Hannah Montana ... in my head ... Make it stop!

BC commencement speaker

For those of you who remember well my (and others, I might add) tirade against the choice of Antonio Villaraigosa speak at the USC commencement two years ago, you will be glad to know that, while I am not entirely mollified, Boston College has chosen a much better, more renowned speaker for its 2008 commencement -- David McCullough. At least the guy didn't have to just walk down from city hall to speak. McCullough has some oomph. And hopefully will not have an extramarital affair with a TV reporter one year after he speaks.

I've actually have already heard McCullough speak -- interestingly, at USC, when he was promoting 1776 (I think). In any case, he's a great speaker. Engaging, intelligent. Will not stand on a political soapbox. Besides, he's a history guy.

But we won't tell him that I've been working on finishing his "John Adams" since second semester freshman year. There is progress. Just incrementally.

cute shoes

Just got these amazing green plaid shoes in the mail from Overstock.com. SO cute. Needs breaking in ... but don't all shoes? These will make me AT LEAST 5'6.

saddest Onion article

Wow. I don't read The Onion all that often, but this one, courtesy of Raf, is the saddest "funny" article yet. :(

Daddy Put In Bye-Bye Box

books.

As most of you know, I am a reader. Have been since elementary school, when I would hide under the covers and read every Babysitter's Club, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys and Boxcar Children book. Every one. I love reading, and I keep an active wishlist on Amazon that is basically my lifetime reading list. I tend to read several books at once as my attention span and patience only goes so far. Now, that is not to say that I haven't read books continuously, all the way through. I have. The most recent example is "In the Heart of the Sea," by Nathaniel Philbrick. But I think we've talked about that book already. Another one that we talked about was "The Dead Beat," about obituaries.

So this is what I am currently reading, in no particular order.

* "Three Cups of Tea" -- reading this as part of the Community Seminar at the school where I am student-teaching.

* "Undaunted Courage" -- to gain insight into the Lewis and Clark expedition, which I was planning to teach, but my cooperating teacher taught instead.

* "Flags of Our Fathers" -- borrowed from the social studies department for lack of books to entertain me

* "London: A Biography" -- very good book told from interesting perspectives. A work in progress. Very long.

* "Holocaust" -- by Martin Gilbert. very good. very long.

* "Harry Potter" -- don't remember which one. The fourth? It's by my bed.

* "The People's History of the United States" -- now more than ever, supplementary material for lesson plans

Those are the books I've most recently cracked open. This doesn't include the books back in South Carolina, on the shelves, waiting to be finished. Including David McCullough's "John Adams," which I started reading six years ago, freshman year. I'm about 2/3 of the way through that one. There is an HBO mini-series based on that book right now. So it's been that long.

I LOVE this song.

SO romantic.

(in a sappy mood)

What American accent do YOU have?

So I was searching for an online site to give Web quizzes (Survey Monkey? QuizYourFriend?) for my students, and I stumbled upon this little gem.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland   "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The Inland North
The South
The West
The Northeast
Philadelphia
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

chocolate love

Stolen from J. Christina. But just had to share with others.

February break 2008 reflected

I liked this break. I needed it. And now, on the Sunday before school starts again and I face the teenagers again, I feel like I'm ready to go back. I've seen and experienced new things. I've re-energized myself and I feel refreshed.

I did a little recreational reading -- always good for the body and mind -- and relaxed. Caught up on sleep. Had time to get out! It was good.

Back to London (or London 2008) post 4

In the end, I'm glad I lived dangerously and made a trip back to London. I saw some sights that I didn't know were important or noteworthy, but after two classes in British history, I saw the error of my ways and saw things more clearly and with more appreciation this time around. I walked around Brick Lane, I saw Whitechapel in a different light. I watched British TV, which I didn't have before. So it was a good trip. Enlightening, exhilarating and refreshing. Wanderlust sated.

Back to London (or London 2008) post 3

I wrote the following on the plane. I knew it was going to snow heavily on Friday, when I was supposed to land in Boston, so I was anticipating a delay, but there wasn't. But the troubles began on route, around Nova Scotia/Maine, when the captain first mentioned that there was snow in Boston. So this is what I wrote toward the end of the plane ride. Note that we were supposed to arrive in Boston around 5:20 p.m.

***

Friday, 5:25 Eastern

Captain has been announcing that there is very little visibility (1/2 mile) in Boston and that we are being held at a location about 30 minutes north of the city and are in line to land because there is quite a line. Now, the captain has announced that Boston Logan is closed and we are first in line to land when it opens. We are now waiting for the airport to close. We are supposed to be on the ground right now. He said that we have "plenty of time" to wait -- I'm guessing he's referring to fuel -- but I'm sure there are people who are making connections and whatnot, so this does not bode well for them. On the other hand, the airport is closed right now, so no planes are going or leaving. Fun times. On the other hand, it's at least good that we're in the air, not in London, where we would've been stuck until god knows how long. On the other hand, under what circumstances would we need to divert to another airport so that we won't run out of fuel? I mean, we've been in the air for about eight hours now. Turning off laptop and continue to read "Undaunted Courage" by Stephen Ambrose. I can feel that plane descending. Good sign? 5:32 Eastern.

Back to London (or London 2008) post 2

First of all, Virgin Atlantic is amazing. The flight attendants were friendly. We had a choice of wines for dinner (even in economy) free of charge. They gave out these flight packets that had an eye mask, socks, toothbrush and toothpaste. Its safety procedures video is actually a little cartoon animation, so it was fun. I'm not sure whether it'll be fun after the initial newness wears off, but it was cool. Customs went smoothly, as did the journey to the hotel. I had been debating whether to go directly to Leicester Square from the airport because I wasn't sure I had enough time to make it to the hotel, which was in Bayswater, in time to also make it to the TKTS booth to buy some rush tickets for that night (Wednesday). I actually got there in time to buy and eat breakfast. And the line wasn't that long anyway, seeing as how it was around freezing. But I won't bore you with details. I'll attempt to tell the story with photos and videos. I actually took a few video clips, but there is no sound. But it should tell the story just fine.


* So this is how far consumerism has gone. There is an iPod vending machine at the international terminal at Logan Airport. It's crazy. I think there was a guy who was actually buying things.


* Ruins of the London Wall that used to surround the city. One of the many things on my list of things to see that I didn't get to the last time around.


* I've also been wanting to get a photos of just how far that "gap" is at Bank, which has a curved platform, so the gap is definitely more noticeable and scarier. Note where the doors (red) are.


* Also stood in queue for cheap theater tickets. Saw Gilbert and Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance." Very funny, even though I felt asleep. It was the night I got in town. I was exhausted.


* Also wanted to see Monument, the memorial to the Great Fire of 1666. I didn't know what the "monument' was for the last time I was there until it was too late. But this time, it was closed until next year because of restoration work. But I saw this plaque.

I also saw Sarah Chang in concert, where she played Shostakovich's first violin concerto. There were so many Koreans at the concert that night. But she was really good, especially in the scherzo and passacaglia. Anyway, lots of curtain calls. Afterward, she signed copies of her new CD and also some programs. I don't have good pictures from the concert. Just a video of the curtain call.

Back to London (or London 2008) post 1

So, on a whim, I bought plane tickets to London. Now, let me qualify. There wasn't a need to "get away" from "someone." Or "something." Recently, I've been feeling claustrophobic. I needed to get out of the country. Fulfill my wanderlust and see what's out there. So Montreal happened. But even after booking Montreal hotel rooms, I still felt restless. I began to look for plane tickets. Anywhere that I would be able to make a case to the parents, even though they did say (when I finally told them about said wanderlust) that I'm too old for them to tell me what to do. (YES! dance with joy. There IS life out there.)

I had in mind a few places. A cruise, perhaps, to the Bahamas? Sydney, Australia? New Zealand? In the end, I checked prices for a cruise (nothing. well, it IS the winter) and Sydney ($3,000 for just the flight! well, it is summer there.) I also checked flights for London. I've been wanting to return, and if the price is right, it seems like this might be as good a time as any. It's not bad. I found plane tickets on Virgin Atlantic on Student Universe for less than what I paid two and a half years ago, and back then, I bought those tickets literally three months in advance. This time, I got it a week and a half before the flight. So it's really happening. Hotel costs actually isn't bad at all. I found a hotel from STA Travel that, for two nights, costs less than what some hotels charge for one. So I will leave Boston on Feb. 19, arrive in London at 7:15 a.m. Wednesday and leave London around 2:40 on Friday.

Montreal photos/video -- Montreal!

* this is part of the Montreal skyline on the way out of the city. Didn't make it to Mount Royal.


* Complexe Desjardins, part of the underground city that's basically a huge mall, where the hotel was.


* a real, live porcupine! at the Biodome, where the Montreal Olympic park is converted into four ecosystems.

* video of real penguins! swimming! at the Biodome!


* Notre Dame Basilica. Really crazy, huh? Too bad they made us sit through 30 minutes of pointless, bad acting in the guise of informational video/light show.

Montreal trip photos -- Burlington, VT

Went to Montreal Saturday and Sunday. Stopped at Burlington, VT, for lunch on the way up. The SURPRISE was that I didn't know Lake Champlain was RIGHT THERE even though my cooperating teacher mentioned in a class that he learned to scuba dive in Lake Champlain in college. It was GORGEOUS. So clear, pristine. Anyway. Pictures.

It ain't in PA

I saw this on one of my flights hither and yonder this past year and just now scanned it in. This is from the US Airways in-flight magazine for September 2007. Note where they put the pin for Syracuse, NY. It not only illustrates the need to know geography, but a need for COPY EDITORS. Hurrah. Click to enlarge.

new drinking game!

Every time anyone on CNN says "the best political team on television," take a shot. Every time Wolf Blitzer says it, two shots. Play this on any election night, and you'll get wasted by the time all the votes are counted.

Slate magazine agrees with me that this little slogan of CNN's is ridiculous.

so here's something creepy ...

and really coincidental ...

A mere three hours ago or so I was reading a story in the San Francisco Chronicle about the debate raging over the Associated Press' pre-written obit for Britney Spears. Now, a lot of newspapers pre-write obits; this is no secret. But most write them for old people of renown in the region or nation, whatever the coverage area is. You get the idea. VERY FEW -- and I would say almost none -- write obits for really young people. But apparently the AP feels there is a need to be prepared as it was NOT when Anna Nicole Smith died.

Generally, I think it's a good call to be prepared no matter who you're obitting (is that a word?), but I also have concerns about how you would go about choosing "disturbed celebrities" who might die. By pre-writing their obits, is the paper pegging the person as a danger to oneself or others? Would that lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy?

This is the story about the raging debate:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/01/22/MNM2UILKO.DTL

In any case, what's creepy is that three hours after I read that story about the big debate about the Britney obit, I read that Heath Ledger had died at age 28.

This is the obit: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-na-ledger23jan23,0,2214665.story?coll=la-home-center

painting

I feel an urge to paint. I think I'm going to start painting this week. Acrylics on canvas, probably. Abstract, most likely. Just dabbing on paint as the mood fits me. These urges to paint/draw come and go, and I haven't had one since London, when I bought a sketch book. But it is time to go back.

Barack Obama meets SF Chron editorial board

So I've tried to avoid bringing politics to my blog, but I think this one is interesting because this is the first time I've come across video of a meeting between an editorial board and a 2008 presidential candidate. I know that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama met with the Des Moines Register board before its endorsement, but I didn't see a video of it. In any case, I'm not saying that there aren't video of other editorial board meetings with candidates; this is the first one I've personally come across. And I don't know why I put in so many qualifiers just now.

Members of the San Francisco Chronicle editorial board met Obama the Thursday before the Nevada caucuses. They talked about experience, policy, "internal fortitude," race relations in the United States, etc. The sound is a bit low because the board didn't have mics; it's about 50 minutes. (And I don't know how to resize that video player.)

Sarkozy to wed Bruni

So The Associated Press is reporting that French President Sarkozy (is he a modelizer?) is engaged to be married to his girlfriend Carla Bruni next month. They've been dating for only about a month. Isn't it a bit soon? And he just get divorced? I'm not raising this question in terms of morality -- I'm raising this question in terms of practicality -- shouldn't they see each other more before they decide? Anyway. I have my doubts. And his approval ratings are dropping as the economic situation decreases. Link to Le Journal du Dimanche's story.

[EDIT: I embedded the links because they ran off the page.]

grammar is important!

Holy geez. There is more here: http://www.themishmash.com/2008/01/flunked-signs-y.html

my very first vote!

I cast my very first vote (ever!) today. It was for the South Carolina Democratic primary. yay! I should've gotten them to make a copy of it for me. So exciting!

2008!

Happy 2008, everyone!

New year resolutions:

1. Keep a daily journal of: things I ate, things to do and things I bought. Hopefully this will help me eat healthier, procrastinate less and control spending. I need specific goals and expectations.

2. graduate with a master's degree.

3. pass the MTEL and MELA-O test

4. find a long-term job so I will no longer be just an intern

Four goals. Very simple. And very achievable. :)

let's review! resolutions 2006!

So I was reading these resolutions, and I found it hard to believe that I actually wrote them. The prose doesn't sound like mine, yet these all make sense, so a little gnome hadn't been writing it for me. So there you go. Let's do a quick review, shall we?

1. Eat more vegetables.
OK. This happened. Kinda.
2. To aid the first resolution, I bought a cookbook so I can make new foods.
I don't know what cookbook that was. But I do have another one, and I've been trying things out of that.
3. Write papers and finish projects AT LEAST one day in advance.
PFFFFT. Yeah, right.
4. Shred all papers with sensitive information.
Yup. Although I probably don't do it as often as I should.
5. As a result of No. 3, I will get better grades.
eh. the spring semester was good, but the fall was just OK.
6. Learn how to vibrato on my cello.
That kinda happened. I played "Allegro" on my cello with vibrato at the spring concert, but my new cello teacher and I didn't continue with that.
7. Play a real piece on the cello.
I'm on my way. Almost done with Suzuki Book 1!
8. Motivate thyself to do as you plan. For example, tonight, because of my crappy day, I just wanted to go home and sleep. What did I do? I checked the news, replied to e-mail, made guacamole and called James. And decided to write my resolutions after reading Albert's on Facebook, the death knell to all tasks productive.
Yeah ... I still get depressed and decide to sleep it off or something similar.
9. Pass the MTEL.
I actually completely forgot about the MTEL until this fall. So it obviously didn't happen.
10. Pass other qualifying exams needed to get out of grad school by next spring other than the inquiry paper.
I trained for the MELA-O, but I don't have the results of my exam yet.

this is me right now.

I got it from here: http://www.campusgrotto.com/the-all-nighter.html

the mid-week report

I am officially behind schedule. I blame Ted and his amusing antics. But seriously, though, this is not good. I spent waaaay too much time on the "learning from students" assignment. There was no page minimum or maximum, but the "model" paper the prof. gave us was five pages. Mine is seven.

Anyway, the next thing on the list is the oral history project, which I've been putting off since I actually completed the interviews, which was a feat in itself seeing as how avoiding having to interview people is one reason I got out of reporting in the first place. But I digress. A few moments ago, in a case of brain fart, I thought I could actually pull this off and finish my awesome unit plan Thursday night/all day Friday ... but it dawned on me that NO. It MUST be done Thursday because I have to go to school on Friday. So that's that.

Beyonce has hit a new low

Now, let me just say that I like Beyonce just fine. I liked her much better when she was in Destiny's Child, but she's still OK in my book. With that said, what the hell is she doing shilling for DirecTV!?

Whatever her old low was, this was below that. This HD DirecTV commercial is so bad. The worst part is in the beginning when she bends down and says "and let me upgrade YOU to the best channels in HD." What is that supposed to even mean?! And the "upgrade" necklace? Shudder.

Roomba!

I LOVE Roombas. And I've been wanting one for at least a year. I got my mom a Roomba. And now I have a Roomba.

Everyone, meet Ted.

Look at Ted go!

this is it. this is the decision. and I still don't know.

answer needed by tomorrow. drafted acceptance letter. too scared, too undecided, too unsure to send it.

semi-annual things to do

It's that time of year again ... crunch time! And here is a list I just wrote and posted to my wall of assignments or projects I need to complete on or before Wednesday, Dec. 12, with a few exceptions.

* 10-day history unit plan (general outline completed)
* oral history project (interviews conducted)
* learning from students (interviews conducted)
* SIT summary (seminar attended)
* focused observation (a little screwed there)
* MELA-O certification observation No. 1
* MELA-O certification observation No. 2
* history final essay drafts
* finish reading for history
* buy thank-you plant (Thursday)
* Christmas presents (not sure when that's going to happen)
* journal No. 9 -- focused observation summary
* journal No. 10 -- pre-prac experience eval
* organize portfolio
* thank you note for MELA-O coordinator
* Christmas cards????

I'd like to think that it just LOOKS bad. :/

photos from Miami -- Manatee mailboxes

While in Miami, I took a jaunt to Key West. On the way there, I stopped by Sombrero Beach. The windy road that led up to it was lined with expensive-looking beach houses -- and several of them had these awesome mailboxes. I took some photos on the way back. :D

Yorkshire pudding party!

Some time last week, I made Yorkshire puddings because I've been craving it. It's simple, really. Some milk, eggs, flour and salt. Mix it all together. Let it sit for an hour. Bake in super-hot muffin pan with hot oil. The Brits eat it with gravy with their Sunday roast, but I drizzled it with honey. Yum. And this is one of the reasons why I switched back to Blogger. I have photos!

I'm back!

Back to Blogger. Spent the last two hours manually transferring my posts from WordPress. Hopefully I can post photos properly now.

another kink in the ball of yarn

or some idiom like that.

I got a call Monday afternoon as I was peacefully napping in preparation for my paper extravaganza (which is what I should be doing right now ... I'm almost halfway there!). It is the Boston Globe, telling me that they would like to interview me. When would I be available for two rounds of interviews with three different people? This is the moment I have been waiting for for so long. I've applied to the Globe two years before to no success, so I should be jubilant, right? But this just throws another wrench into the LIFE CRISIS.

life. CRISIS.

I am going through a minor life crisis right now that will culminate in a MAJOR LIFE CRISIS in March. I can't go into too much detail right now because I have a crapload of stuff to do (including worrying about said life crises), but it is about my fork in the road and the way I screwed myself over despite specific attempts not to. I might have burned one or two bridges with more to come. But I'll have to elaborate later. Just wanted to let you all know that I have been in emotional and personal turmoil daily for the past week.

test photo

Top Gear -- a tiny, tiny car!

So "Top Gear" is one of my favorite shows. It's three British guys talking about cars and test-driving cars -- old, new, cheap, expensive (mostly expensive) -- they race them, they build them, they re-build them. They invite celebrities to come and drive around their racetrack and get timed and get their times listed on the celebrities board. It's pretty awesome. This is a segment from it.

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=HYtro7PnBA8]

this little girl is too cute! (and "Britain's Got Talent")

So I've been watching old American Idol clips on YouTube, and this little gem popped up on the sidebar. Connie Talbot, a 6-year-old, totally impressed Simon Cowell on "Britain's Got Talent" when she sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." He said she was "pitch perfect." And anyway, there's Ant and Dec, who are pretty famous in Britain. Imagine competing against a 6-year-old. I've known there was a "Britain's Got Talent," but I've never looked into it, and it seems like that was a mistake on my part. Paul Potts, the guy who eventually won, sang operas and was pretty good. He's got amazing, but he's not bad. Videos!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWNoiVrJDsE]

In the semi-finals:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWyile34-Hg]

In the finals:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7Uhgm5Ox9Q]

The competition, Paul Potts, singing "Nessun Dorma:"
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k08yxu57NA&mode=related&search=]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_5W4t_CBzg]

Stephen Colbert takes over for Maureen Dowd

Stephen Colbert of the Colbert Report -- and fellow South Carolinian (woo!) wrote an op-ed column for Maureen Dowd this week. Even though I'm not a big fan of his show, the column is pretty amusing. This is my favorite bit:

Second, winning the Nobel Prize does not automatically qualify you to be commander in chief. I think George Bush has proved definitively that to be president, you don’t need to care about science, literature or peace.

story of a failure on Japan's welfare system

This story is from The New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/12/world/asia/12japan.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

A man who starved to death after his town's welfare system cut him off from benefits was found in his home. He dreamed of eating rice balls. His last diary entry read: “My belly’s empty. I want to eat a rice ball. I haven’t eaten rice in 25 days.” His town, Kitakyushu, has a welfare system that was touted to be the model, but this man's story was not the first. Two others preceded him in the last three years.

Read the second page, where the reporter wrote the neighbors' reactions. This one jumped out:
“He may have starved to death, but I believe he reaped what he sowed,” Mr. Kita said. “He was still young, so he could have taken on any job to feed himself.”

Mr. Kita — who had once seen corpses in his job as a general contractor — had guessed from the stench that his neighbor had died. He had watched swallows fly out of the broken house with greenbottle flies in their beaks.

ketchup fried rice

So this might SOUND disgusting and weird, but it is REALLY good and very simple to make. My mom made this a couple of times, and I've made it several times. It's filling, especially if you add stuff to it. I like corn. You might prefer shrimp or pork or something.

Ketchup Fried Rice
INGREDIENTS:
cooked rice
ketchup
salt
pepper
oil
optional: canned sweet corn, shrimp or a meat of your choice

PROCEDURE:
* Cook the rice according to instructions or taste. I, being Asian, use a rice cooker. Make enough for however many people you're feeding. Leftovers are great even the next day.
* In a hot skillet or saucepan -- this works best in a nonstick pan -- drizzle about 2 tablespoons of oil and wait for it to heat up
* Add your rice. If you have a lot of rice, add it gradually.
* stir around so if doesn't burn, but I like a little crunchiness
* squeeze a liberal amount of ketchup over the rice, until it turns orange-pink
* taste. add more ketchup if needed
* add your extra ingredient. If you're using raw seafood or meat, I suggest pre-cooking it
* add salt and pepper to taste

That's it!

Novak Djokovic -- player impressions

So the world No. 3 tennis player Novak Djokovic (Joe-koh-vich) imitates other players on the tour. It's hilarious. The thing is, he's a great tennis player, to boot.

at U.S. Open, Maria Sharapova, Rafael Nadal:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKj4PdWrK-o]

U.S. Open, Sharapova:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guvyjrmNJP8]

Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt, Nadal:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR9pj6Op_KU]

first Woot! -- a Roomba!

I successfully bought my first Woot! product today, and it's the infamous (famous? notorious?) Roomba! I've been wanting a Roomba for awhile, but it seems that they always offer it when I'm broke. Well, no more! I can only afford one right now, so it's going to my parent's place. :D

It's an iRobot Roomba Discovery SE: http://www.woot.com/Blog/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryId=2939

Punctuation is powerful. (Please, remember the period.)

Saw this on Digg. As a copy editor, I had to post it. It's too true.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29921412@N00/354975371/

tennis and cello

so two funny (in different ways) stories:

First, I had my first tennis lesson last night since high school. It's free with my membership, so why not? Let me just say that I have really terrible reflexes, and I remember during one lesson in high school, I got hit by a ball three times. So this foray back into the impact sport world is a big step. Last night, we learned the forehand and backhand, and the teacher was tossing up balls to hit backhands. It's my turn, and I stepped up to the service line and waited for the ball. It bounced high. I reached out to get it. It hit me in the left eye. I saw stars. One large, white star followed by smaller, shiny stars. My eye is OK, but I had blurry vision for awhile. And I have a faint black eye, where my brow bone is, which is where it hit. But it was a tennis ball, so it really covered the entire eye.

Today was my first cello lesson of the semester, and since my old teacher went to Honolulu for a symphony job, there is a new teacher. I already knew that she got her master's from USC, and when the music director wrote in an e-mail that she's from South Carolina, I discounted it as a typo. Well, get this. It wasn't a typo. My new teacher's husband's father (her father-in-law), is the president of a local university in my town, and it is the same university where my high school yearbook adviser's husband is a provost. In fact, my cello teacher said, my adviser and her husband sent a wedding present. Crazy, huh?

Family Guys at the Emmys

I actually watched the Emmys on Sunday, and even though I'm not a big fan of "Family Guy," I really loved the opening act that Stewie and the dog did. Hilarious. Here it is, in case you missed it.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrzKyopCls4]

Vicente Fox: Bush was "cockiest guy I've ever met"

In his new book, former Mexican president Vicente Fox calls President Bush the "cockiest guy I've ever met" and says that Bush's Spanish was at grade-school level.

chongas

So in Miami, there is a -- how would I say it -- phenomenon called the chonga. A chonga, according to the Urban Dictionary, is:

A girl of Hispanic origin, usually between the ages of 12 and 19, but sometimes as young as 8. Primarily found in Miami (most famously, in Hialeah), the chonga is known for her cheap form of dress, a combination of the so-called gangsta look and that of a prostitute, but can vary between the two. She wears ridiculously large hoop earrings large enough to be bracelets, which are usually gold and have their name written in them, and diamond studs high up on her ears. ...

The definition goes on and on. I was introduced to this thing at the Herald, which apparently had a story about the girls (chongalicious-in-herald.pdf) who had a video on YouTube called "Chongalicious," a parody of Fergie's song. Apparently, these girls are not chongas themselves but are drama students at a local high school. Telemundo also did a rather long package on it. Other chongas (or not?) followed with their own videos.

This is the "Chongalicious" video:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVHdqmN7-XE]

And the Telemundo package:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcNrL_HRz0A]

Alex the crazy-smart parrot has died

Alex knew numbers up to 6 and can identify 50 objects and seven colors and shapes. Alex was awesome.

Here is Alex in action:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcLLk-r1aSs]

Leave Britney Alone! (and Boston)

I am back in Boston. I have been for the past week and a half. I've just been having some Internet issues. And I just haven't gotten around to it. Anyway. There will be more of Miami. But first, this YouTube video I saw on Digg. It's a Britney Spears fan's plea to just LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE! Enjoy.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHmvkRoEowc]

home

I'm home. After driving 13 hours on I-95 through two car accidents -- a car fire and a collision -- and torrential rains from Daytona Beach through Savannah, I am home. I've cleaned out my car and semi-organized my clips. I am leaving for Boston tomorrow because classes start at 9 a.m. on Tuesday. Should be fun.

more red!

more comments about the giant clock:

* "Next week I'm installing bigger, redder clock that says, ‘It's
bulldog time!!!'" Bulldog is the early Sunday edition.
* "Hey (insert person here), do you know what time it is? Because I can tell you!"

red-light district

The newsroom has been blessed with a new digital clock the width of 1 1/2 ceiling tiles that hangs over the copy desk and glows bright red. I mean, it's a good three feet, if not four, and it hangs about a foot from the ceiling. It's just a clock and nothing else -- in big, red numbers. It's so bright, in fact, that it has turned the cubicles under it red, and it is so big and conspicuous, in fact, that people cannot help but exclaim over it. Some excerpts:

* "Talk about working in a red-light district!"
* "10:00 never looked so bright."
* "It's 9 o'clock!" (or whatever time it happens to show)
* "Anyone know what time it is?"

The story behind the giant clock is that its predecessor was not synched to the computers, and we didn't know we were late because the clock was always 10 minutes behind. Now, THAT clock's predecessor was synched to the computers, but it broke. So now the paper has installed the new one, which is synched to the clock. Nobody, apparently, anticipated such a monstrosity of a clock.

Of course, it clock business had to happen the ONLY day I was late to work. I showed up after battling school traffic, walked in and made a snarky comment about the giant clock. Then, one of the copy eds looked up and said, "yup. It is 4:34." Crap. Four minutes late.

I have a picture of this clock, and I'll post it as soon as I figure out how to not make it poster-sized. :O

more sales, higher grade

Romenesko has a post about Naples High School journalism students who are required to sell ads for the school's yearbook. $600 sales get you an A and so on for that part of the class's total grade. There is outrage over this, and I agree -- because I had to do the exact same thing all three years of high school yearbook.

At South Florence High School, $750 get you an A for that part of the class's total grade. I only imagine that the require is higher now -- if it is still a requirement. It got to a point that those people who had connections and friends with money and could sell more "senior ads" and other company ads would help out the ones who couldn't meet the $750 requirement. It certainly brought together a lot of class corporation, but it also induced a lot of unneeded stress and animosity.

I can see why Naples High School did it because the yearbook is supported solely by ads, and using students to fill that financial need might be one way to go. But it shouldn't have to be that way.

review: The Food Gang underwhelming

So the coworkers and I went to The Food Gang in Miami (actually, Surfside) last Friday for lunch as part of the Miami Spice promotion for prix fixe meals at expensive/top/gourmet restaurants. Now like of a lot of people, I know The Food Gang from BravoTV's "Top Chef," which has the restaurant's executive chef, Howie.

The online menu read like this:
Starter:
Watermelon Tomatoes Gazpacho
Summer Homestead Salad
Grilled Calamari over Tomato Tartar

Entree:
Chicken Brie Panini Argula Aioli
Roasted Squab Wild Mushroom Quiche
Grilled Loin Salad

Dessert:
Raspberry Charlotte
Choc Hazelnut Torte
Basil Sorbet

First, the overall impression then the details, course by course. Frankly, I was underwhelmed by most fronts. The food was just OK for the most part, but the most disappointing was the dessert. The service was snooty and the decor uninspired and even a little tired.

Before the meal:
As I walked through one of the two front entrances, I was greeted by a mini-grocery store of high-end (over-priced) items of pasta, sauces and the like. The Food Gang's decor consisted mostly of simply painted walls with photos of Mediterranean foods, environs, etc. along two walls. The suede-y/corduroy chairs were extremely comfortable.

I broke my no-bread/no-pasta diet before I even knew it when I bit into the crusty bread with the impossibly soft center. Our server offered a pepper grind over the olive oil, but the bread was great by itself.

Starter:
I chose the Summer Homestead Salad, and it's not the restaurant's fault that I don't eat most of the dish's ingredients other than the lettuce: roasted red tomatoes, artichoke hearts, olives. The artichoke hearts was quite acidic, something I was not expecting at all. The olives gave the dressing an unmistakable furry-tongued texture that comes from olives. The salad is too oily (perhaps from the roasted red tomatoes?) and generally unappetizing. I couldn't bring myself to finish even the lettuce, let alone anything else.

I did sample the calamari, though, and it is heaven. The tubes of squid -- which I rarely see served in a restaurant in the U.S. -- was tender, succulent and cooked just right. It didn't have the tough, chewy texture that is indicative of an undercooked squid. I'm not a fan of the symmetrical dotting-the-corners-with-tennacles presentation, but the reddish, tomato-y/roast red peppery sauce smothering (with just the right amount) complements both tubes and tennacles well. The tartar (which is apparently just raw) of tomato (read: finely chopped tomatoes) was OK; it didn't add much to the squid. The Food Gang seems to be fans of tomatoes.

Entree:
For the entree, going along with my broken diet, I ordered the chicken panini, whose golden crust was crispy and slightly burned on the edges (I love it!). Although it lacked (in my opinion) the signature panini grill marks and the flattened bread, it was still delicious. The brie (my favorite cheese) was mildly pungent but smooth and creamy. The chicken breast is a bit dry, but the arugula aoili solved that problem and complemented the ingredients perfectly. The small pile of salad on the plate needed dressing, even if it is the oily concoction I ate for appetizer.

I tried the squab quiche, and it was amazing. I'm not sure if I like the taste of squab, but the egg in the quiche was impossibly fluffy and the crust layered and puffed to a golden crisp.

Dessert:
Let me just say that I was really looking forward to the raspberry Charlotte. Then, when I saw on the menu that they'd changed the dessert lineup, I was really excited about the mint sorbet (I am a fan of mint). But they didn't have that, either. I ended up choosing creme brulee.

The Food Gang messed up creme brulee. Creme brulee! How does a restaurant -- one that is supposedly high-quality -- screw up creme brulee? Let's start with the positive first. I cracked the torched sugar top with immense satisfaction -- crack, crack, crack. And that's it. That's where the positive ends. While, the custard was just sweet enough, it also came with a pool of water with every spoonful and was too jiggly. The Food Gang served watery creme brulee. I bought frozen creme brulee from Trader Joe's that had a better consistency. In fact, the creme brulee tin looked like the ones from the ones came with the Trader Joe's creme brulees. Hmm ...?

Philadelphia story

My flight back to Miami from Boston stops in Philadelphia, even though it is the same flight number. Theoretically, I could opt to stay on the plane the entire way and wait for the next group of Flight 763, bound for Miami, arrives. So we arrive at the Philadelphia International Airport on time (a miracle), and I stay put in my 7D seat while everyone else deplanes. Then came the announcement that the plane is now heading to San Francisco, and everyone bound for Miami on Flight 763 would need it leave. So the three or so of us left.

I took the hour-long layover to eat a Philly cheesesteak (only half the bread because I'm on a low-carb, no soda, no high-fructose syrup diet). I mean, how can you NOT go to Philly and eat a Philly cheesesteak? I have to say, though, that it was the worst cheesesteak I've had, probably ever. At gate C31, we were told by the gate agents that if we haven't checked in with the counter in the last hour, please do it to make sure our seats are still held for you because they oversold the plane by 25 seats, which means that the agents are also looking for volunteers to give up their seats, or they will involuntarily bump people off. So there was, of course, a mad rush for the counter, but luckily my seat was still there. But why be bumped off when I can score free roundtrip tickets to Los Angeles for the USC homecoming? I totally jumped at the chance to get the seats for a 12:15 p.m. departure for a 3 p.m. arrival in Miami. No biggie. Simple.

To cut a long story short, I arrived at my new gate to nap because my flight from Boston left at 6:30 a.m. Very little sleep. By the way, PHL … the most comfortable seats ever. Mid-nap, I hear an announcement (very effective PA system, PHL) that the flight is delayed until 1 p.m. because the plane we were waiting for doesn't actually arrive until 12:25 p.m. … that's right … AFTER our departure time. WTF? Who planned this thing? It didn't make any sense at all, and the cuss-filled grumblings of my seatmate didn't help. I continued my sleep, and as chaotic as the delay was, I had to say that the gate agents did keep up well-informed of the plane's progress (it's here, they're deplaning, they're cleaning and restocking, etc.) … something that my seatmate was definitely not appreciating enough.

Around 12:45, the plane is ready to board, but not before the agents checked off every kid on the list and put them together with the parents, something that could've delayed us on the plane. Good plan to do it while we're all waiting for the plane. The people with babies (at least three, one of whom didn't have the luck of having a mom who understood her need to play with a blankie) got on and so on. We finish boarding around 1:25 … so we're very late. But we got to Miami around 3:45, which was the plan anyway, so all is well. Overall, a mixed reaction of PHL, and I didn't even tell you about the process of getting me on that later flight out of PHL. THAT was a disaster.

there is an ANT HILL

There is an ANT HILL IN THE APARTMENT, and that's where they keep coming from even though I've killed (most) of the ones in the bathtub grout cracks. SHIVER.

The Bush Push

As football season rolls around the corner, I am reminded of the most exciting game of the 2005 season, when I was in London, on my way back from Budapest, in a train from Kentish Town, unable to join the London alumni. But the Bush Push, as it was called, was nerve-racking even today, when I found it and watched it (again) on YouTube. Fight on!

A little background, if you need it: Reggie Bush is No. 5, Matt Leinart is No. 11. The score sits at 28-31, Notre Dame. A previous attempt for a touchdown was foiled. The clock ran out, but :07 was put back on. Fourth and goal.

BELOW: I like this one the best because it doesn't have the stupid music, just the NBC commentary, which also includes the confusion of the last seconds. Plus, the picture quality is way better.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3MU16fpue4]

BELOW: But if cheesy music is your thing, you might enjoy this one set to music, with no commentary. I have no idea why this one is the top search result on YouTube.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-3KeMA21bc]

The Dead Beat

Did I tell you? I finished reading "The Dead Beat," by Marilyn Johnson, a while back. I mentioned it in an earlier post. I don't think I've grown a better appreciation as to why I must edit so many obits, but I do find that I see obits in a different light. After reading the book, I've begun seeking out obits written in the British papers, especially the Daily Telegraph, which the book uses as examples of especially touching and truthful last words. As many probably do, I used to regard obits as the beat no one wants and the beat one is relegated to for punishment. Apparently, that is no longer the case. Obits and obit writers are making a resurgence! Read the book.

Boston for the weekend

I went to Boston over the weekend to take care of some housekeeping business and accepted a job to teach Mandarin Chinese at the private school where I used to work. It will be two hours a week of fun -- singing, arts and crafts, speaking, writing and general elementary-school stuff. Very excited. Very nervous. This is probably the first time I will "have" my "own" class. And a little scary. What am I going to teach them?

I also had a jaunt to Chinatown, where I ate my longed-for smelly tofu, the fermented, spicy, saucy tofu goodness. Stopped by Mike's Pastry for some baked goods for the Herald peeps. All is well.

Also saw "The Bourne Ultimatum," which is awesome, even though I haven't seen the first two of the franchise. Action-packed, funny and generally a great time at the movies. :)

My flight back to Miami is on a flight that stops in Philadelphia but has the same flight number, and THAT adventure will have to wait until the next post.

ant problem

I have an ant problem in my bathroom. The grout in the tiled wall that the bathtub is against has been eaten away (before I moved in), but there are ants in there! I thought this might be the problem before I went to Boston for the weekend, but I bought a bottle of Hot Shot after work two nights ago (Tuesday) and sprayed all the corners and joints in the bathtub. Last night, after work, I woke up to find ant carcasses strewn IN the bathtub, where they have fallen out overnight. It was pretty gross. I still get goosebumps thinking about it.

I sprayed the Hot Shot again last night and killed four ants in the hallway. This morning, there were more ants in the bathtub, but less than last night's. Still creepy. Told my roommate/landlady about it. I think she's calling pest control, but it took her two months to fix the kitchen plumbing, so I'm not holding my breath on this one.

Going to take a shower now. ew.

tabs

I added tabs (or as WordPress calls them, pages). More to come.

My computer is wigging out on me. It is not only overheating (I think it's because the new and improved RAM), but it is shutting down by itself AGAIN. It's also telling me that I have limited virtual memory. I just got a notebook cooling pad. Hopefully it'll help. I'm going to shut down my computer now. My left wrist is getting really warm. And sweaty.

on the job market

Guys. I am on the job market. Too bad I can only really look in three states: MA, RI, NH.

Know anyone who can use help? :) I am a copy editor. I am (I think and I have been told) very good. I catch all kinds of grammatical, style and accuracy errors (ask me!). I am looking for a job within driving distance of Boston. Print media. No PR. I NEED A JOB!

aaahhhhhh!

The Lost Continent

I finished reading another book last night, this time at 3:30 a.m. "The Lost Continent," by Bill Bryson, chronicles his trip to 38 of the lower 48. He doesn't go to the touristy parts of towns or cities; rather, he seeks for small-town America. He stays at budget motels and eats at local diners or restaurants, some with hilarious results. He braves some scary weather in the west and goes through Donner Pass. In the end, a really good read.

My next book is The Holocaust, by Martin Gilbert, but I'm starting to think that I need something lighter, after Bryson. I might seek out The Dead Beat, by Marilyn Johnson. It's about writing obituaries, of which I seem to be editing quite a lot these days, compared to before (almost none).

Mayflower

I stayed up till 7 a.m. to finish my first book this summer. "Mayflower," by Nathaniel Philbrick. A detailed and moving account of the Mayflower journey, from the time they were in England and Holland to the moment to the sighted land to the King Phillips War that destroyed so much culture and killed so many. It is meticulously researched, with really amazing firsthand accounts. It really shows how much the English destroyed the Native Americans' way of life and how they viewed their native neighbors. Put it on your reading list. It's worth a read.

I looked up what "In the Heart of the Sea," which won Philbrick a National Book Award, and it's apparently about the whaleship Essex, a disaster of a voyage that saw its crewmembers resorting to cannibalism to survive.

turbot, it's a fish! yum.

I've decided that I would like to share some of my most frequently used recipes. Shaw's in Boston sells this really sweet, buttery, smooth fish called a turbot. They sell it in fillet form. So this is how I do it. I use this method with most other fish, like catfish (eh) and tilapia (works well), but so far, it works best with turbot.

Simply Baked Turbot
food ingredients:
1 or 2 fillet(s) of turbot
salt
pepper
1 wedge of lemon
equipment:
baking pan, preferably with high sides, such as a brownie pan
foil

directions:
* Preheat oven to 350 F.
* Line your baking pan with foil so that it covers and goes under the edges. This will allow for easy cleanup later.
* Place your fillet on the foil-lined baking pan
* Lightly sprinkle fillet with salt and pepper
* Squeeze about half of the juice in the wedge of lemon. Save for later.
* Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the fish easily flakes with a fork and is opaque throughout
* Take fillet out of the oven, put it on a plate and squeeze rest of lemon wedge if you like. Enjoy!

cleanup:
Simply drain the juice out of the baking pan, ball up the foil and toss it in the trash. No need to wash the baking pan! :)

stolen from Christina

Remember that My Life. My Card American Express campaign?

Childhood Ambition: teaching history

Fondest Memory: hanging out with my parents and sister in Taiwan

Soundtrack: my Top 50 most played in my iPod

Retreat: books, writing, music, time alone

Wildest Dream: living in London

Proudest Moment: getting a 99 on my last-ever Chinese language test in the second grade in Taiwan after two years of lackluster grades ... the day before I moved to the U.S.

Biggest Challenge: standing up for myself and what I believe should be right

Alarm Clock: cell phone at 3 positions, 30 minutes apart. IKEA clip-on alarm clock, set at the "emergency" wake-up time. a very anxious subconcious.

First Job: hostess at Sagebrush Steakhouse (three months)

Indulgence: an entire day reading in bed and finishing a book in one day

Last Purchase: from Starbucks: short cappucino, iced coffee, Miami Herald, tuna pasta salad, chocolate croissant.

Favorite Movie: so many

Inspiration: people who really love their jobs

My life is busy, chaotic, anxiety-filled but all under control

My card is not American Express. It's Mastercard. Priceless.

Miami's chicken busters

I just returned from a multimedia seminar, and the managing editor for multimedia, the guy who hired me (and I suspect all, if not most, of us), showed us an example of how a print story with lots of action translated well -- and BETTER than -- into video. And let me tell you, the video is definitely worth it. Here they are: the story about Chicken Busters and the video that the page links to.

the bike theft

Among the many, many stories I get to read everyday, this one about a "fairly routine" bicycle theft takes the cake. Too bad my headline didn't make it to press.

On the homefront, still no wireless. Miami is projected to rain for the next seven days, and I am going to explore Little Havana tomorrow. I've made of list of places to go and things to see in Miami. Should be an exciting week. :)

Miami

After a harrowing trip down I-95, I arrived in Miami in one piece. Along the way, a terrible thunderstorm in Central Florida that allowed me to see no more than maybe 10 feet in front of me, just enough to see the taillights of the car in front of me. At one point, I had my emergency blinkers on in case the car behind was also in the same predicament.

Miami is an interesting city. The downtown area seems undefined by any clutter of skyline that I can decern, but I am sure it is there. The beachfront (unsurprisingly) is lined with highrise condos, half of which are still under construction, which gives my daily commute from northern Miami a view of crane, crane and more cranes. It's quite lovely.

My apartment has Internet, but my landlady is a bitch and does not think that getting my wireless up and running is important enough to her time. She has a "computer guy" who supposedly knows how to do everything and who she supposedly called several times .... I doubt she has called. At all. I don't know what else I should do.

The first night, she supposedly had a friend who knows how to do this sort of stuff, but I ended up setting up the router for her when it came to be midnight, and nothing happened. It was working fine until we disconnected her ethernet cord, and she didn't have internet at all. She called Comcast to fix HER internet, but Comcast wouldn't fix the wireless and told her to call Linksys. She never did. This morning, I asked about the wireless AGAIN, but she AGAIN said she's calling her guy ... nothing. She said (again) that I can use her computer at any time, but THAT'S NOT THE POINT. I WANT MY INTERNET ACCESS. I run my life on google, and it sucks ass to have to use someone else's computer all the time.

She doesn't seem like she wants me to hardwire my computer and run cables in her immaculate (and unused) home, but I am THIS CLOSE to doing it because I can't stand it anymore. I'm going to try one more time tomorrow morning before I do something drastic about it. This is so fucking frustrating.

Happiness level: 6

coming up this summer

It's hard to believe that that this time next week, I will be, once again, sitting at a computer, happily editing copy. As most of you know, I am in grad school to teach, and I still am. But I cannot tell you how much I miss daily interactions with adults who write in proper English. Everyday, I get e-mails from my fellow teachers with gross grammatical errors that makes me want to burn some bridges and tell them how to use commas and semicolons correctly. I do not exaggerate when I say that I can print out five examples of deplorable grammar in e-mails and documents everyday. But I guess that is most workplaces.

I relish in correcting the Daily Oral Language exercises with my students because I get to teach them the proper way to capitalize and to use punctuation. For the past two weeks, the joy of my time at school was helping 27 students proofread their paragraphs about their favorite memories of this school year.

So I am not giving up on teaching; rather, I am fed up with teachers. I need to be with my fellow grammarians for a little while. I imagine that I will always long to return to newspapers and copy desks, but I am waiting for my last year of school, when I get to observe and teaching in a high school classroom, to decide, if needed, which road I am to take.

On a final note, my frustration does not extend to my students, though. I love them! They are brilliant, funny, ridiculously creative ... and they give me hugs! They totally listen to you when you give them advice ... And they are unafraid to cry. Maybe I should teach elementary school?

Column One: a look behind the veil in Saudi Arabia

Megan Stack, a reporter at the L.A. Times, has reported from Saudi Arabia for a few years, and she wrote a first-person narrative for the paper's Column One about her experiences as a woman in Saudi Arabia. It's definitely worth a read.

not for a little longer

If y'all can't tell, I have obviously not done anything with this blog recently. I have a good reason. My computer is out of commission for a little while, and I hope to have it back soon. I will definitely have it back before June 8, so that is something. :) For right now, please enjoy yourselves and shift your attention to my friend James Rufus Koren, who is a reporter in the L.A. area. He's also a pretty funny guy. Ciao for now!

the intelligence tests

As you all know, I have been a research subject for about a month or so now, and about two weeks ago, I underwent a series (three) of various intelligence tests. I took a test that had Test of Achievement on the cover, the WAIS-III and another one. They all tests basically the same stuff. Here is the breakdown by category.

math
timed -- mixed set of basic arithmetic, written word problems, verbal/aural word problems, mixed set of higher-level math (quadratics, fractions, square/cube roots, logs, deferentials, integrals, sin/cos/tan, etc.)

language
fill in the sentence with a specific set of words or phrases, fill in the sentence with a specific part of speech, verbal definitions, spelling of various difficulty

general knowledge
logical reasoning (why is free press important? why is it important to study history?), comparisons/find the similarity between words (apples and strawberries, trees and water), 10 questions of generally known facts (number of continents, who wrote "Hamlet," who wrote "Faust") I'm proud to report that I knew all the facts except for the speed of light.

memory/organization
listen to a few stories, repeat it as well as you can and answer a set of verbal comprehension questions and do it again in 10 minutes, remember a list of 12 random words, repeat it, repeat it in specific order of categories, remember faces to names, do another activity, remember faces to names again, do it again, remember shapes, do another activity, remember the shapes again, repeat a list of increasingly long numbers and do it again with a different set of numbers, but do it backward, do it with another set of numbers AND letters, but repeat it with the numbers first then the letters, follow verbal directions by pointing to a picture (point to the cat in from of the tree and then the boy on the horse but before you point to the blue bird but only if the girl sitting on the bench is eating an ice cream cone .... GO)

There are probably some that I don't remember because it's been awhile, but basically, the proctor was impressed by my general knowledge, my spelling, my incredible memory (I told you guys!) and my math skills. I sucked at following the complex directions. That section was SO hard. I am, I am happy to report, ABOVE AVERAGE! :) woohoo.

psychological research

For the past week or so, I've been taking tests and answering questions (the R on my keyboard just completely fell off ... but I digress) in hopes of qualifying for a psychological research study on childhood memories. I answered 17 pages of an online survey. I passed that and will be paid $20. I went to McLean Hospital (Harvard Medical system's psychiatric/psychological hospital, apparently) for a three-hour interview and 17 more pages of probing questions about my childhood. I passed both the interview and the survey, and I will get $50 more. :) Next, I go in for a battery of psychological tests -- IQs, memory, etc. I guess to make sure I'm not crazy or mentally disabled as a result of my childhood (haha). Or to prove that I am definitely of average intelligence. :)

So that is the background. Now, let me tell you what happened on my way to the interview last Thursday.

McLean had mailed me a taxi voucher because I told them that I don't have a car in Boston so getting there directly from work, even getting out early, is going to be a bit dicey. So I was told to go to Harvard Square (no problem, a 20-minute bus ride away) and call one of two cab companies to pick me up. I was supposed to call about 20 minutes before I get to Harvard. Well, I decided not to do that because I figured that I can just hail a cab at one of Harvard's numerous taxi stands. My plan didn't work. No one will take the voucher, so I had to go get some cash and pay for it. I was already running late.

We get to McLean about 5 minutes before my appointment time, but we get lost in the vast campus. It's like UCLA and other sprawling places, but much worse because there are no real directions or signs. We were both frustrated, so I ask him to just drop me off at the building we're nearest. The 20-minute ride to McLean Hospital came out to $21, plus tip, so I hand the newly withdrawn $40. He took it and searched for change. Turns
out he only hd $20s, so he couldn't make change. He asked around for change, but no one had any, so he finally gave me back my $20 after we exchanged a few nonverbal rounds of

him: Well, what're you going to do? You gotta pay me.
me: Hell if I know. You should've come prepared.
him: Well, you better do something about it because I have to get the fare.
me: Well, too bad. That's all the cash I gave. What're YOU going to do about it?

He finally gave me a $20 back, so he was short $5 (tip). Then I had to call the study people to find out how to get to their office because I didn't see ANY yellow builldings. :(

Helvetica turns 50!

The font Helvetica (about which I am neutral) is turning 50! Your internal nerd and my external nerd celebrate with it! As far as fonts go, my top five are, in order of love:

1. Arial
2. Arial Narrow
3. Times New Roman
4. Courier New (perfect for fudging those papers) with tightened kerning
5. Dauphin

My bottom five are:

1. Comic Sans
2. Comic Sans
3. Lucinda Handwriting or anything Lucinda-related
4. Papyrus
5. Rave

My personal hatred (yes) is when people write ALL-CAP abbreviations in script. It looks ridiculous. Example: AAJA (Asian American Journalists Association) orMADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving). Everytime you do that, imagine me cringing.

supernova, potato, whatever

Apparently, NASA scientists have seen the brightest supernova ever recorded. The artist's illustration of it, though, makes it look like an exploding potato ... with diamonds on the inside.

NASA via AP(Wash Post)

you know you're in college when ....

This is so true. I agree with almost half of these.

boy had spiders in his ear

A 9-year-old in Oregon heard "Rice Krispies" sounds in his ear, and when his doctor irrigated it, he found two spiders.

Palfrey gets new attorney

According to the Washington Post, federal court has appointed a new, better, more reputable lawyer for Deborah Palfrey. Montegomery Blair Sibley has been replaced.

Palfrey's lawyer's story's interesting, too

Montegomery Blair Sibley, the lawyer representing Deborah Jeane Palfrey in the D.C. prostitution (madam, escort service) case has a most interesting background of his own.

new header!

This is a photo of a bench at the Museum Park next to the Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green, East London. It was beautiful -- covered in newly fallen autumn leaves that crunch with every step. Made me want to roll around on it.

If you know me, you would know that I obviously didn't. Ew.

stubborn rash

It's still here. In fact, the original patches (fields?) have now dissipated, but in its place are new patches (fields?) of itchy, red fun. The stronger antihistamine the doctor gave me (hydroxyzine) is only working marginally well. What I REALLY want is a scratch test so I know what the hell is going on.

rash-tastic

I have developed hives and rash in multiple areas. Hives on: arms, armpit and butt/lower lower back. Rash on upper thighs near hips, armpits, just above and below armpits, back in the area of my bra straps. It's really itchy. It's not as bad as the beechwood allergy attack, but this time, I have no idea what triggered it.

It started around 2:30 this afternoon at work, when the kids are watching the DVD of their play, and I felt really itchy in my armpits and on my arms. I looked in the mirror after dismissal, and I have a rash. I asked the school nurse fo Benedryl cream and went to my last poli sci lecture. It got worse when I got home. It sprea to its current state, and I took Benedryl pills about an hour and a half ago. We'll see how it goes. Tomorrow morning, I'm heading to MGH walk-in clinic to wait in line for three hours just in case.

I have pictures of aforementioned rash and hives, but I'll save my flab-ulous photos for the docs just in case. :)

new Hillary Clinton bio comes out

Carl Bernstein, who reported on the Watergate scandal, has a book coming out on Hillary Clinton's "true" story of her life. It's unauthorized, but it's apparently very well sourced and written.

worse than the worst

The Washington Post has a blog entry about the Barkley Marathons, an endurance test equivalent to Mt. Everest climbs.

an amazing cellist dies

I've been playing (learning) the cello for only about five months, so I'm definitely not up on my cello/cellist knowledge (as proven by each visit to the cello repair shop), but apparently, one of the greatest cellists in the 20th century died today.

Calif. teachers dropping like flies

It's true what they say about teachers ... they're leaving in droves. According this story, money isn't the only thing making them quit. Teachers want better administrators, more support and parents who care (gasp!). More money wouldn't hurt, either. I'm trying to choose between teaching and copy-editing, and right now, copy-editing has the edge.

MIT dean of admissions resigns

The dean of admissions for MIT has resigned. She did not receive degrees from the universities listed on her resume. Matriculation decisions for incoming freshmen are due Tuesday.

New Mike, old Christine -- Los Angeles Times

Mike Penner, a sportswriter at L.A. Times, is going to undergo transexual surgery. He wrote a column about it.

Genevieve's site

My friend Genevieve has a cool art site.

new home!

Welcome to my new home! If you are a returning reader (hi guys!), I hope you like the new look. I've been getting a few hits from suspicious (read: creepy) IP addresses lately, so hopefully that will stop. Old posts have been imported onto this one. Enjoy.

If you're new, here're some tidbits about me. I'm a grad student at Boston College, working on my master's degree in secondary education. My bachelor's is in print journalism from the University of Southern California. I identify myself as a copy editor before a teacher, but I think it might be because I have more experience (read: lots and lots of internships) in the former.

So take a look around! Have a wonderful day! :)

moving soon

Sadly, I will be moving this blog elsewhere in the near future, after my last final on May 7. I haven't decided where or what it will be called, but Watermelon Singing will remain on Blogspot for archival purposes. I will let everyone know the whens and wheres of the new blog. Now, back to the paper.