Saturday, May 28, 2005

You love to hate them

Whatever the craze is about iPods, I just don't get it. Yes, they're quite dandy. Yes, they play music. Yes, they look cool. However, does this mean that you have to walk around listening to music 24 hours a day!? I just don't get it... people just walking around the streets of Boston with headphones on. Does there have to be a song for everything? Is the soundtrack to your life no longer a metaphor?

I just don't get it. And yes, I have an iPod.

A day in the park

Here is a rundown of what I saw today in the park:

* Wiffle ball! Gosh, how much I wanted to play.
* A guy who tried to fly a kite, unsuccessfully, for over an hour. That's a really long time to have a colorful thing attached to a long string swinging after you while you run.
* A group of Spanish-speaking men sing Oasis, accompanied by a guitar.
* A man carrying a huge Cartier bag. Don't they sell jewelry? I mean how big does your purchase have to be for you to be carrying a giant tote?
* A woman find her glasses in the grass - 5 hours after she had left them there.

Really, the park was happening today. Maybe it was because it has been the first non-rainy day since who knows when.

Friday, May 27, 2005

Oh, how I miss you, California

Another reminder of why San Francisco is one of the best places to live is the fact that they have Madeleine Peyroux performing not once, not twice, but three times in one year! Gosh, I miss SFJazz and all it had to offer (I got to see one of Rosemary Clooney's last performances and see Dave Brubeck and his sons perform). For those of you still there, go! (Anyone want to go to Joshua Redman with me?)

Will it ever go away?

My stomach ache is forever here. And it's not a real stomach ache, it's just a feeling in my stomach that it doesn't want food (yet I'm alwayas hungry). I've also got acid reflux. I think I have an ulcer (most likely not). I don't think I've ever been this stressed out in my life. This is what medical school does to you.

Bad drivers? Oh yeah, we've got them

Turns out that my rant about drivers in Massachusetts is not only a rant, it may actually be true that they are among the worst in the country. Add to that the fact that they honk at every possible opportunity and you have a set of drivers that just drives me insane. Well, I'm sure that mechanics and auto repair shops do well here in the great Northeast.

Thursday, May 26, 2005

All at once or one at a time?

A light bulb went out in my bathroom today. Now, it's not an emergency or anything, as there were a total of 8 lightbulbs in my bathroom (now, only 7). Why we need so many lightbulbs in a bathroom, who knows.

But the question is, should I wait until it's sufficiently dark (meaning that more bulbs go out) to change the light bulbs in the bathroom, or should I change the one that went out today and change them one by one? I guess that would also depend on whether the previous owner of my bathroom changed them all at once and I will soon have to "do my business" in the dark or if they changed them one by one because they didn't want to be left in the dark. Ah, the dilemmas of apartment living.

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

New and Improved!!!

...soon.

I'm contemplating a change to the look of this blog (in a few weeks, after all the madness). If you have any suggestions, or would offer up some help, it would be greatly appreciated!

Monday, May 23, 2005

Will I miss the apocalypse?

Every morning, regardless of how late I am waking up or what other important things I just have to do, I check The New York Times and BBC News... Just in case something catastrophic happened when I was sleeping.

Really, it's an obsession and not healthy. But then again, who said I was sane and healthy? By the way, I've had a stomach ache for a good week now. Maybe I should be more worried about that than the daily news.

Saturday, May 21, 2005

How exciting!

I bought the newest book by Ha Jin today and I'm beyond excited. I think that just proves how much of a dork I am and how little it takes for me to get giddy.

And those of you who haven't heard of him, go find his books. They're amazing. Well, I've only read Waiting but I'm very much looking forward to reading War Trash (recently released in paperback).

Friday, May 20, 2005

A free couch that cost me $150

One of my friends is graduating from medical school and she gave me a free couch and matching chair. They're rather old couches, but hell, I'm a student and can't really afford to pay for furniture (or at least not more than $10).

In moving the free couch and matching chair, I managed to get 2 parking tickets. Yes, 2. Not just 1, but 2. Now, what was that again, you may ask? Yes, 2 parking tickets. Those of you who know me may also ask, how do you get 2 parking tickets if you don't own a car? Well, rather easily apparently if one of them is for a rented car and another is for your friend's car (the same friend who gave me the couch) - both of which were parked, illegally of course, in front of my apartment building for a total of 5 minutes.

At the price of $75 apiece (charge: parking in a no stopping zone, which is apparently more serious than parking in a no parking zone - who knew?), I will be paying $150 for the free couch.

Totally uncool

I just have to say that anyone who carries anything on their belt loop is automatically uncool. Really. I just saw a guy walking around with his iPod on his belt loop. Others have their giant cell phones. Come on, people! It's not like it's comfortable to have a giant piece of technology on your belt loop. We all know you're showing off. Thanks for doing so, and keep on walking.

Thursday, May 19, 2005

YennieT versus Durian

So I had a bit of a run in with a giant piece of fruit at the grocery store a few days. Now, this was not an piece of fruit, but a durian. For those of you unfamiliar with the durian , it's one big fruit. Now, I tend to think of fruit as rather wimpy, soft, and not very big or scary and if you think the same, then you have never encountered the durian.

Now, enough about the fruit and more about the fight. I was minding my own business in the grocery store, going about my own business when one of my swinging hands (swinging because my basket was heavy and I had to swing to counteract the basket) hit a box of durian. Now, if it hit a box of oranges, no big deal - bruised oranges. But, it was a box of durian - big deal. My fingers had holes in them and then they started to bleed, really bleed. Luckily, being the accident-prone person that I am, I carry bandages in my wallet and bandaged myself up and went on my way. Upon arriving at home, I had to change my bandages and ended up with three on one finger and one on another, freaking out several of my friends when I saw them later.

So, in the end, I lost and the durian won. I still have the scabs to prove it.

C-SPAN

Somehow, I ended up watching about a half hour of C-SPAN yesterday. It was a live broadcast of the hearings in the Senate regarding the nuclear option. Now, as the former political science major that I am, I appreciate C-SPAN every now and then and yesterday was one of those times. I was listening to Senator Schumer from New York and Senator Boxer from California speak and throughout their speeches, they mentioned (countless times) "what the Founders intended" and "Constitutional debates" and such. Now, being ashamed as I am, I wish that I would have paid more attention in high school history because I only knew about half of what they were talking about. And even more so, I realized that I still had no idea what the nuclear option is and why it has such an odd name.

Monday, May 16, 2005

How'd they do that?

Does anyone know how the Star Wars ride at Disneyland works? I was out with friends and that popped into my head. For me, it's always been one of life's greatest mysteries.

Sunday, May 15, 2005


I just had to put up a few pictures of all 4 little babies.

Monday, May 9, 2005

Race in Boston

After moving to Boston, I realized just how segregated this city is and how the communities, geographically and socially, fall sharply on racial lines. Add to the decades of historical discrimination two events in the past few weeks that have put race back on the list of hot issues in Boston.

First, there was a report that concluded discrimination against racial minorities was still widely prevalent. Secondly, a ceremony to mark the 60 year anniversary of the end of the Holocaust is protested by white supremacy groups.

What makes Boston so different than other big cities (I'm thinking of San Francisco)? Is it the people? The history? The weather?

Sunday, May 8, 2005

Me and Bailey's

So, to reward myself (for what, I have no idea) I decided to buy a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream on Friday. Well, come Friday night, I have nothing to do and I'm dead tired so I open the bottle, pour myselef a generous glass over ice, watch a video on my couch and fall asleep before midnight, happy as a plum. I know one of the first signs of alcoholism is drinking alone, but does this count?