion
-The city itself is really beautiful and public transit works
Edit: The girls here are also very beautiful ;)

Helsinki:
-A ridiculous number of people smoke here, especially in places where there are "no smoking" signs.
-The city tends to smell really bad. Even after it rains, it doesn't have that characteristic clean smell. It still smells like crap all the time.
-The layout of the city is really organized and looks really nice.

I'd definitely have to say Stockholm is the better city :P Granted, I only spent one day in Helsinki and most of the rest of the time was spent in Stockholm.

Saying Goodbye

It's never easy to say goodbye; it tugs on the heartstrings like no other. It's the connections we value; that which makes the experiences special.

Life is full of many goodbyes, but it doesn't get easier with time. It almost seems harder to part ways these days. As we grow, we are better able to make connections.

It's time for another goodbye. Goodbye, Tech; at least for now.

I Don't Usually Do This...

...means you are exploitable and weak.

Saying that makes it seem like you're trying to cover your tracks; that you have something to hide. You're trying to make yourself look better because you "usually" don't do something, but the fact that you are making an exception means you are doing something, which makes you just as good as someone who does it anyways.

Four Years

[Note: This is more or less going to be a stream of conscious post. No edits/revisions/proofreading, except for mis-spellings-otherwise I feel it makes the feelings less organic]

On the motivation levels of undergraduate students:

"...if we haven't beaten it out of them already"

Someone who I greatly admire told me this recently. It seems to be a common sentiment among us undergrads. When we arrive as freshman, it seems like we are destined to do great things, to go and change the world. Many of us were the crown jewels of our high schools, to be paraded around by those who knew us.

Capitol Steps! Year 4!

A couple weekends ago I went to see Capitol Steps for the last time as an undergraduate, and I'd have to say it was the best performance yet. It seemed that this year there were more new songs, and the old ones generally had new spins to them. It's also a good sign that the show is good when the performers are laughing so hard that they have to pause during the middle of a song. I'd definitely recommend anyone who keeps up with news and political scandals go watch Capitol Steps at some point, since their news is much better than any you can get from a news agency. Visit them at www.capsteps.com!

Oblivion

This past weekend was the first time I had seen a movie in theaters since Fantastic Four (2005) and that one mistake of an M Night Shamylamamamalan movie Lady in the Water (2006), and I'd have to say Oblivion wasn't half bad. I'd have to say the plot was at least compelling, but there were definitely some things that were a little creepy. You almost wonder how the agents never ran into each other more than once (how do you not notice these huge things floating around the planet?), and how certain memories still exist after "memory wipes". Granted, I don't remember too much from the film anymore, but it was definitely nice to get into a theater again for the first time in forever.

Beef Stock - Roasting or No Roasting?

Lately, since I've had a ridiculous amount of free time, I've been making my own stock for noodle soup. I've heard from here and there that roasting the neck bones (and meat) makes a difference in the flavor of the stock, but I haven't noticed any difference. The only different I've seen is that not roasting leads to a more clear soup that solidifies at higher temperatures. The two basically seem to taste the same in my opinion.

Perhaps I need to find some other more productive things to do outside of eating...

Apparently I'm Slow

Last week I learned I'm slower than Mantei Teo, which is a very sad thing. Granted, I also don't resemble a football player.

BRB

Getting owned :(

Help Me Understand Something...

I've played tennis since I was in middle school, and one thing I've never understood why professional women players need to shriek when they play. Growing up, I've never heard anyone I've played tennis with grunt or shriek on a regular basis. It's really annoying and seems to take a lot away from the game. It seems to be a tactic used to distract an opponent and mask the sound of the racket striking the ball (which gives a good indication of how the ball will travel). Shrieking just seems like bad sportsmanship and something that is very immature for players that I feel couldn't really win without this atrocity.

SoCal is Weak

I live in SoCal now, but I grew up in the NE, so this really cracks me up. Everyone around me freaks out when it gets "cold" (or when it "rains"). 60 degrees is perfectly warm enough for a t-shirt and shorts...

Overlooking the Ocean

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How Airlines Keep Their Best Customers (and Flying on the Dreamliner!)

On my most recent journey back to California I flew first class for the first time. I received a free upgrade to first class and I can now see how airlines can retain their elite fliers. After my small regional flight I had two flights on first class: PHL->IAH->LAX.