Friday, December 19, 2008

Love

is just such a peculiar thing.


I was so convinced this moment was what I wanted and it's all turned out to be a disappointment. what's worse is that there isn't an east way out!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Do you think about me now and then?

Oh! Cause i'm coming home again.



Maybe we start again?

Monday, December 8, 2008

Monday, December 1, 2008

"You will soon receive a letter from a loved one"

as my fortune cookie today reads. Friends: get on it!


The last thing I want to do is make this blog a personal ranting and raving journal. That's my my written journal is for. Enough of that and more of my thoughts.

Sometimes I wish college would offer a way to take a seminar that only lasts a week, on a variety of specific topics. For instance, I've always been really interested in pheromones and how they are projected and perceived by others. Why are some people naturally more attractive (not physically, but in terms of more approachable) than others? Please, I'd like to know!

Also, I'd like to focus a week on STI rates in Western European countries, mainly those that are more open about sexual behavior, legalize abortion and make birth control readily available.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Resolutions a month early

I've got to take better care of my body, mind and image. I havent gotten completely off track, but I could use a little upkeeping.


Then again, this has selfish, jealous motivations.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Photo update since September

RIP 6.99 Ross shoes

I wore these flats on the first rainy day I got back just to discover that one of the soles was COMPLETELY ripped out and the other was almost there.

Martyn and Anton cooking for us

Teresa and Michaela's travel buddies from Australia came to visit for a few weeks and Martyn cooked us this delicious Thai dish. He had marinated the beef in beer and few other things. Honestly the best marinated meat I've ever had.

My favorite of Martyn's tattoos

Totally obsessed with the hand tattoo.


Three pounds of candy

My best friend is away in Denmark and missing her candy... So my friend and I sent her three pounds worth!


In recent news, I moved to an apartment with four girls. The place has a LOT of potential.. it's just a matter of agreeing on what is going to happen and staying on a student's budget.
Also, I feel completely confused on how I am coming off to other people. When I don't act like myself and become reclusive, I'm unhappy and well, not myself. But when I am myself, I give off the wrong impression and attract unwanted attention and get myself into stupid situations. Can't I just be myself and form awesome friendships and nothing else?

apparently not.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Expanding my "favorite resturant" list

Flowers is in the top three for sure. I didn't even have enough room to try everything. I'll probably make it back there for my birthday lunch next week.


Where did time go? Out the window, the second story window....

Friday, October 31, 2008

Mixed drink of the week

strong green tea + fresca = yummy health drink?

Monday, October 27, 2008

Election countdown: 8days

I thought I'd be more excited about election day because I thought there would be weekly student debates but I haven't heard about a single event. Though it'd be a nice thing to assume, I know the campus isn't all voting for Obama. Let's start some arguments!


What has gotten me really excited is not only is this MY first year voting, it is almost my father's. He has taken a stand and actually participating in US politics. That's not very ordinary of him. Unfortunately, my vote isn't holding too strong because my vote will cancel out of my fathers which leaves Mccain dominating my house. Thankfully my neighbors know better.


Since no one else around me seems to be doing a whole lot, I have taken upon myself to email my parents once a day until Election day with only one reason (per day) about why they should reconsider. That's only 8 reasons out of many that I have to choose!

Wish me luck.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Every Single 2008 Nobel Laureate Endorses Obama

An open letter to the American people by some of the brightest minds in the world. A very poignant message. You'd think they'd at least use official stationary!

read more | digg story

Thursday, October 9, 2008

My hiding spots are so good

That I cant remember where I put anything.

where is:

my debit card? (why did they send me a new one? fate? does wamu know everything?)
my umbrella?
my underwear?
my camera cable?



Learning distraction

Monday, October 6, 2008

Though I am concerned with the current state of the economy,

I'm not SUPER worried about long term investments.

With that said, my investment loss is at 20.61%.

Friday, October 3, 2008

The main purpose of this post is just blab about what amazing food i made the other night:

Middle Eastern Style Meatballs with Couscous

I got the recipe from here, but I ended up modifying it a little bit. I added 1.5 times as much pepper and cinnamon and added onions and garlic to the meatballs. Let me tell you, DELICIOUS. I also added a cup and a half of peas and a cup of cooked carrots to the couscous. The only little issue I had were the carrots: they were not soft enough. and I wish I had used zucchini.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

travelers attract travelers

travelers also attract exciting and romantic lives
N was off traveling europe when she met a boy from Australia and then transferred to his school for 6 months
T went off to Guatemala and had a good time
A traveled the world and met some Turkish man.
L traveled to TZ to find a boy from California.
L moved to the big city and loves it (like I knew he would).
J decided to move to Poland and loves it enough to go to school there.
K and A both moved back to Poland and K is getting married soon.
S found her Australian lover in the big city, followed him to nyc and now he's coming back.
M moved to Cape Town and has made it her home.
H traveled abroad for a quarter and decided to stay to work for a year or two.


and me? I'm a lot of stories. But I came back. this time.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Answer to my lecture note taking issue.

It's so wonderful and easy to use! Now if only computers could generate documents from scanned pages of books instead of leaving them as picture pdfs....
which is more appropriate: Third World country or developing country?
What are the list of requirements for a Third World country? What's the pivotal point at which a developing country becomes a developed country? Do I live in a developed country?

Sunday, September 28, 2008

for once, i'm super p u m p e d about school. so p u m p e d, that I am registered for 18 credits and way in over my head. Maybe I should drop a class?

Monday, September 22, 2008

obviously there is a lot to be reflected on and said about the adventure I just had, but I've got more important lingering questions on my mind right now.

Last summer i was introduced to the world of fine cheeses and chocolates. thanks. that did me a whole lot of good as both are so incredibly healthy and nutritionally dense (sarcasm never ceases). though I did not dine on fine red meats this summer, i have found a new passion and craving for them. so what am I getting to exactly? well you see. I haven't adjusted completely to the time difference and I woke up at half three (damn brits and your way of speaking) totally starving. So I defrost some veggies and a beloved tofu corn dog. As i was eating the delicious fake meat invention I kept thinking, "why dont people make real sausage corn dogs?"

next dinner plan.
wait a second. I didn't get a chance to post about the "big event" aka i got run over by a pikipiki/motorcycle a few hours before I was supposed to leave Dar Es Salaam.

long story short: I was wandering about the city pretending not to be lost but actually totally and completely lost in a very busy market-y part of town. I was quite proud of myself for having wandering into the real Dar Es Salaam where there were no signs in English, no wazungu, no fancy restaurants... just plain ole Tanzanian culture. Lots of dukas, loads of fabric shops and electronic/houseware/misc stores. My goal of the afternoon was finding more birth control (it's just $.13 a pack), trying to fiddle my way into buying strong pain killers, finding herbal medicines for no specific ailment, purchasing a rather large and sharp knife for my father, possibly finding more fabric and of course, dried dates.

wait this was supposed to be the short version.

I see a pharmacy across the street, watch traffic, make my move. stop in the middle (where my side was stand still), checked the other side, made my next move (the near death one).
motorcycle/pikipiki comes up behind the car I am in front of with far too much acceleration, knocks me to the ground and runs me over.
being me, I get up in complete confusion and sit down on the curb with one three lettered thought, "WTF".
An extremely nice gentleman takes me into the pharmacy that I was planning on going to anyway (just not in the same fashion) and gets the clerks to clean me up and bandage me well enough to get on my way. that was quite the experience. not only was I stared at blantantly because I was the only white person in a considerably large mile radius, i was also stupid enough to get hit by a moving vehicle and have massive wounds all over my body.

short short.

Basically, I thought i had broken my jaw and thumb, but the only real damage was done to my knees, calf, left foot (I thought the gash was deep enough to see my bone... im still not entirely sure), left hip, chin, cheek and palm. Here is a photo about 36-48 after it happened:



(i'm not sure of the time because I was in flight for 32 hours yet I arrived at my destination 10 hours after I left the departure point).

I'm afraid to touch the wounds because the bruises are massive. So massive my knee cap is actually numb in a few places.


so much for looking nice on the first day of class. Also, i was half hoping to be covering from malaria on the first day of class since I have two courses concerning "emerging diseases" and "microbiological transmission of infectious diseases". instead I just get run over.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

An update before I physically leave the continent is definitely necessary.

location: Dar Es Salaam. on my own.

discoveries of the last 24 hours:
Dar Express bus station is super far from the city centre and taxis are expensive
make reservations at hostels a week in advance or else you're stuck with a pricey room
I dont like traveling on my own

The only time I ever get stressed is when money is involved, but Im not allowing that to happen on my last day here. My room is a double; one bed to sleep in and one bed to keep all of my stuff on. I've got a nice fan and my own bathroom. YES my own bathroom with HOT water. I didnt feel bad at all taking a 15 minute shower and using up alot of soap (that I have to toss today anyway). Also, I have digital cable! So I watched Smash Lab (new favorite) followed by Mythbusters (old favorite).
And for dinner I treated myself to some delish octopus.

It was a good day.



and now I will attempt to find a market, buy some fabric and atleast a kilo of dried dates. my favorite.


seattle, i am ready. I think.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

not sure quite what to say yet.


back from zanzibar. the plane broke and we were delayed 12 hours. that's 12 hours i could have spent buying cute things, eating food... OR EXPLORING THE STREETS. just beautiful.


i go home soon. 2 weeks. is that enough? was that enough time? too much time?

Friday, August 29, 2008

Sawa

favorite word of the week.

When I have more than 20 minutes, I will copy ans paste parts of my emails here as I feel those are a better representation of what's going on in my life. That and it's got all the juicy details.

I can't believe I've been here for 5 weeks already. Where did the time go? I came here unsure of what I was doing exactly, then got super stoked on being active and now I'm somewhere in between. I met a really neat and smart person who proposed a lot of questions that got me thinking, what the hell am i doing here? what am I planning to do after this? what are my plans in terms of school? am i really just trying to move to NYC to be with all the hipsters (hah NO.)?


be assured, i'm doing a lot of thinking here. once it gets dark at 7, there's not much to do but speed sudoku, logic puzzles and think. so much thinking.


in 4 or 5 days i fly to zanzibar. there goes more money. but hey! it's MY holiday. i want some sun. yes holiday. damn brits. i'm moving to your damn country and picking up your accents because it sounds fancier than my rough americanese.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

I am well. After 2 weeks at Mt Meru University, I finally moved in with my host family. They are adorable. We live in a place called Manyire village, like 60 min from Arusha. I'm trying to find a google photos to show you where... Apparently there are 5000 people here but it's SO rural. I could get lost for days walking the mountains and fields.
we live on a farm with goats, cattle, cows and hella chickens. and one annoying kitten. YES THERE ARE LIKE 20 ANIMALS. I wake up with goats talking to each other and a rooster yelling. One of the mama cows gave birth last night. Mama is going to teach me to milk a cow soon. And she is teaching me to make Tanzanian food... more on that later. the house is super simple with 3 rooms, one of which I share with an English girl named Kate. She is super nice and funny and keeps me sane. we have three kids, 9, 7 and 5. they are so cute! there are a bunch of kids that live close (all family) so there are times there will be 10 kids in a 10 by 10 "living room". totally nuts. The first night one of the boys dreaded my hair and kept saying "rasta rasta". My mama is super nice and cooks pretty good food. The standard Tanzanian food is rice, ugali (corn flour and water... kind of like cream of wheat except you roll it into a ball and scoop up beans with it), beans, beans, mchicha (shredded spinach that is heated) and chapati (like naan bread or tortillas). My roommate and I requested no meat as we cannot eat cow instestines :( gross. so we asked for chicken and got all the parts of teh chicken BUT the breast. seriously. like chicken feet and neck and everything else. apparently the head is edible? Anyway, we are getting sick of the high carb diet so we are trying to get some more eggs and peanut butter into our diet. Standard breakfast is white bread with butter and instant coffee. OH AND our kitchen is separate from our house... a little hut with these stone boxes that make a fire place. Totally weird, I know. I'll take a picture if I can. So mama taught me to make chapati and roasted bananas so far. Next up is ugali and some other stuff.

So what have I been doing? Teaching! we started teaching last Wednesday. We're teaching at a primary school where each class is OVER 60 students. We teach standards 4, 5, 6 and 7 (about 10-16 yr olds). The standard 7 class is 60 students and apparently the standard 4 is 94. OH MY GOODNESS. Teaching is a lot of fun though. We teach in English and then our Tanzanian teaching partners translate to English. It's really rewarding work. all the kids have a lot of energy and we do a lot of shouting games and clapping and such.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Tanzanian update (#1?)

I have not yet written from East Africa. Why? Simply SO MUCH TO DO.

actually, that is a lie. There hasnt been a whole lot to do before the program started (today). I cant begin to explain how long my transit was!! So much waiting, so much time on moving vehicles. But it's so worth it. It is SO baeutiful here. I believe I was the stupid blogger and forgot my camera cord. You may have to wait.


the internet is too slow. more later.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Dubai

Omg it's like 102 degrees here. thank goodness for air coniditioning.
best airplane food EVER. my meal was made by human hands and there was too much of it.
Today has already been long. Today and yesterday?

fri 9:30-3:00 (6:00est) - seattle to nyc //// flight time 5.5
6est to 11est - waited for airplane //// wait time 5
11:20est-8am dubai time? - nyc to dubai //// flight time 12.5
8 - 10:45 /// wait time 2.75
10:45 - 3:30 - flight from dubai to dar es salaam


and i cant even go on. there is so much crazy stuff going. I'll write later.

Friday, July 18, 2008

Sorry this blog looks so boring

Maybe with some photos and a better color scheme (anyone out there have a nice layout? eh?) it will look nicer. Most of you who are reading this are probably on my 'general mailing list' (minus my parents) and I'm sorry that I don't have more exciting news here. Check back in a few days and i'll give you an update or two.

First letter of conduct, written and sent on July 18th, 2008:
'Hello dear friends!

I'm writing to you just hours away... heck who am I kidding? This is not a formal letter. This is a blurb to tell you what is going on in my life and where I will be the next couple of months in case you were trying to get lunch or invite me to some rad party (like that ever happens anyway).

At 9pm tonight, I fly to NYC, where I will catch a plane to Dubai, from where I will catch another plane to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Yes Tanzania. I included a map with points and destinations for your convenience. From Dar Es Salaam, I will take a 9 HOUR bus ride to Arusha, where I will meet up with the rest of my group. I will be living in a rural village with a Tanzanian family for 2 months, helping teach how to prevent HIV and working with locals to become more aware of the deadly virus. As you may have guessed, I will be taking photographs. A lot of them. And mostly all on film!
Not to totally brag, but I'd like to stick it in REI's face that what they advertised as a "weekend backpack" has me packed for 62 days, no joke.

It's going to be a tough adventure, but I'm super excited because I love traveling and am committed to global health.

Wish me well, that I will come back to Seattle in one piece, with a backpack overflowing with Tanzanian goodies and a mind and heart filled with inspiration, knowledge and awareness.'


Tanzania!!!!!
The flight route



Map of Tanzania

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Cereal. Is this even cereal anymore?

Every since I can remember pulling the bag of Cheerios from my grandma's cabinet when I was 4, I've been eating cereal every day. Well, not throughout grade school, but ever since I've been making my own breakfast (basically forever, right?). There is maybe a day or two that I miss a month. But on some days I eat 2 bowls and it makes up for the missed days.
Obviously, tastes and values have changed over the years. It used to be all about warm 2% milk with cheerios. Then honey nut cheerios. Then god knows what horrible kids cereal the corporations manufacture. Somewhere in middle school I realized how unhealthy 2% was, so I switched to nonfat. Then a little while later realized that organic or natural milk was so much better. As was Trader Joe's granola. Hello granola and milk! somewhere in this time period came excessive consumption of yogurt and granola as yogurt is superior to milk.
Then, about a little over a year ago, I found out I was lactose intolerant and the world of soy, rice and almond milk opened up. The, about 3 months ago I found out i was super allergic to cane sugar and almonds. Good bye beloved vanilla almond granola and vanilla soy milk.


what am I left with?
All natural Shredded Wheat (two ingredients: wheat and vitamin E) and Wheat&Barley with UNSWEETENED soy milk.



my life has become so bland!

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Dead arm

I got the hep[atitis] A, meni[ngococcal] and polio vaccines today.


In two weeks it'll be the typhoid and yellow fever vaccines.

At least those won't make my arm incredibly sore! this is ridiculous.


I find it weird that there is a shortage of yellow fever vaccines in the United States. And also with rabies vaccines. They are so expensive! Pharmaceutical companies are making major bank.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Hard to explain

to why some people are so charismatic and influential in ones life.
I wish I had all the powers in the world to do what I want. And by powers, I mean money because honestly that I really what I need. Yes, I know there are ways around not having a bunch of money, but I cannot sacrafice school right now even though I tend to think I am bullshiting my way through college and will have accomplished nothing in a year.

I want a reward for my "hard work". I dont want to stress about money being tight.
I forgot to mention I ate at Burger King yesterday. Probably first time in a decade.



and it was a veggie burger!

Dilemmas and complaints:

it's 11:30 right now and I ate breakfast at 8 and my next class is at 1:30 and I'll be busy until 5. I should get lunch now but I'm lazy and too cheap.

i went out and PURCHASED the book I needed for my report (I never buy books!), took the lovely 5 hours of my Sunday evening to read it and have just found out it's only 2 pages double spaced. all the work for something so little.

coffee or no coffee? i dont want to waste a paper cup....

Monday, April 21, 2008

Diet

I almost forgot about my new diet. I was supposed to start today, but I think I'm going to wait until I eat through all the foods I'm not supposed to eat first so that I dont waste anything (waste > my health)


So I suppose in a few days that food should be eaten and my diet will no longer consist of:

cane sugar (in any form)
almonds
bean sprouts

and like usual, no dairy.


I've got to finish my two favorite things before I start my diet: almond vanilla granola with vanilla soymilk.

Cane sugar will be tough, but it makes so much sense that I'm allergic to it. It's why I always feel healthier while in Europe- they use beet sugar! So my life will now not only consist of reading nutrition labels, but being able to identify brands and knowing where beets are grown in the USA. awesome.

Sundays are a joke

On Sundays, I'm pretty good at underestimating the amount of work I have to do for the following week. How do I know this?
Because my datebook is filled with at least 2 things for every date until Saturday. Then, I've got 2 volunteer events happening in 2 weeks, a paid temporary job for a week in a few weeks, more hours at my current job, a few lunch/dinner/coffee dates spread over the next 2 weeks, an application for my major due this week, prefield training on the weekend, 3 short papers due in the next week and an exam in 2 weeks.


What have I completed so far? What have I gotten started on? (no one probably cares but at least it lets me keep track of myself):
just about to start 2 of those short papers


that's it.


Oh yes, and I have to buy gifts for 3 individuals in the next week or so.


YES TO BEING BUSY.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

What's going on in my brain

>> i should chop off my hair for summer. life would be easier.
>> i should pierce my nose again. where's the money going to come from? I should work some more.
>> hungry. what's to eat? burrito. pb&j? oh yeah, no sugar.
>> I'm highly allergic to cane sugar. and almonds and bean sprouts.
>> If it hasn't been noted, I'm lactose intolerant and have been on a dairy free diet for 11 months.
>> please, 2 page paper just type yourself.
>> I just checked some brands in my area... turns out beet sugar is pretty available! but that still means I need to avoid all baked goods for the next 3 weeks because most bakeries use cane sugar (so much better in cooking. a lot sweeter!)


Here we are at this place, a great historic moment


O rly?

Friday, April 11, 2008

also

what's up with this 2 month gap? ridiculous. my paper journal is suffering as well.

i guess it should be noted that i'm:
in school
not really working
sort of kind of studying
dating someone amazing
trying to like seattle but not really
getting ready for traveling
feeling anxious and scared
and really emotional
It's weird the differences in intensity and length of relationships affects the influence that a person has on another (or at least in me)...

Though I have close friends that keep me sane and grounded on a daily basis, a brother and sister who I see on occasion give such wonderful advice and listen so thoroughly that I'm left forgetting what I was stressing about earlier.

then there's a boy who makes me forget what I was thinking about 10 seconds before...

Monday, February 11, 2008

seriously, just as i try to take school seriously by toning down the credits, working extra hard, doing extra reading, someone still finds a way to fuck me over.


point may be proven that I just should not do school.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

I'm not going to lie, the future makes me really excited.
One sign of excitement, everyday my Googlereader is filled with more than 200 medical articles. Yes sir, things are happening and I am ready to be apart of it.


Thassos collage

Saturday, January 26, 2008

P R O A C T I V E

Front view of castle in Lancut

000022

shift switch time to change it up

I talk alot about change, about moving and having big plans
but it's easy to forget that i've got to work on myself first
i've come to enjoying the moment, with where i am and the people i am surrounded with

My favorite garden

Flowers in a meadow

i'm glad the worst part of winter is over
the sun is beautiful and walks are becoming a delight, not a thing to fear

Abandoned car


family feast

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

I learned all I know from watching the wrestling

it's me versus you in love
we'll tag team, double up
hit you in the sweet spot
make you wish you coughed up

Monday, January 21, 2008

The first post

It's like that feeling of finishing some deep house cleaning, ah a new blog!

What is there to say? I am back from my photo hiatus for one. I fixed the holga (a couple of mods still to go) and I ranked my film in order of cash value. Why? I realized that I just stuck my hand in my fridge, grabbed one and left and then came back with shitty photos on really rare expensive film. Problem fixed! Second, life is in order (for once).

On the music front, go see Balkan Beat Box on march 2nd at Chop Suey.