Mayavane's Blog

The spider saga continues...

2008-11-20T18:48:00.000-05:00

First read post before this, then this article:

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=665808

How I may deal with my next Internet bill...?

2008-11-19T18:43:00.001-05:00

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=665847

Below is the complete email conversation that Adelaide man David Thorne claims he had with a utility company chasing payment of an overdue bill.

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Wednesday 8 Oct 2008 12.19pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Overdue account

Dear David,
Our records indicate that your account is overdue by the amount of $233.95. If you have already made this payment please contact us within the next 7 days to confirm payment has been applied to your account and is no longer outstanding.

Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles

From: David Thorne
Date: Wednesday 8 Oct 2008 12.37pm
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Overdue account

Dear Jane,
I do not have any money so am sending you this drawing I did of a spider instead. I value the drawing at $233.95 so trust that this settles the matter.

Regards, David.

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 10.07am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Overdue account

Dear David,
Thankyou for contacting us. Unfortunately we are unable to accept drawings as payment and your account remains in arrears of $233.95. Please contact us within the next 7 days to confirm payment has been applied to your account and is no longer outstanding.

Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles

From: David Thorne
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 10.32am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Overdue account

Dear Jane,
Can I have my drawing of a spider back then please.

Regards, David.

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 11.42am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Overdue account

Dear David,
You emailed the drawing to me. Do you want me to email it back to you?

Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles

From: David Thorne
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 11.56am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Overdue account

Dear Jane,

Yes please.

Regards, David.

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Thursday 9 Oct 2008 12.14pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Overdue account

Attached

From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 09.22am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Whose spider is that?

Dear Jane, Are you sure this drawing of a spider is the one I sent you? This spider only has seven legs and I do not feel I would have made such an elementary mistake when I drew it.

Regards, David.

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 11.03am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Whose spider is that?

Dear David, Yes it is the same drawing. I copied and pasted it from the email you sent me on the 8th. David your account is still overdue by the amount of $233.95. Please make this payment as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles

From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 11.05am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Automated Out of Office Response

Thankyou for contacting me. I am currently away on leave, traveling through time and will be returning last week.

Regards, David.

From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 10 Oct 2008 11.08am
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?

Hello, I am back and have read through your emails and accept that despite missing a leg, that drawing of a spider may indeed be the one I sent you. I realise with hindsight that it is possible you rejected the drawing of a spider due to this obvious limb ommission but did not point it out in an effort to avoid hurting my feelings. As such, I am sending you a revised drawing with the correct number of legs as full payment for any amount outstanding. I trust this will bring the matter to a conclusion.

Regards, David.

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Monday 13 Oct 2008 2.51pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?

Dear David, As I have stated, we do not accept drawings in lei of money for accounts outstanding. We accept cheque, bank cheque, money order or cash. Please make a payment this week to avoid incurring any additional fees.

Yours sincerely, Jane Gilles

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 13 Oct 2008 3.17pm
To: Jane Gilles
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?

I understand and will definately make a payment this week if I remember. As you have not accepted my second drawing as payment, please return the drawing to me as soon as possible. It was silly of me to assume I could provide you with something of completely no value whatsoever, waste your time and then attach such a large amount to it.

Regards, David.

From: Jane Gilles
Date: Tuesday 14 Oct 2008 11.18am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Whose spider is that?

Attached

2008-05-31T22:27:00.004-04:00

Day 1 - Did some mods time, for ole's time sake. Alone. Too creepy.

Day 2 - Tried the skylight room of the libe for studying. Discovered loud lamp that sounds like a bee and louder librarians who walk by.

Day 3 - Began my imprisonment in the dungeon, maybe for stealing cake from the graduation festivities. Began my Robin Hood-eque attempt to give cake away to the deprived board study-ers.

Day 4 - By this time, given away most of the cake finally and said good-bye to some graduating friends.

Day 5 - Got a friendly text that made my day! =)
Day 6 - Ran around the oval. Remembered how funny guys in pinstripe wrestling uniforms can be in 8-min arms.
Day 7 - Got paid for studying...all day.
Day 8 - Went to the mods in the morning. Still alone. Went back to the libe, aka Mastronardi room closely resembled a testing center where everyone was doing the same thing, at the same time. WEIRD.
Day 9 - Was uprooted and forced to relocated because of Memorial Day. Walked around the Oval.
Day 10 - Our infamous soprano has another talent for typing very loudly.
Day 11 - Quill and Scope reception; many delicious mini-desserts.
Day 12 - First year females were very excited for SATC movie outing to my dismay (and envy).
Day 13 - Spelling Bee: NumbNut?! And watched Maya Angelou's Convocation speech...and Rohan's speech.
Day 14 - PS's portrayal of the concert by our soprano cracked me up.
Day 15 - Grocery shopping with PS
Day 16 -
Day 17 -
Day 18 - Passo review aka reunion time.
Day 19 - Being detective for signatures.
Day 20 - Nora's bday
Day 21 -
Day 22 - Mastronardi gang - we actually spoke to ultimate Turkish whiz #1
Day 23 -
Day 24 - Libe redesign committee meeting
Day 25 -
Day 26 -
Day 27 - Dungeon day

Human species 'may split in two'

2007-10-25T14:43:00.000-04:00

Human species.

2007-10-22T19:56:00.000-04:00

Some one-sided conversations are just strange:

You all right, dude?

You like like you're in pain.

Are you getting a butt massage?

Hehehehehe.

2007-10-07T11:17:00.001-04:00

Fakebook Generation?

Hint anyone?

2007-09-27T17:34:00.001-04:00

First year with a really annoying LI/Brooklyn-ish accent having a convo with another first year while playing catch after exams.

FY1: It makes me nervous when you catch the ball.

FY2: Why?

FY1: Because, you know, I never saw so many erratic motions.

2007-09-26T17:24:00.000-04:00

He has 'peripherals.'

2007-09-18T10:19:00.000-04:00

2007-09-15T22:08:00.001-04:00

You know you made it when you have an entry in Wikipedia. Here's the tale of "Slope Day." I miss Cornell.

2007-08-24T16:58:00.001-04:00

"You asked me to write an essay telling you what I have to say. What I realized is that I have been ordered to listen from the moment I was born but now I know it's my time to speak. What I figured out is that I've always seen myself as others have seen me-- as the poor kid, as the smart kid, as the dreamer who doesn't have a chance. I've known the comfort of my mother's arms and the violence of my father's disappointment. But everyone encounters obstacles. The trick is to discover the opportunities within them. I've learned that everyday we create who we are by what we do and what we think and how we behave. So now that it's my time to speak, I just hope I have something to say. I'm going to set my expectations high, and one day I'll exceed them."

-- from young americans, pilot episode

Last Summer

2007-08-18T19:37:00.000-04:00

My last summer is about to end. It was good overall. I worked at the hospital for some research. I realized how hard working 9-5 everday is! The trek downtown was about 40 minutes each way, At least the hospital was near Union Square, so there was interesting sights around. Research went well. Near the last day, there was a big make-your-own-sundae event for the staff to welcome the new president of the hospital. I pretended it was a celebration to bid farewell to me, with sprinkles.

I went to Boston for a bit. Hung around the Harvard Square and definitely caught up on Bollywood gossip! Good times!

Then we had our Week of Fun. A whirwind tour of the city in seven days. Actually, we didn't go all over the city, but we did go do touristy-things like go to Times Square where there was a Kiss-In to commemorate that famous photograph on a Time Magazine cover after WWII. We also went to the American Museum of the Moving Image, only the coolest museum to date. There's a lot of hands-on exhibits AND you can play DDR. It's free on Friday afternoons too! We also went through and got lost in Central Park, ran around the Museum of Natural History, plays a virtual soccer with some random girl in the South Street Seaport Mall, and did a few other things. I can't really describe it all, but I did make a music video of it with all our photos.

We cleaned up our apartment on campus. I even made a Wheel of Chores so that we don't have a repeat incident of last year's chaos. I think it will work out.

2007-06-03T00:03:00.000-04:00

So I talked to the guy who runs the centenarian and super-centenarian project (the latter looks at people over the age of 105). I asked how many men, he said no men. No, there are a few super-centenarian men. Oldest man who ever lived was 116; the oldest woman was a Parisian woman who was 122. The French Geriatric Society used to throw her a birthday party; she was a celebrity. At her 115th birthday, I remember seeing a documentary, and they were asking her in French, “You have no wrinkles; now that you are 115, do you have any wrinkles?” She says in French, “I have one wrinkle, but I sit on it.” Its true, as the project evolved, these are well adapted people; you don’t get to be that old by being mean and bitter. And interesting fact is that the females over 100 are usually not married, but they’re not loners. They’re like the hip aunt.

“And all the conduits of my blood hath froze up and hath yet my life of night doth fading glimmer left.” I find that if I just talk people shut up. It’s like, “oh it’s going to be on the test! How do you spell fading glimmer?” Stop being nerds you guys; you’re going to be doctors. It’s not the time to be immature; you’re going to care for other people. I know pre-med, we all drop sulfuric acid on other people’s lab notebooks when they weren’t looking. Grades are nice but maturity is what matters. It’s just interesting how in the old days if I would say stuff nobody would listen, but if I go “question 1 is…” and people are like, “wooo”.

- the Neurologising Philospher

Vascular Dementia according to Shakespeare

2007-05-30T19:04:00.000-04:00

“And all the conduits of my blood have froze up, yet hath my night of darkness, some fading glimmer left.”

- The Merchant of Venice

2007-05-20T18:52:00.001-04:00

some bollywood versions of hollywood

Pyar ka saaya---ghost
Musafir----------U turn
Chocolate------Usual Suspects
Jism-------------Body Heat
Khal Nakia-----Hand that rocks the cradle
bunty n balblie-Bonnie n Clyde
Ek Ladka ek Ladki---Over board
jaan ki kasam----Blue Lagoon..oh my
Koi Mil Gaya--ET
Daraar----Sleeping with the enemy
Bollywood Hollywood and Chori Chori chup chup ke (kind of)---Pretty woman
Raaz------What lies beneath
meri yaar ki shaadi hai-----My best friends wedding
Kaante----Reservoir Dogs
Dil hai ke manta nahi---It happened 1 night
Bluff master-----The Game (alotts scenes)
Sarkar-----God father
Pitaah----time to kill

2007-05-20T18:22:00.000-04:00

I just watched The Namesake. I can see why Sheila's mom cried during the movie. I did the same in several parts, especially in the second half. It was really a good carthartic kind of movie.

2007-05-06T10:24:00.000-04:00

A trail of poisoned medicine.

2007-04-29T20:04:00.000-04:00

A Cornell alum as the real-life Indiana Jones?

2007-04-13T21:36:00.000-04:00

Sometimes you just need to flip out.

2007-03-15T21:01:00.000-04:00

My big revelation of today, aside from learning about meconium ileus, was that Christopher Gorham, who plays "Henry" on Ugly Betty was also part of the cast of Popular. Seriously, everyone and their mother has had a stint on the show.

2007-03-08T14:01:00.000-05:00

Every school has their own quirky professors who each have their own sayings and unique behaviors. This post is dedicated to the sayings by the biochem prof who never ceases to surprise the class with his, what I like to call, "Horowitiz-isms." They pop up in the middle of the lecture, when you least expect it, perhaps to make sure we're all still awake and listening. It just goes to show that even somewhat elderly, slow-moving, and sometimes monotone-sounding professors really have a sense of humor.

So, all these molecules are phosphorylated. So, muchas vitamins estas phosphorylated. See, I know some [Spanish??? - I wasn't quite alert enought to catch the last line. Or maybe I was more in of a shock mode.]

So some of the page numbers are garbled and the typing was done over, so it makes this a very challenging set of notes to look at. I don’t know what the first number was, I first wrote 329, then I was told it was 319, so one way to make light of this is to take a pool and have bets on what you think the number is on a different page and you can have some prizes for that.

So this is a summation of the important reactions by folic acid, homocysteine synthase, thymidylate synthase, and contribution of C2 and C8 in purine biosynthesis, acceptor of formimino glutamic acid and serine hydroxymethyl transferase. So each of these five you should be able to recognize and use in rapid combat, right? Anyone wants to challenge me after class, give me a knee brace and I’ll show you some things.

When they looked into it they found a compound called warfarin. The compound looks like this. They started using it as a rodenticide. When rodents consume this mixed in with bait or food they would bleed to death because as they run around like crazy they’re banging into walls, kickboxing, all sorts of things,...

It abolishes this double bond; you’re not responsible for dioxitene it’s only for extra credit or for parties. You may win something.

Correct the notes and correct the scribes, otherwise history will be insulted.

2007-03-06T18:18:00.000-05:00

Something to look forward to after this March madness: Mira Nair's adapation of Jhumpa Lahiri's novel, The Namesake. With Irfan Khan, Kal Penn, and of course, Tabuuuuuuuuuuu.

Are you a kayak or a canoe?

2007-02-27T18:18:00.000-05:00

In last week's Gilmore Girls, Emily likens herself to a canoe: she needs her partner's help so she can steer straight. Contrastly, Lorelai is like a kayak: she can steer by herself, and has for many years. This is the softer, tipsier side of Emily that's rarely seen. She tells Lorelai that she's done very well for herself without a husband, and that even though Lorelai's marriage broke up, "it's not such a disaster."

Red Carpet

2007-02-27T17:42:00.000-05:00

I liked Deepa Mehta's sari. She also looks really good with her hair up. I almost didn't recognize her! John Abraham cut his hair - he cleans up well. Lisa Ray really looks great too. She doesn't look like "Kalyani" at all. I wish the little girl who played Chuyia was there; she could have hung out with the girl from Little Miss Sunshine.

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

My Cultural Divide

Directed by: Faisal Lutchmedial

Bangladesh / Canada / 75 mins / DVD / English & Bengali with English Subtitles

From the website: Starting from the opening scene, My Cultural Divide questions the logic of the hardcore political activist, and wonders aloud whether ethical consuming actually does anything good for the workers behind the machines. Because of family connections director Faisal Lutchmedial makes his way into some of the worst factories in Bangladesh, and talks frankly with the workers inside about their job and living conditions. Accompanied by his ailing mother, Lutchmedial takes us on a very personal journey to bridge the gap between his heritage in Bangladesh and his life in Canada. He connects his politics with his humanity, and weaves together a story that is both thought provoking and touching.

2007-02-19T21:25:00.000-05:00

I spent my 3-day weekend with many heart-throbs.

I wish. Though, I think the above photo has some major Photoshopping potential. ;)

However, tt was awesomely filled with many movies.

I watched Guru. It's the story of Gurukant Desai, a man who worked his way from as a humble villager to a billionaire president of a clothing conglomerate in India. Abishek Bachan plays the lead, and eventually marries the Aishwarya Rai character. They have this lovely song together. I also like "Gurubhai's" theme song before he rocks on and show his strength before any barriers.

I also watched Salaam-E-Ishq. It really is like Love Actually, Indian-style. It tells the stories of six couples, in different stages of life and love. John Abraham and Vidya Balan's story-line was the best. The movie was a bit too long, even by the Bollywood standards, but the songs are just too good. I think the movie would have been much better if they only had the stories of the three couples.

Then, there was Traffic Signal. It's a non-conventional Bollywood movie about that exposes the "truth" behind the begging "industry" in India. You know where you're in a car in India (or BD), and the traffice light never seems to change soon enough. And then you're accosted by girls selling flowers, women with babies, and boys selling newspapers...well, there's a whole social web behind all that, and it was pretty interesting. The movie would have been better if the first half had subplots that actually fit together nicer. Konkona Sen again shows her ability to play a wide variety of character; remember her in 15 Park Avenue. And did you know that her mother is Aparna Sen?!

Seriously? --- Geek Logik

2007-02-02T20:28:00.000-05:00

Book description from amazon.com

Here for the geek in all of us are fifty foolproof equations that take the guesswork out of life—...Call it the algebra oracle: By plugging in the right variables, GEEK LOGIK answers life’s most persistent questions. It covers Dating and Romance, Career and Finance, and everyday decisions like Should I get a tattoo? Can I still wear tight jeans? Is it time to see a therapist? How many beers should I have at the company picnic?

How does it work? Take a simple issue that comes up once or twice a week: Should I call in sick? Fill in the variables honestly, such as D for doctor’s note (enter 1 for “no,” 10 for “yes,” and 5 for “yes, but it’s a forgery”), R for importance of job (1-10, with 10 being “personally responsible for Earth’s orbit around Sun”), Fj for how much fun you have at work (1-10, with 10 being “personal trainer for underwear models”), N for how much you need the money (1-10, with 10 being “I owe the mob”), then do the math, and voilà—if the product, Hooky, is greater than 1, enjoy your very own Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

2007-01-30T23:06:00.000-05:00

Do you think it's a coincidence that our beloved physio professor has a marked resemblance to the great Steve Martin?

2007-01-30T21:45:00.000-05:00

"Hey Uncle Ezra,
I have heard that the marriage rate for Cornell grads is something like 60% which I most definitely don't believe. Is there an accurate figure as to what the real percentage of grads that marry each other is?
Thanks, The Curious Kid"

"Dear CK,
This may be one of the biggest reddest tall tales on campus, and it is one that has been around for ages. According to our alumni records of living, mailable alumni, less than 10% of Cornellians are married to another Cornellian - a far cry from the 50-60% rumors that are often heard. But if you are wondering if that means the crush in your chem class is "the one," it is hard to know. Many married Cornellians were not in the same graduating class and some didn't even meet their spouse until well after graduation!
Uncle Ezra"

2007-01-29T18:15:00.000-05:00

So, some people around here are thinking of going to the Dominican Republic or St. Lucia for Spring Break, and they asked me to come.

Apparently, for a trip to DR, (4 nights, 5days) is about at around $600-700 all inclusive, meaning this price includes air, hotel, meals, drinks, nonmotorized water activities etc. St. lucia is a bit more expensive: $800-$1000 all inclusive, same type of deal as above.

Apprently, all-inclusive is really all-inclusive and you get a wrist band and you just walk around with the band, and show that when you want to get something to drink or eat. Save having to carry your wallet around anywhere. My roommates parent's went to DR recently with this kind of deal and they ate a whole lot, lol. Plus, you get to wear a snazzy wrist band, which WAS all the rage at last Slope Day, haha.

2007-01-25T13:53:00.000-05:00

What some Indian boys do when they have some free time....and of course, Facebook.

2007-01-24T14:46:00.000-05:00

I am wearing my extra pair of glasses with different frames. I am not used to the different feel of the plastic on my nose. It has my newest prescription so everything is looking clearer. Or perhaps the lenses aren't as dirty.

Now listening to: Burn it up. (Takes me back to those choreographing days...)

2007-01-21T17:43:00.000-05:00

Porphyria is still a very uncommon admission, 1 in every 10,000-20,000. There are only now about 50,000 cases in the country. Just because they were so rare, rumors would spread that if one wanted to see porphyria they could go see them.

Symptoms:
mild anemia
buildup of precursors in heme synthesis
neuropsychiatric symptoms
generalized abdominal pain

If the defect is in an exyme later in the pathway, you get an accumulations of porphyrinogens in the skin. Because of the position of their double bond, they can absorb light light, and spontaneously oxidize. This causes photosensitivity.

So these people would have trouble with sudden light, they will form blisters from the photo damage which would be from reactive oxygen species that would form when these molecules are absorbing light energy.

The liver is also synthesizing heme to a large extent, in cytochromes and particularly P 450 cytochromes that would metabolize various xenobiotics.

The urine would be red in these patients because of the porphyrins that are secreted. Sometimes they would be secreted and it would be colorless but then on standing with oxidation they would turn red.

The dentin in the teeth can also have a red fluoresce.

And all these symptoms are thought to be the basis for the vampire myth at least in Europe.

You can see the symptomology would fit in with a vampire. They would be thin and anemic, out of sight rather out in the sunlight and there might be the mistaken impression, because of the red fluorescence of the teeth, that they were drinking blood. That’s only half serious of course.

'You Suck: A Love Story,' by Christopher Moore

2007-01-21T01:49:00.000-05:00

When I first read the title of this book, I thought this was the perfect book for all those people in or getting out of relationships where one person just doesn't get it.

====================================================

So, I was sorely disappointed when I learned that it was a "vampire comedy"

2007-01-21T01:47:00.000-05:00

The 2008 election seems like it will be exciting.

2007-01-14T00:32:00.000-05:00

Does Snapple ice tea have caffeine in it? Anyway, if it does, the 1, 3, 7 trimethylxanthine is having its effect on me. It's after midnight and I don't feel tired at all. I am going to go clean the toilet.

2007-01-13T21:36:00.000-05:00

I finally watched Saathiya film starring Rani Mukerjee and Vivek Oberoi. It was a very sweet and romantic movie with a realistic feel. By the end, I was crying.

Something smells funny...

2007-01-09T08:27:00.000-05:00

An odor that lingered in Manhattan left officials with a mystery and a few conspiracy theories to sort through.

Fame doesn't come without a price

2006-12-18T12:57:00.000-05:00

One question: How does one become a celebrity blogger?

Hari Puttar

2006-12-17T16:31:00.000-05:00

So I came across this video on YouTube: "Hari Puttar".

And I'm just wondering, which Bollywood actors would act in a Bollywood version of a real Harry Potter storyline...like, Amitabh Bachan play Dumbledore? I mean we'd have to age the characters quite a bit, but something to discuss, perhaps after my exams.

jamais vu

2006-12-12T22:14:00.000-05:00

Jamais vu is the contrary of déjà vu. In jamais vu, an experience feels like it's the first time, even though the experience is a familiar one.

2006-12-11T21:11:00.000-05:00

When I hear people talking in Hindi around campus, I am always slightly happy. I only know Hindi from Bollywood movies...and apparently, some person has taken this method of learning language to a whole other level.

2006-12-08T08:43:00.000-05:00

I keep on watching the trailer for "Salaam E Ishq." It just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. That's a good thing because it's below freezing outside.

Tonight's the culture show. Ahhhhhhhhhh!

Scrubin'

2006-12-07T15:04:00.000-05:00

For all you medical students spending hours in the anatomy lab....you'll understand.

2006-12-01T19:35:00.000-05:00

Weird

2006-11-21T16:06:00.000-05:00

Golly, things sure are getting weird around here.

So, R. washed N.'s dishes (as usual). It's so unfortunate that R. has to do such a thing for someone who barely even acknowledges our existence despite living in the same apartment. R. sent a note to N. stating that we're all sick of having to repeatedly remind her and repeatedly being ignored of cleanin up after herself. N. denied that the dishes were hers even though she's the only one who uses chopsticks and chopsticks were left in the sink....and the 3 of us have been washing our own dishes regularly for the past few months of living together. Now N. is acting childish as usual, and still ignoring us. I just want to confront her in person and find out what's her deal.

The week before Thanksgiving

2006-11-17T21:20:00.000-05:00

So this week has been pretty chill. I mean, anything relaxing compared to non-stop studying for exams for two weeks. After exams, I met up with the Lyon girls and ate at a neat Chinese restaurant, and watched Sam Waterson in a L&O themed celebrity jeopardy, and also watched the Cornell v. Harvard hockey game at Ship of Fools.

We're taking a biostats and epidemoiology mini course and starting biochem this week. It's really not too bad, even though I never took stats before. And auto-tutorial biochem at Cornell is really helping me now. Like, I remember a lot of the amino acids, and protein structure stuff. And of course, all my nifty mneumonics for the amino acid symbols. Remember, "Lysine's one-letter symbol is K because Lysine sounds like Lysol which makes things Klean!" Weird, but it works for me.

Vidhi and I choreographed the first third of our First Year Dance for the cultural show. It starts off with a clip from "Eli re eli" - old school, I know, but a nice song. The practice went well, and the girls are seeming to get it quickly, so that's good.

I had a meeting for SAMSA/APAMSA yesterday for committee. I signed up to be on publicity committee. I had another meeting for choreographers today, which totally could have been done through E-mail, but at least I met some of the choreographers. And apparently the skit crew is doing something interesting. I also had a dance practice for the Persian dance. The music is changed now, but it's coming along well, I think. Except this one move where I have to cross my legs over one another in a line, but I think my thighs are too big or I have short legs, so it's giving me issues. I think I will practice it again this weekend. I could have gone to Taco Bell with Vidhi and Alexis, because we were all starving after practice, but I decided to be good and try and finished the food in the fridge.

So yeah, I think we're going to try to choreograph the second third of the dance tomorrow night. Persiand dance practice on Sunday. Then, our dance practice on Monday. Publicity meeting on Monday night. Some bhangra meeting on Monday too, I think. And then, on top of that, I have a test on Wednesday. I just need to pass, and I have been fairly up to date with the material, so I really hope that all this stuff won't drive me crazy.

Oh, and apparently, we have to read some articles for epidemiology, and then some stuff for biochem conference thing. I like the biochem prof; she's this cute Asian woman, who laughs so adorably.

2006-11-04T15:31:00.000-05:00

Some people really do say the darndest things:

http://overheardatcornell.blogspot.com/

Life's just one big Bollywood film

2006-11-03T00:40:00.000-05:00

I have an anatomy exam tomorrow. I've been studying all day, and I still feel like there's still so much to learn. There's has to be a time when one just has to stop.

One funny thing occurred. I was listening to some music that was chosen at random by MusicMatch. The song from Salaam Namaste, "What's Going On?" came on, and I just laughed to myself. Because the first words of the song are "poune bara baje" and it actually was 11:30pm! Oh, it's so funny how my life revolves around Hindi movies.

Or maybe it's just a side effect of all the studying I have been doing. Sigh.

Corporal Punishment

2006-09-30T10:25:00.000-04:00

- QUOTATION OF THE DAY -

"I'm a big fan. I know it can be abused. But if used properly, along with other punishments, a few pops can help turn a school around. It's had a huge effect here."
- ANTHONY PRICE, a middle school principal, on the corporal punishment he
recently reinstated.

L&O

2006-09-25T17:47:00.000-04:00

Law & Order is filming on my campus tomorrow. They are closing off the parking lots, so I'm just going to "wander" around "looking to get something from my car." I am going to carry my camera around in case I get to see Sam Waterston.

The next two weeks are going to be dreadful, with two major exams back to back. The anatomy exam covers extremities, which are most difficult because there are so many muscles. After all, we need a lot of teeny tiny muscles to do stuff, like type! Last year's class have horrible memories from this time of the year last year. Why do they do this to us. Whhhhhyyyy?, as the Shashmeister would say.

After that, I am free! Well, for a weekend at least. Cornellians have Fall Break that weekend. Rims might possibily visit, which would be exciting. I want to go to the Columbus Day Parade in Little Italy. Apparently, there's also a Sorrento Cheese Festival there too.

2006-08-01T21:20:00.000-04:00

Okay, the deal is I was on SI Board. So as a rep of an Indian organization on campus, we receive a lot of E-mails from Indian students who have questions about Cornell. I usually answer them promptly and honestly. So this one girl sends us an E-mails, asking about requirements; she wanted to apply to different schools, and wasn't sure whethere Cornell was right for her; blah, blah. I reply as usual, very professional-like. Now, she has my address added to her mailing list, and she send out different E-mails, like chain letters, but they are sent with the best of intentions, I suppose. But really, is it REALLY necessary? And she keeps on trying to add me as a Facebook friend, and I keep on rejecting her. And she apparently confused me for someone else and sent me a message about having photos and having to watch a particular movie. Okay, mistakes happen. But I don't even KNOW her, never saw her, she doesn't even go to my school now...so tell me, why should I add her as a friend. Maybe she has done this to other random Indian people at Cornell, because apparently I have 4 friends in common with her. OR perhaps, I really DO know her, and I just don't recognize the name...so, not like me, though.

Internet Services

2006-07-05T13:30:00.000-04:00

I've been trying to sign up another online service for home. Currently we still have an AOL account that we have had since high school. Because the only Internet users in my home are just at home for only summer vacation and winter break, I realize that my dad pays way too much for Internet service. And not that great service at that. I mean, AOL that we have is dial-up, and literally, I have connection problems in 20-minute intervals. I probably cannot even finish writing this entry without having my service stop for a minute and then having to sign back online. It is very slow and annoying, especially after one is used to using ResNet at school, which thought we complain, is pretty good service most of the time. Also, AOL has features that makes its price pretty high, but we never use them, so why should we be paying for them? So what service can we use for only 3-months out of the year without having to pay cancellation charges?

I was trying to research online and came across this website called ripoffreport.com. It apparently posts information about bad businesses by consumers. Now, I am not sure of the authenticity of all the reports, but some of the posts are scary if they are true. It's like one of those expose stories on 20/20: frightening to think about, but I'm glad to know about it now. But really, it also just eliminates possibilities for changing my Internet service, and it probably trashes all the new online services that are out nowadays. Oh, dear. Why can't it be simple? What other Internet services should I look into?

I'm Baaaaaack

2006-06-30T12:11:00.000-04:00

Summer is here again, and with that comes the endless long days of Spanish music blasting from downstairs, loud Bengali children yelling and playing in the courtyard, the taunting and tempting Mr. Softee ice cream truck music and with July 4th approaching, the illegal fireworks rehearsals.

So, graduation came and went. I was in the Bronx for less than a week when we rushed out of the country to visit BD to take advantage of the travel grant I received from the Asian Studies Department. Whoa, it sure has changed in ten years. Big skyscrapers, construction everywhere, Times Square-esque TV screens in the middle of the city, foreign AC-equipped cars, and of course, the omniprescent Brazil flags showing BD's fervor in the World Cup. (Gooooooooooooo Brasilia!)

Munshiganj was awesome. My family had the entire third floor of the house to ourselves. Since it was built just two years ago, it was wonderfully modern with tiled floors, wonderfully carved wooden doors, and huge ceilings fans in every room. Oh yeah, it also had a TV with cable, so I watched a whole lot of B4U, Zee TV, and etc. I want to watch so many upcoming Hindi films now (---Krrish, Chup Chup Ke aka CCK, Ahista Ahista, Fanaa, Phir Hera Pheri and on and on).

I also met loads of cousins and uncles and aunts whom I have not seen in 10 years. They ALL came over for a party we held. Almost all the girls had our mehndi done beforehand. We had a tent built and the caterers cooked the food in huge pots on the roof. After the food, then the dancing. Craaaazy times, with doll-like Ma being dragged onto the danced floor by my former-dancer aunty, 30-year old brothers doing the hilariously outrageous moves like the funky chicken with their newly-married brides sitting on the sidelines.

Played ludoo and carram and nearly beat the kid who works in my grandfather's place at his own game. Stayed up late to watch World Cup games at odd hours at the night. Bitten by a billion mosquitoes. Drank gallons of coconut water right out of the fruit. Visited lots of schools while the students ogled at us and the guys at Haraganga College wondered whether we were even Bengali. Survived the heat during a current outages. Played Boroph-Paani (like Freeze Tag) on the roof with the moon overhead (just like the scene described in the poem: Kajladidi --- chaad uteche oi) and tall green trees around the house. Shopping at Basundra Shopping Center, one of the most lavish malls I have seen anywhere. Ate tons of food at EmmaNuelles, an amazing restaurant with an internation buffet in the posh neighborhood of Gulshan. Stayed at a hotel in Dubai between our connecting flights. Dubai Airport is wonderful. We took a ride in a vehicle that they have so people don't have to walk so much. They have moving floors, and palm trees, and I watched England and Sweden tie along with a whole bunch of other international travelers. The flight back seemed extraordinarily long, even though we had so much entertainment possibilities on the Emirates plane. I watched lots of movies and television shows, like Failure to Launch, Mujhe Shaadi Karoge, Indian variety shows, Scrubs, Law&Order, Prison Break, Friends, and more.

Funny how I get E-mails for happingings like these:

RagaChitra Foundation brings to you this summer - "India Heritage Day Camp for Kids".

Children will learn about our rich culture through songs, stories and fun filled activities. Children will enjoy a week of their summer by experiencing the idyllic Indian summer, here in New York.

Let us give this opportunity to our children to learn about the land of their ancestors, help them to find their identity and feel proud of their origins.

India Heritage Camp for Kids

Stories *Songs *Rangoli *Slokas *Indian History *Games *Quiz *Charades *Activities *Indian Snacks!

The last item makes the camp worth checking out for me. If only I were between the ages of 6 and 14.

2006-06-02T12:18:00.000-04:00

So, I am officially a Cornell alum. It's over, done, finito.

I'm currently serving my jury duty in the Bronx. It's a really tiring and long process, which includes a lot of waiting, and waiting. Yesterday we watched an juror orientation video which started with a reenactment of how justice of served in medieval Europe, i.e. the trial by water. An accused person's hands and feet were bound by rope and then thrown in the water. If they floated, they were guilty. If they sank, they were considered innocent. It was truly hilarious, reminiscent of the video production style of those chemistry safety videos we had to watch freshman year.

Time flies by...

2006-05-02T22:39:00.000-04:00

I flew a kite for two hours on Friday. I ate for four hours at the World's Fair where I also saw Jenn fan dance as part of Choom! I danced for two hours at the MECA Girl's Party and also ate nutella on grahman crackers (yum!). I watched the Asia Night opening ceremony with a fashion show and a Sitara dance drama of the Ramayana and ate Korean food. I watched The Skin of Our Teeth for three hours. We stayed out for 4 hours for Nasheet's birthday and I made another Bengali "bondhu." I watched a Chinese film for 2 hours called Blind Shaft --- aptly described as "descending into the pits of humanity" by Rims.

After an extremely busy weekend, I realize that this is the last week of my undergraduate classes at Cornell. I had my last Scars and Bars class discussion; I am glad that I worked up the courage to take this class. Sure, it was a discussion class. Yeah, it was about Southeast Asia, of which I had known nothing about before this semester. Sure, there were only 5 people in the class. But damn, I enjoyed it. I read 10 memoirs this semester. Ten stories of survival. Ten harrowing tales of inspiration. Ten lives of people whom I will probably never meet, but whom I respect for their courage to tell their traumatic experiences. I cried, I laughed, I learned. Oh, I am getting misty-eyed again...

Sheila and I began her mini-training for the SI Basketball Tournament that she will be participating in this Saturday. So far, it's going well. Not that I am surprised; after all, it IS Sheila. Her natural adeptness at sports is evident.

Ten more classes left...

2006-04-28T09:57:00.000-04:00

Taste of Culture was this afternoon. Sheila, Brundha, and I ate desserts from Jamaica, France, China, Italy, Korea, Mynamar, and Madagascar (the latter dessert being similar to some Tamil dessert supposedly named "callitaday"). I also had some wonderfully spicy cheese from the Internation Coffee Hour right before te event.

We finally attended a Zinck's Night that the Senior Class Council holds every Thursday. It was held in the Regent Lounge in the Statler, a nice, fancy place to chill. Sheila, Shashi, and I went to get the free pilsner glasses with the class logo.

Then Shashi and I re-lived our science lab days of autoclaves, shakers, and centruges in Sheila's lab. We could have pippetted something, but I was holding my pilsner glass, and I didn't want to risk it falling and shattering into a million little pieces.

2006-04-27T13:55:00.000-04:00

I recently watched "Inside Man," directed by Spike Lee. I really enjoyed this thriller heist movie, because it wasn't about an ordinary cat-and-mouse-game between a bank robber and a police detective. There were some plot twists that are surprising too.

Another good movie like it is "The Sting." It's an old movie, but I remember how shocked I was when I learned about the shocking ending.

Classes Left: 14

2006-04-25T16:43:00.000-04:00

I have 14 classes left of my final semester. Fourteen. And nearly a third of those classes are for spinning, so it's optional really. I think I will go anyway so as to make the most of my gym membership before I lazy up during the summer, as I know will happen, unfortunately. After I graduate, not only will I have to say good-bye to friends, places, etc, I will also have to big farewell to my nearly shapely calves.

I just ate a frozen meal of mattar paneer by Amy's company. It was actually really good.

Also, there's a lot of stuff this weekend...

Friday: World's Fair (volunteering, food tasting, Jenn's performance, film festival)
Sophia's and Aneesa's party, Phil's bday

Saturday: Asia Night, Minds Matter Brain Blowout, Schwartz play, Nasheet's bday, the pajama jam

On another note, Deepa Mehta has a new film out called "Water." If you have seen her other films, "Earth" and "Fire," you know you're in for a provocative film. This latest one is apparently seven years in the making is about the widow houses in India.

Cross-Campus Tour

2006-04-21T10:06:00.000-04:00

After Spinning class, in which we did some really tough pilates, Shashi and I walked up the 'other slope of Freshman year' and all the way to the Dairy Bar. There was a really long line wrapped around three sides of the room, but we waited, since it was a hot day, we walked all the way to near the Vet School from North, and it was ice cream. We waited in line composed of many undergrads, grad students, and families, and on the way picked up a potato knish (for me) and a turkey pot pie (for Shashi). Shashi ordered a really delicious and pretty-looking maple syrup sundae. I ordered a new flavor, apparently created by Prabu's friend who is in a food science course. It's called: Sloppy Slope Jolt, and is made of coffee ice cream, nutella, and nuts or brownie pieces. It's on a two week trial at the Dairy Bar to see if it sells. It was good. We walked all around the side of Bartels, where there's another new hole for construction, and then waited around on the Schwartz Wall.

I remember the Wall at Stuy; this anonymous-looking gray wall where all the preppy kids or intellectual potheads sat between classes, on the other side of TriBeca Bridge. I never sat there. I passed by it all the time though. Then they painted it with a whole bunch of flowers or something.

Also, Rima and I went out on a walk since it was a beautiful night. We were walking towards North, but stopped by WSH, where there was a World Music Concert. There was dancing in the Memorial Room, and then the performers went out on the terrace. The Steel Drum Band played some lively tropical music, then a conga line started; I joined in, Rima refused.

We made our way to RPCC, where there was a program put on by the Coalition for Animal Defense. They were serving free vegetarian and vegan food, so of course, we partook in the cause. I really liked this fried scallion bread. Oh, we also stopped by the Bubble Tea place at Appel and watched a few episodes of 'Friends'. They were from the later seasons so I hadn't seen them before, and there was a group of us, just watching and laughing, and drinking our tea.

"Ideas are bulletproof"

2006-04-17T14:26:00.000-04:00

I just watched "V for Vendetta." I can see why Sheila really liked the movie. It's not overtly political, but it brings up a lot of issues that we all need to think about sometimes. Another recommended video is "Loose Change," a documentary. You can watch it at: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8260059923762628848

Wrath, Rang, and Rice

2006-04-15T21:02:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I volunteered for the MilrSO fashion show. (I carted DJ equipment from Barton to Trillium.) The theme was the "7 deadly sins" and indeed, some of the clothese that the models parades were absolutely sinly. It was a cool show though, despite all the semi-nudity of the models. I actually knew some of them (Miriam and Renee) and they all looked so professional and really confident with their bodies. There was even a girl who reminded me of Tyra Banks. CCSADE, Phenom Step Team, and Sabor Latino also performed. After each line, the designers came out on the runway, so it was cool to see the mastermind behind all the madness. I got a free "Wrath" t-shirt, which was immediately "skankified" (Jenn's term, not mine) to fit in with all the other t-shirts of the volunteers.

Today Shashi and I went spinning, then Holi, then to a home-cooked meal at Nasheet's place.
Spinning - I thought I wouldn't wake up in time, but I was surprisingly alert this morning (considering that I was up playing Risk, World Domination with Yasmin, Shah, Edwin, Amir, and Jon last night). We did an interval workout, but it ended earlier than expected. I went to the gym afterwards.

Holi 2006 - As usual, the rang, the food, the free t-shirt, and fun! We did a lot of running around, attacking, plotting, standing in line (REMIX!), eating, clicking photos, and just some good ole holi-ing. I saw many colors in the shower. My left hand is still pink though.

"Desifest" at Nash's - Nash and Nick invited us to help them cook an Indian meal. We made a salad, but the true chefs were our hosts. The food was all so good with egg curry, a couple veggie dishes, chicken, shrimp, and rice. We watched Nash's amazing animation movie, Wishful Shrinking. The main character was an elephant who wanted to lose weight; Shashi and I both related to his woes.

Odds

2006-04-13T19:29:00.000-04:00

Last night, I worked SPICMACAY's Indian Classical Arts Student Showcase. Richa Sharma performed a piece of Bharatnatyam dance. Arnold Mahesan played carnatic violin with Ganesh on the mridangam. All the students were so talented. I also learned about sound compression from Pete, the maestro sound techie.

We had spinning, but Zipi did not play music or use the microphone as usual, in observance of Sedar, I think. It was an different experience. I had to focus on the amount of sweat beads dropping on my handlebars, instead of the beats to songs like "Rhythm of the Night."

Shashi, Sheila, and I volunteered to guide some Stuy juniors on Sunday. It was all short notice, but I think they got a decent look at the campus. Though some students were busy talking about the possibility of psychic bunnies. Apparently, at Bing, there was a group that also leap-frogged over each other. They must have been the same ones.....There were 5 guides for 108 students. Boris was also supposed to guide a group, but he was left eating his mozzarella sticks alone in RPCC.

There are so many events this weekend. What to do, if I want to attend them all?

Miller time

2006-04-11T22:39:00.000-04:00

So.....summer plans, probably Bangladesh. I'm excited as it will be the first time I will be there in 10 years. My uncle, who is a journalist, apparently has many contacts, including several famous Bengali writers and poets and even the prime minister. I will be using my travel grant, and hopefully I will get some good material for my report. I wonder if some of my relatives could take me over to Calcutta for a day or two as well.

Sheila and I spent a good 30 minutes gushing over Wentworth Miller, the actor who plays Michael Scofield in "Prison Break." He also plays Mariah Carey's love interest in her music videos, "It's All That" and "We Belong Together." I like him because not only is he attractive, but is is also smart. He graduated from Princeton with a degree in English lit. A thoughtful man.

I finally finished the Sangam food that I got on Friday. I had a good 4 meals with that, and only for the $7 for the cost of the buffet pack. No wonder I have so many Big Red Bucks left.

I was craving ice cream since it was a lovely sunny day today. I also wanted to wear a skirt, but I had spinning so I didn't want to change so I didn't wear one. Maybe tomorrow...

Elephant Bus

2006-04-09T11:43:00.000-04:00

I woke up with a start. My friends were not around. And we were supposed to get to North Campus to give a tour to some Stuy kids at 1pm. My mother comes in and says that I should get ready. I say that there is not enough time; the HS-ers have probably left from RPCC as it is.

Shashi, Sheila, Zhenni and Rima walk in. We decide to try to catch the HS-ers on the third stop on the tour somehow. Along the way, Rima goes to buy tilapia fish that Brundha had raved about previously. The tilapia fish is out in the open; Rima cuts it, and makes a sandwich. Zhenni doesn't pay for her tiny green high heel shoes, just because the owners do not see her purchashing something.

We're on our way, but I am wearing no shoes. I wish I too had gotten some high heel sandals. The ground is burning hot because there is aluminum foil on the ground. I complain that I have no shoes and sit down to rest on the ground. I see someone getting henna done. Then I see another pair of feet that have looked worn and suntanned, and look like they have walked for many more miles that my feel ever did.

A bus passes us by; one of those Indian-y blue buses, but this one is run by a walking elephant within the bus. I see the bus traveling around town; people cheering as the bus bounces along with people in the pick-up truck-style back area. Waiting.

The alarm rings; I wake up with a start.

It'll never be like this again

2006-04-04T20:26:00.000-04:00

Now that I'm a senior, I realize that it is nearly the end. It won't ever be like this, ever. That's why I want to do everything! So many plans, so little time:

MONDAY
We watched Silent Waters by Sabiha Sumar, one of the few feature films from Pakistan about a mother who tries to save her son from becoming involved in a rising Islamization movement under General Zia in 1979, Pakistan, while also struggling with her own secrets about her past. Suhair plays young Viroo in the movie. We had samosas, pakoras, and chai, courtesy of South Asian Women club.

TUESDAY
We feasted on a delectable sampling of the menu from Nacional 27, a new Latin-style restaurant in Chiacago, that has come to Okies. Oh, salmon and pineapple desserts, and guave cheesecake!
Plus, House.

WEDNESDAY
A free screening of American Dreamz at Cornell Cinema, "Starring Dennis Quaid as a Dubya-ish President, Hugh Grant as a Simon Cowell-ish host of an American Idol-ish show, and Mandy Moore as a ruthless wanna-be starlet, this comedy sure to push buttons!"

THURSDAY
Aparna Sen's 36 Chowringhee Lane

FRIDAY
Persian New Year, and maybe other stuff????

SATURDAY
Asha Spring Dinner

SUNDAY
A free screening of No. 17, with filmmaker David Olek. n June 2002, a bus on its way to Tiberius from Tel Aviv was bombed. Seventeen people were killed, sixteen were identified. No. 17 wasn't. He was buried a few weeks later - anonymous. This is where the filmmakers step in, documenting, in real time over a period of six months, the search for the identity of a man no one claimed missing.

MONDAY
MILRSO Fashion show volunteer meeting

I'd go on, but you get the picture.

Relay for Life

2006-04-04T20:17:00.000-04:00

On Saturday night, I had an all-nighter. I didn't do work. I actually had a lot of fun, and it was all for a good cause.

So, I was a member of C-Town 4, a team for Relay for Life. Relay for Life is an overnight event that was held in Barton Hall which raises money for the American Cancer Society. Cornell, Ithaca College, and SUNY Cortlandt students/faculty participated. Each team had their own "camp site" in the middle of Barton, with over 2100 participants, you can imagine, how full it was. It was an amazing sight, especially when everyone walked on the track. There was music by DJ Fuzzy Duck, performances by IY ( a band of students who are taking a year off to promote their album), BASE Productions, Anything Goes, Ithacappella, a belly-dancer, jugglers and the girl-who-can-balance-a-ladder-on-her-chin. I walked for most of the 11-hour relay, but I also got to hang out with my residence hall-mates, like Amy, Prabu, Ana, and Lorraine. We played Cranium for a bit. It's a really neat interactive game.

I also knew a lot of people who were on other teams, so that was cool. Shashi was on the Tradition team. I had a lot of free food, with bagels, pizza, fruit, fruit loop necklaces. I also got face painting done, and watched the Project Runway competition where Kamana was one of the few finalists in the toilet-paper designer dresses. I learned about Frozen t-shirt contests, and watched the touching Luminara ceremony.

At 7am, the next morning, we found out that we raised over 170,000 dollars!

It was a really memorable experience, and I was glad to have been a part of it.

Avoiding work

2006-03-29T23:33:00.000-05:00

I've been rapidly catching up on my latest television obsessions: Lost, Prison Break, and 24.

I watched Miracle, the Disney about the 1980 U.S. Hockey team in the Olympics.

Chung King Express is an interesting Hong Kong movie. Apparently, Faye Wong, one of the actresses, is actually or was a really popular rock star in China. She was known as the "Madonna of Mandarin." In the movie, she looked really cute, like a pixie, singing and dancing along to The Cranberry song, California.

I've been researching on various things:
summer programs in Bengal
Burma-Siam Railway memoirs
Zhang Yimou films

I ate Oreos and milk tonight. I loved how the cream and cookie melted or became soft and mushy-like when I dipped it in milk.

Today was a super day in Ithaca. I wore flip-flops and my light coat. I had lunch on Olin Terrace.

I met with Prof. Paterson. Her office is pretty awesome, with a photo of Aung Sang San, the Burmese political heroine, who is on-and-off house arrest in this turbulent country, also known as Mynamar.

Yearbooking Culture

2006-03-24T21:42:00.000-05:00

Shashi and I just returned from our visit to the Jostens plant in State College, Pennsylvania today.
Yesterday, after some conversation about what to pack and what to wear we walked to WSH. Jack drove us rode in his green Pathfinder, listening to "I'm In Luv With a Stripper" by T-Pain on the satellite radio, among other Top 20 Hits. We also made the trip is really good time, turning a normal 4 hours trip in just 3.5 hours.

We entered State College, which is where Penn State is located. Penn State dorms were really nice. It's like Ithaca, in that there's a College Avenue, lots of bars, neat handy-craft shops (and Avant Garden), similar food places including one serving "Exotic Indian Cuisine."

We checked into our hotel, Days Inn. The lobby area was really beautiful. It was like a mini-town inside the lobby with a a huge clock, artificial garden/pond area and high black gates that went over your head, and even a gazebo-kind-of-thing. Shashi and I shared room 200, past the ice machine. We each had our own queen-sized bed and massive amounts of blankets and covers.

Then, Shashi and I explored the neighborhood. We went into a couple of different shops with huge stuffed animals and puppets and crafts. We didn't buy anything, though we could have decked out in lots of Penn State attire. We saw a lot of parallel features of the neighborhood to C-town. We also wanted to get tattoos of the Penn State mascot, but I wasn't sure what it was exactly. (It's the lion, btw.) We passed by a tanning salon where all the tanning booths had shoes in front of them, meaning that they were occupied, and there was a long line of people waiting too to get brown.

We met Jack in the lobby back in Days Inn, and then walked some more around before going to the Tavern. We had dinner with Jack, Rick, Sandy, and Christy. They were all very fun and friendly and outgoing. Their stories made the yearbooking life seem so interesting, with lots of traveling, drinking, and memoires of cracking Rick's back with a chair, etc. I also learned that the largest island in freshwater surroundings is in Lake Huron. It's a Canadian island, M-something. For dinner, I had a tuna steak with lime red butter. I also had cottage cheese and fruit and spiced apple sauce. For dessert, I had the best seller humongous apple pie and vanilla ice cream. Boy, was I full!

We walked around again, after finding out Zeno's had a $2 cover, we went to Days Inn. We watched Sister Act 2 after much channel surfing. Then Shashi went to sleep, since she'd been up since 2am. I watched the end of the NCAA game with Texas and WVA. OMG. The final 10 minutes was a back-and-forth-anyone-can-win kind of game. When #12 Paulino of Texas made the 3-pointer right AT THE BUZZER, I literally sat up in my bed, and almost screamed with joy. But I controlled myself, and I didn't disturb anyone. I'm looking forward to watching more games. It's going to be MADNESS!

We went to the Waffle Shoppe for breakfast the next morning. I had a banana pecan waffle, since waffles are their specialty. There were lots of familys in a bright warm yellow-orangey restaurant.

We went down to the Josten's plant. Over 500 employees work there. There are different departments in this huge warehouse-kind of building. We took a tour of the process from design to mail to proofs to trendsetters to synergy to black cyan magenta yellow color magic. We also got to see actual pages that were printed off the presses; it was awesome to see the signatures on huge sheets of paper. There's also a paper cutter that releases 3 tons of force when it cuts; the guy who was operating the machine had a band-aid on his finger, but so far no one has lost a limb. Also a "clean-room" where there was a crock-pot ourtside the door 3 years ago. Then we had pizza for lunch. Lots of good conversation and gossiping about TV shows, movies, and about yearbook conference attendees who think "Harvard is like a tomato." Period. Everyone was so pleasant. I can see how people would like to work for the company, and be a part of the yearbook culture.

We got back to Ithaca on Friday at 6pm, so the drive back was just 3 hours. Jack may be a speed demon, but it doesn't beat the soccer moms with the flashing lights on their minivans possibly chasing Rick on the highway.

I had an Emilio with mushroom ravioli. Uh, it wasn't as good that it could have been. So note to self, not to order that again.

Shashi and I also watched Mulholland Drive at night. It was very creepy, made especially frightening by this one particular scene at Winkies. I actually covered my view for some parts of the movie. It was that disturbing.

Germs and Physics

2006-03-23T00:03:00.000-05:00

If you are in or know someone who is in enrolled in PHYS 116 this semester, beware when receiving back your latest problem set. Some dude who sat in front of me on the bus not only had an awful cold where he coughed continiously, and also dredged up his phlegm several times, also used those papers as tissues. I was so grossed out, I almost threw up. I felt bad that he was in pain, but then he got red pen-happy and gleefully graded and passed more germs than 100s on those homeworks. That doesn't deserve much sympathy.

"Everyone has a price."

2006-03-21T16:16:00.000-05:00

Last night I watched new episodes of Prison Break and 24.

Audrey Raines.....whhhhyyyyyyy?

Today I had a med school interview. So, my dad drove me. I got there super early, better than being super late. I was waiting in the lobby before I went to the Admissions office that the security guard pointed me to (I like people-watching and I had 1.5 hours to kill and didn't want the Admissions people to see how early I really was) when the lady came out of the office and asked if I was there for an interview. Of course, I was---what other well-dressed college-aged kids were there, looking all nervous----Anyway, she led to me the waiting room with other interviewee. Then we had the typical chit-chat. Some other kids came. Finally, my interviewer came to pick me up. A little old Indian man, I think. Or maybe he was from Burma, from the kinds of questions he asked me. For instance:

Q: What industry uses only English?

A: Apparently, the airline industry. Now, is that a general knowledge that I should know, or is it relevant to medicine in some way. If you know the reason, please enlighten me. Btw, I actually knew the answer to this because it was on some med school interview feedback website that someone recommended to me sometime.

Q: What's another name for Burma?
Q: What are the major Asian religions?
Q: What's the difference between Shi'a and Sunni Muslims?

Uh, okay, I didn't know about the Burma thing. I think I answered the other ones though. It was just strange, like he wanted to fill up his over-hour time slot with random questions. Ah, well. At least I got a free lunch.

Spring Break

2006-03-19T09:36:00.000-05:00

The last day of classes was on Friday. After learning about cocaine and morphine in Chemical Ecology (and seeing the PHOENIX near Duffield Hall --- pink and neon orange --- hot!), I went back to the room and watched an episode of Lost and did some last minute preparations/packing. I was planning to getting the bus at 2:25pm. I was out the door at 2:15pm. Many people were already at the bus stop, including the Sperry Crew, now the 6th Floor Casca crew. Anyway, I saw the Dragon on Neha's cell phone. It was red and white, yes, Cornell's colors. And some of them boyz were having a competition of who can get the most people to wave to them from afar, I think. Anyways, that passed the time, but then, two Shortline buses passed us. It was after 3pm until an empty bus finally got to our stop. The driver was a woman. She seemed like a new driver. She looked over the maps and had a set of written directions by her side. She also talked on the cell-phone through most of the trip. I sat in the front, as usual, where there's more leg room. Naftali, who lives with Erik, told me about his future goals to go into Ayurvedic medicine and going to the Bahamas to find an iguana and hitch-hiking in different countries. Gosh, I wish I were a plant biologist sometimes. Travel.

Speaking of travel, apparently, I won a $3000 grant from the Asian Studies department to go to India to continue my language studies. I sure hope I get to go on this trip; I just don't know where to begin. I guess I will ask Streematidi. Maybe also Rima.... But, if anyone has any connections or know of people in Kolkata who would be willing to teach me Bengali, let me know!

What else? Oh, I got into Port Authority right on schedule. It was sort of disappointing since we were an Express bus and that would get us into the city an hour earlier. But, the driver drove very slowly (but carefully) and also missed the one Ridgewood stop. So we had to drive along until we found a place where we can u-turn off the highway. And she didn't know where the stop was, so a kid from Mahwah came up to the front and told her where to go. He was doing a good job, and it was admirable that he would come up and help, but then he did a classless kind of thing. People from the bus said, "Tim! You should be a bus driver." Tim, then said, "Yeah, sure, I go to Cornell to become a bus driver." And our poor driver was in plain earshot of that remark. It's so stupid how some people feel all superior to others; it makes me sick. Ugh.

Anyway, I got home to find that my sister had baked me a banana-bread cake and some cinnammon break because I got into medical school. So, of course, we took massive amounts of picture of me lighting the cake candles, blowing out the candles, cutting the cake, clapping for the cut cake, and being fed cake.

Then, I watched another episode of Lost and went to sleep.

I woke up, and read nearly half of the memoir I was supposed to read, "If I Die in a Combat Zone" by Tim O'Brien. I also watched a bit of the Chinese movie that I plan on writing a scene synopsis for, called "To Live." I had lots of food, oi, maybe too much.

TV

2006-03-16T20:24:00.000-05:00

So yeah, I am addicted to two more television shows: "Lost" and "Prison Break."
I watch one episode of each show everyday for the past week. When I am away from my computer, I wish I were watching the shows. I want to know what happens.

Everyone has a past, a history. Who knows where we'll end up? We may end up in a deserted (?) island someday after a plane crash and all our experiences up to this one point may make a difference of whether we will survive or not?

Also, who are we to judge people? Cons have amazing skills, secret service turn out to care only for themselves. Dang.

Michael Scofield is just too smart; but too smart for his own good? I don't know, but I am glad that I can still see how it turns out.

:::sigh::::

Stuff

2006-03-07T09:27:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile. We've done a lot.
Unbreakable: Bruce Willis can bench press! There's an evil counterpart to every superhero.
Yay for Becky whose "Edith Piaf Saves the Day" won the 2006 Heermans-McCalmon Playwrighting Contest!
Snatching many snacks to make my Indian flag fried rice.
Cornell Commitment Convocation; Shashi spoke and we were beaming as much as her parents; Open House before the speeches was cool; Sheila's poster was displayed as a prime example of undergraduate research; Good cheese and hummus; Mark Gearan, former director of the Peace Corp and deputy chief of staff of the Clinton administration, made me want to be civically engaged. At least I know the First Amendment freedoms (speech, religion, press, assembly, petition the government ---- Didn't I do a class poster on this in the 7th grade --- dear Ms. Collins!)
The Village: it wasn't as thrilling as watching it the first time; still wasn't scary.
Dinner at Hai Hong with Shashi's family; enjoyed the Eggplant with Shrimp in Black Bean Sauce; Fried Ice cream which the young(er) people enjoyed.
Women's Basketball Game where we got to be sign-bearers: "Rolling with My Homies"
Watching the supposedly best well-made horror film out of Japan recently, but ended up laughing and confused by the end.
MLK III will be the Convocation speaker.
I learned about North Korean gulags, my god, it is still happening now. How can this happen? What can we do to stop it? And WHAT is it with the short man syndrome where guys supposedly make up for their height by ruling cruel totalitarian regimes or take over half the world? Oh, and the seemingly robotic participants in the Mass Games. It was freaky, but beautiful. Thousands of people dance together as if they are all one person. A brilliant show of how Communism expects individuals to be cogs in a perfectly working machine.

What's Real?

2006-02-25T17:09:00.000-05:00

I worked the Black Gosphel festival concert yesterday. The woman who was coordinating the event was named Sonya. She was especially interesting. She was so robust and frank and friendly that I just had to smile. She liked my name as well. :)

Afterwards, I watched "15 Park Avenue." It was a good film, but the best part was trying to come up with interpretation that made sense of the movie. We read one person's vantage point and it totally blew us away. It made Aparna Sen all the more masterful moviemaker in my eyes. It also frightened me a bit.

Today we went to the Spinning class. We actually got the elusive wristbands as we were extremely early. It was a good mix of people, including a Pleshenko look-a-like. Eerie.

Busy times

2006-02-24T10:26:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday night, I was at a Qawwali performance at the Statler Hotel. It was one of CP's gigs, so I reported to work at 4:30pm. We finished loading all the equipment back at WSH at 1am. Whew!

We loaded the truck with tons of sound equipment, including some new EVs that CP is testing out. We droved into the Statler parking lot; I "borrowed" a cart, and we rolled most of the equipment into the auditorium. The stage was re-done so there's not as much space, but the stage can be mechanically lifted and lowered so that helped a lot.

The performers arrived after 7:30pm; the show was supposed to begin at 8pm so sound check was hurried and incomplete. But there were a lot of people waiting outside, so the PSA let them in. I think people enjoyed the music. I think a lot of them just wanted to learn more about it, so that was cool. The lady next to me kept on asking me questions, but thanked me before she left for answering them. That felt nice.

The performers were Farid Ayaz Qawwal and Brothers. It was a man who was around 76 years old, his brothers, and his 4 sons. They were enthusiastic and kept on encouraging the audience to clap. They sang some songs that I even recognized, like Mere Piya Ghare Aya. I also found it rather funny that they somehow managed to slip each other paan during the performance. The lead vocalist got rather emotional, and sweated a lot. From the heat and excitement prolly. All and all, cool experience.

Then we had to strike everything. That took awhile. But we loaded everything in the truck and drove to WSH., only to find a Cornell Dining truck blocking the loading dock. So we had to look around for the baker who apparently had the keys. We walked in this room where all these freshly made muffins and breads were just made (at 12:30am). It smelled so good! Anyway, Pete finally went into the truck and found the keys already there. So he moved the Dining truck, which was surprisingly an automatic. We loaded all the equipment back into the office, and called it a night at 1am.

I woke up the next morning; muscle sore. Oh, and then I had spinning too. I sweated so much, yuck. My hand towel had also fell, but the songs were fun with S Club 7 and whatnot.

Then we went to the Blast into the Past dinner at Alice Cook House. Sheila and I won tie dye shirts. She rolled an 11, I rolled a 7. Oh she brings such good luck!

Afterwards, I went to the Islam Awareness Week event; a talk by Ahmed Younis in Goldwin Smith. He's a national director for the Musclim Public Affairs Committee, and has been working on a national level for Muslim civil liberties. He's been on several televison programs like the O'Reilly show and CNBC programs. We talked about Muslim integration into American society, and the need for it in order to be a part of the counter terrorism movement. We also talked about the Danish cartoons and the Dubai company port situation.

After the talk, it was hailing, snowing, raining. I was lucky to be not blinded as hail went behind my glasses. I prolly looked like a drenched cat when I got back to Casca.

THEN, we watched the Olympics: Ladies's Figure Skating, Long Program. Wow, I would not have expected the results. Arakawa of Japan won gold. Her performanced wasn't one of those "one-in-a-lifetime" free skates, but it was good enough with no falls to capture the top spot on the podium. I was happy for her, but also felt sort of sad for Irina Slutskaya of Russia. It was probably her last chance, but I admire her work and courage.

The First Step

2006-02-20T15:10:00.000-05:00

I read this article and kept on thinking, "That is SO true."

I am an addict.

When I have it once, I need more.

(I'm talking about sugar which can be as addictive as cocaine according to this guy: http://www.fitness.com/articles/18/is_sugar_as_addictive_as_cocaine.php#).

For example, I had an piece of chocolate yesterday at around 8:30pm. By 8:40pm, I had eaten all the rest of my Valentine's Day chocolate, plus a Kashi bar.

Semi-Formal

2006-02-18T01:59:00.000-05:00

Tonight was the SI Semi-formal. Yes, the event, I never was particularly excited about. I mean, freshman year, I didn't go. Sophomore year, Harita paid for my ticket so I had to go. (I paid her back eventually). Junior year, I was on board and Sav and Gati forced boardied to go. Senior year comes, I think, I might as well go. I would see people that I hardly see, and just to continue with the story.

I dressed up in the blue salwar kameez that I got for Eid. I like that outfit as it is comfortable, yet fashionable. Almost like a modern day Cinderella, lol.

Anyway, the semi-formal was held in the Hilton Garden Inn. It's actually a fairly nice place; it's brand new, right in the middle of the commons. We took a charters CUtransit bus there. I was in the first batch of people and there were like 10 people on the bus. But, the second round came by and brought many more people too. A bunch of people apparently drove, took taxis, and got rides to the Inn as well, so we got a good turn out. I am glad as I was worried about it, especially since Mani was working so hard to get people to come.

So, we took photos, people drank pretty looking drinks, apple juice, coca cola, and smuggled-in Bar-ens. It was fun sitting at the Senior Table. Though at one point, I felt so old. There were all these new people. I mean, I've seen them around and probably knew them by name, in fact because I have a thing with names, but it was surreal.

Buffet dinner was good. I had palik paneer, one of my most favorite dishes. Oh, and the kheer!

Then, the dancing began. There was some issue getting it started. I guess people weren't drunk enough to begin right away and felt shy or something, but V-Factor got the ball rolling by getting his groove on (I have video, pretty funny). Then, the seniors came in. Eventually everyone joined in.

The music selections were good and very diverse from the typical hip-hop party songs to bhangra to "Living on a Prayer" to "Like a Prayer" to "Chaiyyaa Chaiyaa" from Dil Se to "Mambo No. 5" to "It's Electric!" to "Mahi Ve" and "It's Time to Disco" from Kal Ho Na Ho. Oh, thank goodness for Bollywood. Those were some of the most popular songs.

Then the bus came backaround midnight and whisked us away back to C-town. The ball was over, and my shoes were still on my feet, so it's all good.

The curtain falls

2006-02-12T21:41:00.000-05:00

The closing performance of "Vincent in Brixton" was this afternoon. First of all, it was tough to get up because I went to bed at 4 in the morning, but after a bowl of Berry Burst Cheerios, I was charged up, as best as I could be at the time anyways. The actors gave out little tokens of appreciation, so that was sweet of them...

The show was supposed to start at 2pm; actors were due at 1:30pm so they can dress up and all. At 1:35pm, the actor playing Vincent still wasn't in the dressing room. The stage manager was worried, especially since we all knew that he had a cast party the night before (one of the reasons that I stayed up so late last night). (Those theater-types, wow, such unique people---I saw a girl dressed up like Catwoman at two places. I'm glad that I branched out from the brown crowd for a bit...). Anyway, we didn't worry about having a played called "In Brixton" because Vincent showed up. The show went well.

It's funny how each and every audience had its own personality; we had some dirty-minded ones ("Well you've got to eat something!"), ones that thought that the play was a comedy instead of a drama, ones that took a wrong turn on the way to Olin Library, and the "oohing and aahhing" ones. Yup, that was a sweet run.

Human Bowling and Big Brother

2006-02-10T10:00:00.000-05:00

I had a dream of my neighborhood last night. Hundreds of young people were lining the sidewalks on St. Peters Ave by the park. There was some sort of street competition where the guys were throwing these balls and trying to knock out the opposing side of people or something. Like a huge game of bowling but humans as pins? I dunno.

I'm reading Born Red, a memoir of a Red Guard. The Cultural revolution was terrible, but I can sort of see how one can be swept into the movement. Students suddenly had the power to take vengeance over their teachers who had once picked on them or gave them a lot of homework.

I returned my hatstand --- formerly the Bhangra sign from Diwali today. Now my hats are in the corner somewhere.

I walked all around campus yesterday. I went to West to drop off BOOM posters. I went to North for gym. I went to the theater at night. Man, I was tired.

There are many "live cam views of Cornell" online. Now, one can see if a person is walking by WSH or through the Engineering Quad. Cool, but sorta like Big Brother is watching. Creepy.

Birthdays, Audiences, and Participation Points

2006-02-09T12:01:00.000-05:00

"Yeah....::::sigh:::: I'm going to turn twelve." - my cousin

Man, I am old.

We began our second week of "Vincent in Brixton." The audience was very receptive and into it, oohing and aahing and laughing at the lines that were funny and even ones that weren't really unless one had some "dirty" throughts. Even the actors laughed at the audience's reactions backstage. All and all, it was fun.

I am using up all the ink left in my printer by printing in blue and green. It's different.

I participated several times in my Chinese Film class. It's funny that the only people who say stuff are not the Chinese students. That's probably why only only a third of the class actually says anything. The professor plans two hour long lectures, so he seems a bit surprised when people raise their hand to say stuff. I guess that's okay, but it can get rather dull. I'd rather talk a bit more when there is a small class anyway.

Random sounds

2006-02-04T16:36:00.000-05:00

Last night, there was an awfully annoying banging or ringing come from.....somewhere. At first I thought it was next door, but then my neighbor was not here. Then, maybe it was actually in my room. I roamed around in the dark, trying to figure out the source. I heard it while I was by the wall near my door, but not near my dresser as loudly. I even heard it early this morning. Perhaps someone's alarm clock rang for....over 8 hours....I do not know. It is a mystery.

Apprently, my hall-mates also heard some banging as well.

Yesterday someone was jumping rope in the room above me. They jumped for about an hour. I think they must be quite fit.

I had creme brulee at Simeon's last night. It was pretty nice.

Bloody fishcake and Secret Lovers

2006-02-03T15:11:00.000-05:00

Opening night of Vincent in Brixton went remarkably well, except for the blood in the fishcakes. Emily made everyone tiny bead violets. I also received many healthy and junky treats from Sarah and Richard with a lovely little note. By the way, the costume shop is really freaky at night, especially when I have to walk through it in the dark to get to the exit. I see all these mannequins lurking in the shadows, and I never really know whether one of them will turn out to be a real person. Creeeeeepy.

I had the most weird dream last night which involved Museo having a secret bf since the 8th grade....sure it's possible, but her guy was apparently someone who went to my old school. We all felt betrayed and all....Our family reputation was at stake etc. etc. Mad crazy.

Actors and Hip-Hop

2006-01-31T14:16:00.000-05:00

I'm the dresser for "Vincent in Brixton", a play that the Schwartz Center is putting on these two weeks. I am amazed at how comfortable actors are with their bodies and nakedness. They just undress like no one cares. Of course, with their kinds of bodies, I can't blame them. It was just shocking.

We went to the Hip Hop Summit and got "I Love Hip Hop" bracelets and 211 Entertainment CDs. The CD is fairly good, through the group went sort of long and the speakers were too loud for us to enjoy them live.

I am half finished watching the 3rd season of "24". Jack Bauer is a great American and super CTU agent, but he can be pretty dumb at times.

Eggs, Hip-Hop, and New Year

2006-01-28T11:31:00.000-05:00

I attempted making egg-bread/french toast this morning. I think it would have tasted better with white bread, but it was okay with wheat bread. I think I shall read for Chinese Film today and maybe do my chemical ecology reading too. The Hip-Hop Summit is tonight. I want to go so I can get a "I Love Hip-Hop" wristband and a 211 Entertainment CD. 211 Entertainment is a musical group that was started by some Cornell kids back in their freshman year. Cool stuff. I think we should start our band, seeing as we already have competition.

Oh yes, it's the Lunar New Year. It's the Year of the Dog. Oh boy.

Winter Semester

2006-01-27T10:30:00.000-05:00

Why are the semesters separated into Fall and Spring Semesters at Cornell? It feels like they should be known as Winter and More Winter semesters. It was 8 degress F this morning.

I woke up today after having some disturbing dreams, probably because I read some of my Scars and Bars reading right before falling asleep. I wept during this one article from a book "Acts of Memory : Cultural Recall in the Present." Susan Brison's piece was about trauma narratives as a way of reconstructing one's self in response to an experience. Oh, this class is going to be very cathartic. I can feel it.

Oh, I am a dresser for the "Vincent in Brixton" play. It will require a lot of time in the next few weeks, but it will certainly be a change from watching 24 all the time.

Straightened Hair

2006-01-21T09:09:00.000-05:00

I had another dream last night. It began with a sequence of events with my mom, sister, and me. Then, it shifts over to my dad, who is apparently suffering from some medical condition. He is in a great big room filled with all our relatives. They are all concerned since he is sort of the patriarch of his family. The condition is mysterious. His heart has a problem (---maybe coming from the angina that Bruce Willis's character suffered from in "Sin City," which Shashi and I watched yesterday). Anyway, there are new treatments. Then, he gets better, AND the asthma that my dad had also been suffering from was miraculously cured. So, it's like a wonder drug treatment that we have stumbled upon. People want to take photos. And my family is suddenly bombarded by photographers, wanting our picture. Of course, my hair is all messed up at that moment. Then, some lady gives me a hair straightener. I have never used a straightener before, but I decide to straighten my hair. By the time I finish, new photographers and relatives have come. My mom is playing some game with the aunties. Oh, I lost the last few minutes of the dream, but I do remember thinkingafter waking up in the morning that I should not take shower so as to not ruin my newly straightened hair. Hmmm, strange.

Huh?

2006-01-20T12:08:00.000-05:00

I had a bizarre dream last night. It was like a combination of the Da Vinci Code and 24. Jonathon Rhys Meyers accent/Jude Law character with a monk's robe wanted to go back to Ireland to go back to his Teacher who had betrayed him. I just wanted to go back to America from wherever I was at the time, and there was some sort of terrorism plot. Gosh, I lost most of the details, but it was weird, trust me.

I am watching a Tamil movie called BOYS. I think it is like an teen flick. It's about five teenagers who are in their first year at college and they all desperately want girlfriends. One striking thing is that they all actually LOOK like teenagers, scrawny and all. No old Salman Khan-age actors who play characters in their 20s.

2006-01-19T19:26:00.000-05:00

For some reason, Shashi's comment thing on her blog is not working, so I couldn't do this on her blog:

CONGRATS SHASHI!!!! You rock!

'Nuff said.

Too early

2006-01-19T06:59:00.000-05:00

So I woke up at 6:21am today to do Add/Drop. I turned on my computer and the mainframe time was 6:27am. I waited. I IMed. I logged on. I conquered. In other words, I am now enrolled in Spinning!

Shady Shortline

2006-01-18T19:49:00.000-05:00

So, Shortline is apparently having issues with its workers. On the way to Ithaca (yes, I am back!), we picked up a woman from some random place on the way to Monticello. She just had a hearing because she broke some rules. And there were several other hearings that day (17!). I guess they are cracking down on rule-breakers. Maybe that bus driver who drove me back home way back in Dec. was one of them.....he sure was a rebel.

Golden Globes

2006-01-17T12:34:00.000-05:00

I watched the Golden Globes last night. Some of my favorite moments:
- Sandra Oh trying to get from all the way in the back of the sitting area to the stage to accept her award. She was too cute. Her dress was nice too.
- Geena Davis's story of how Commander In Chief inspired a little girl to dream to become president, and then her perfectly-timed comedic confession that the story didn't really happen.
- George Clooney
- The Desperate Housewives acting like the popular girls of high school with all their congratulating and hugs and running up to stage together. They seem like such good friends, and they were allo so gorgeous.

Hmmm, I don't remember much else now. I better go get some stuff done now.
Good night, and good luck.

Charles in Charge

2006-01-15T18:11:00.000-05:00

So yeah, we went to another party on Friday night. It was a bunch of the neighborhood gang....of all the unmarried folks, or kids, I was the oldest. We played a game where I ended up having to sing a song. I sang the "Charles In Charge" theme song. It didn't go over too well since most of the kids didn't watch the show. They all stared at me with blank faces, except for a few of my peers. Oh, Scott Baio - how I miss thee.

I watched like 4-5 hours of figure skating the past weekend. Ofof the Men's competitors, I liked Evan Lysacek the best. Check out this website and you can see why (he looked good in that black shirt he wore for the free-skate): http://www.figureskatersonline.com/evanlysacek/
And he loves the movie: "Grease."

OH, and Michelle Kwan was chosen for the Olympic team! Yay!

Eid Al-Adha and What's a Modern Girl to Do?

2006-01-11T20:58:00.000-05:00

So we celebrated Eid for the past few days. We got these new salwar kameez from Jackson Heights and I got some new churey with the fancy bell-thingys on them. I finally got a chance to wear the multi-color necklace/earring set that we got awhile ago from my relatives.

We went to my cousins' house. We watched Salaam Namaste. It's a Hindi film dealing with live-in relationships between Nick (Saif Ali Khan) and Ambar (Preity Zinta). It's new and fun and modern. I don't know how I feel about live-in relationships though. Yeah, maybe in the beginning to get to know one another. But why can't some guys commit? Oh well, it's not always just the guys...I bet some girls are also afraid or whatever.

We have a dessert competition amongst my family members. We made Carrot Halowa, Ma made shemai and Dad made Shuji. I don't know the names of these dishes in more conventional languages. Then we had the judging done by the people who came over to our house on Eid to visit. Gajor Halowa won after a deciding vote by G12 kid. Boo-yah!

We also played Party Mania and took photos and videos and danced and ate etc.

If you're into New York Times reading:

Maureen Dowd: What's a Modern Girl to Do?
Published: October 30, 2005
Burning your bra or padding it. Demanding "Ms." or flaunting "Mrs." Splitting the check or letting him pay. Playing it straight or playing hard to get.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/30/magazine/30feminism.html?ex=1152421200&en=4c0bd9b9392f83a7&ei=5087&nl=ep&emc=ep

Bargaining 101

2006-01-08T17:18:00.000-05:00

1. Get to the store before the busy rush so the sales associate can feel easy spending a lot of time with you.
2. Show your hesitance or confusion over the "new trends", but willing to take her suggestions.
3. Indicate that you need to buy something that day (if not from her store, but from elsewhere.)
4. Strike up the concept of a common bond, be it coming from the same country or being "like two Bengali sisters."
5. Talk about how you just "can't" pay any more money: bills to pay, kids attending fine universities, etc.
6. If you have two daughters, and the sales associate expects two sales from you, but is stubborn about the price: get one of the daughters to walk out of the store because she doesn't want her mommy to pay too much for her dress.
7. Throw in more items in the package, like bangles or earrings.
8. Once the associate says a figure, and has packed up your dresses and accessories, give her less money, and run out the store so that you can escape the glaring pout of the sales associate who just made a sale that was half of the asking price for the store.

Follow these rules in Jackson Heights for the Eid sales and you too can also end up with new salwar kameez.

A. Agrawal

2006-01-05T13:34:00.000-05:00

Today I read the IMPORTANT ANNOUCEMENTS for the New Semester that Arts & Sciences College sends out. Then I started looking up my course selections. In doing so, I saw one of my future professors is A. Agrawal. I looked the name up on google, and apparently, but not surprisingly, there are two profs with that name at Cornell. And there are several others at the University of Toronto. Check out the interesting story at the link on this page:

http://www.eeb.cornell.edu/agrawal/index.html

It gives me hope that this upcoming semester will be enjoyable!

P.S. Vince Young is the man.

J&R

2006-01-03T14:44:00.000-05:00

So we went downtown yesterday. I can't believed I made that trek everyday for the four years at Stuy. It felt so long compared to just walking 15-30 minutes to class at Cornell everyday. Anyway, the subways are still as interesting as ever.

I drank a Chantico and Soy Machiato yesterday. It was good though the drinking chocolate was really sweet.

Then I went home and worked on my music video.

Woohoo 2006!

2006-01-01T23:16:00.000-05:00

With 45 minutes remaining until the first day of 2006 is over, I write in my kitchen while trying to find a digital camera to buy. Oh the possibilities; they make my head spin. Or perhaps it was from the spinning around in a wheely chair at Fiona's and Phoebe's place. It was the former's first birthday. Unfortunately, she slept through most of her party. We had to blow our the candles on her cake, we being the four of us cousins, united yet again! =) (Oh, Phoebe

It was enjoyable, especially when we ran around the building, pointing our finger "guns" to make sure there were no criminals on every single floor of the building complex. (We stopped on ever floor in the elevator. Only once did Museo point her fingers at an old woman who was going down to get her laundry. Hilarious. )

Then we went driving around the city. We saw tourists walk around Rockefeller Center, those street artists, cotton candy-wallahs, toy sellers, a man trying to promote the message of Christ on 51st Street, and much more. (Btw, the graffit artists rock!) We also saw the Tree and Santa Clause and Spongebob and Elmo.

Pecan Pie, Blood, and Threats

2005-12-30T17:06:00.000-05:00

I had pecan pie and apple pie at my scholarship donors home yesterday. Whew, it was yummy. Their daughter owns a bakery and certainly lives up to the title. We also had veggie wraps and sandwiches. There were the other scholarship recipients, including the guy who won this past year --- and he goes to Cornell too. So, I met a lot of fabulous dancers/artists who went to LaGuardia: Amber, Jaime, Quincy, and Vincent and the Stuy alum: Frankie, Chin, and Connie (?). Man, it was like a little family reunion. Tara and Sari were also there. Their Riverside apartment is fabulous --- with lovely views of the Hudson river. We sang "Willow" --- which was Tara's song that she had to sing to graduate from Brooklyn Tech, hahaha. We also took a lot of photos for the Stuy Alum Newsletter and such.
Also, I survived being around a dog. She kept on walking around us. Granted the dog was about the size of my head, it was a pretty big accomplishment for me!

Oh, I had an incident when my umbrella attacked me and I started bleeding while I was waiting for the train. Blood was on the umbrella, on my jacket, and eventually on my gloves. The guy who sat down next to me saw my bleeding finger and got up and left. I felt like I had just been in a movie and committed some murder, leaving the scene of the crime on the subway with my finger covered up with some random tissue I had in my pocket. It was weird.

Oh, I also witness some of the hostility between nurses and doctors firsthand today. Apparently, a doctor had "pushed" a nurse out of the path of a patient who was taking some sort of walking test and the nurse got all defensive, saying stuff like "I'll see you outside" and the doctor reply, "Yah, right." Sure, manners matter, but the doctor did say "Excuse me" and the nurse was in the way of the test proceedings, but did it have to end up being a shouting match in the middle of the hospital?

We got some halal chinese food and bought more puzzle today now that the 1000 piece that we started last week is done.

Bowling Mission Impossible

2005-12-28T20:20:00.000-05:00

We were going to go ice skating today. But then I remembered the last time I ice skated, this past summer in Lynah as an RA. I was so bad that my residents had to hold my hand while I slowly made my way around the rink. It was fun, but not worth paying for. So, we decided to go bowling at this bowling alley that we went to before last summer.

My cousins rode the bus all the way to our neighborhood. After showing them the hilarious videos from the birthday party they missed (i.e. Rod "backing dat a** up" amongst crazy Bengali girls twirling their hair and having a lot of fun), and giving them cake, we walked all the way to Middletown to go the bowling alley. Only another train stop away, and it was a nice day so the walk was nice. When we finally got to Middletown, we had to walk around this construction site; we wondered what they were building, but kep on walking. Then, we saw it --- our beloved bowling alley had turned into merely a parking log and the building next door was going to be a medical office. Drat! We have been away from the Bronx way too long.

After laughing about the whole situation, we walked back home --- picked up some real Bronx pizza and borrowed some movies from the library. We watched the old version of the Parent Trap with Haley Mills (remember that she played the teacher on Saved By the Bell years later).