Industrial Moths

New Blog!

2010-09-21T10:24:00.000-07:00

Check out my new blog for high times at UVM COM.

Study Break

2010-06-14T13:10:00.000-07:00

Good story

Watch!

Zach Anner - how cool is this guy?

Zach Anner2

I heart the internet:).

It's Monday

2009-10-26T18:13:00.001-07:00

which means I only had 48 hours over the weekend to wash the dishes piled up in my sink,

which is why I am eating cereal for dinner out a coffee pot using an ice cream scoop.

I am totally successful at being an adult.

I just

2009-09-06T20:14:00.000-07:00

updated my blog profile to say I'm in Burlington instead of Brooklyn. I guess I'm really here. Updates on my med school adventures coming soon:).

Good Night Moon: An adult bedtime story(ish)

2009-07-29T22:02:00.000-07:00

I'm home for a few days before the big move, and I've decided to clean out my closet at my parents' house. My bedroom has a lot of history. My brother and sisters have all shared this room with me or each other at one point or other while we were growing up before it officially became my room. As a result, even after moving out everyone seemed to have a claim to the closet and it became kind of a black hole for all the unwanted junk in our household. Now I get to clean it out. Besides all the random appliances, maps and globe, tape recorder, bags, and roller blades I've found so far, I realized I'm shedding a lot of my past history tonight. So to commemorate here's

A Conversation with a Closet

Good-bye first skirt I picked out myself. With you came the beginning of the end of an awkward period in middle school where the only items rotating through my wardrobe were two pairs of jeans and oversized turtlenecks that my brother had rejected.

Good-bye mint green and powder blue everything. You carried me through high school and most of college, but time has taught me that we don't bring out the best in each other.

Good-bye sparkly red built-in-bra tank top, you were with me through many an awkward frat party.

Good-bye overly trendy tops from studying abroad that I never really wore again.

Good-bye fluorescent blue clam diggers, we had some good times but they are definitely over.

You can stay rhinestoned Sagittarius T-shirt that's way too small for me. You too giant red sweatshirt that I got compliments on in middle school.

Good-bye size small and x-small. Let's be honest, there was never really a chance we'd get back together.

Good-bye counterfeit Polo shirt I bought in the Philippines. I'm not sure why I thought a fake one would be a good addition to my wardrobe when I never wanted a real one. In that vein, good-bye Havanas flip-flops and Couch bag.

Good-bye belt that loops around twice. I never really figured out how to wear you.

Good-bye godawful jeans, how could I have worn you in public?

Good-bye overalls and linty shawls. Good-bye torn and overly worn. Good-bye studded belts and whatever else. Good-bye clothes I never wear and good night clothing everywhere.

The end:).

I feel like I just viewed the Matrix

2009-05-21T16:03:00.001-07:00

I was a resident camp counselor for a summer in college. One week a little girl who'd spent the whole week crying but suddenly didn't want to leave when it was time to go home asked me what I was going to do after she left. I explained that more campers were coming and that we held a new session every week. Her jaw dropped in shock that camp would go on with or without her. Well, at 25 years old I just had a similar moment of revelation:

I clicked that 'sign into AIM option' in gchat and signed into aim for the first time in almost 4 years.

It Blew My Mind.

I felt like I just opened a porthole to another dimension. There's a whole other world of people who are online at the same time as me that looks sort of like the world that I'm used to, but slightly different. Kind of like the goatee-ed evil people in the mirror universe in South Park.

It was too much for me and I quickly logged back into my comfy gchat dimension. My aim name is a little too uncool to drag into my mid-twenties anyway.

In other news, people still use AIM?

Same old

2009-05-11T18:22:00.000-07:00

New educational methods aim to guilt trip kids into saving energy: TellEmoting Polar Bear

I think we've seen this before, anyone else remember Frank the Fish? To this day I don't leave the faucet running. I can't remember if Frank gets that credit or my parents or DuckTales.

To be fair, a polar bear affected by global warming is a lot more high concept than a fish who's lake is directly draining through my faucet. Maybe kids today are smarter than we were.

(As a slight aside: I do think these marketing campaigns work on kids to a certain extent but more as general reminders than direct messages. I don't think I ever believed my faucet was rapidly lowering sea level. I did understand that keeping the faucet running was wasteful and maybe bad for the environment, so it was something that I didn't want to do.)

Damn Straight

2009-05-06T21:38:00.000-07:00

Last night (well I guess two nights ago now, I should really be in bed. Why is not staying up late watching television so hard?) Stephen Colbert confirmed what I have known all along: cilantro consumption just ain't right.

Here's the video:

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Cinco de Mayo Precautions

colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Gay Marriage

I think by "soap" he means "grossness."

Dear Walk-in Hair Salon People,

2009-05-04T20:36:00.001-07:00

Please stop trying to thin my hair without my permission. That is the work of tools.

Sincerely,
Diana

Itchy Links

2009-04-06T10:39:00.000-07:00

How does scratching relieve an itch?

Itchy brains

Itchy news

Vindication!

2009-04-03T08:06:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday:), courtesy of Elikabeth.

Awesome

2009-04-02T15:40:00.000-07:00

I'm probably the last person to discover this guy, but I enjoy this.

Clueless

2009-04-02T10:29:00.000-07:00

Me: Did you see what's going on with the bapineuzumab trial?

My Boss: No, where'd you find the article?

Me: Google alerts.

(I'll never be a respected scientist).

Maybe I'll start being a vegetarian:-/.

2009-04-02T08:52:00.001-07:00

We Told You Chicks Are Good at Math: They Count, Add, and Subtract 80beats Discover Magazine

Posted using ShareThis

Especially in light of the fact that one of my bosses just asked me to send him a spreadsheet showing my work because he couldn't understand that I'd multiplied all the values by 4.

CyClone Milk is the perfect way to start your day.

2009-03-30T11:23:00.000-07:00

My friend Liz just showed me this. I assume it's a hoax.

While I'm here, here's something else kind of odd. I'm a big fan of Owen and Mzee (and really any inter-species friendship story), but I think it's weird that they think Mzee has a hippo face on his butt.

Cover the Uninsured Week

2009-03-27T09:03:00.001-07:00

is almost over...sorry for the delayed post:

http://covertheuninsured.org/

Stupid free brownies

2009-03-26T12:18:00.001-07:00

One isn't enough, and 5 is too many. There's just no way to win.

Location, Location, Location

2009-03-25T10:54:00.000-07:00

Two Part Post-

Part I: a haiku

On Oatmeal

In bowl so yummy
A glob falls on work report
Suddenly so gross

I had oatmeal today, and it made me think about how location can be important to perceived worth. Something might be part of a delicious breakfast, and a mere two inches away become slimy garbage that stains your papers right before a meeting.

Part II: departures and arrivals

I'm in the denouement of my time here in NYC, and I'm starting to feel more poetic about everything. I've decided to start filming and posting all my trip departures and arrivals. Cheesy I know, but whatever, I like the way it looks. I wish I'd started earlier because I would have a pretty good collection. For now, a trip often travelled over the past few years:

Here's me leaving western Mass.

And here's me coming to NYC (I exercised creative use of the zoom so get excited.)

Here's one more of coming to NYC just for kicks.

I'm a neurotransmitter

2009-03-24T09:42:00.001-07:00

and I linked something from another website to my blog through that website for the first time!

Being a grown-up is fun

2009-03-23T10:15:00.000-07:00

This weekend I went and visited my nephews (I have two now!). They're like new pets that I don't have to clean up after. Actually, I guess they're more like new babies that I don't have to clean up after. Well, really, they ARE babies that I don't have to clean up after.

Anyway, that was a good time. Then I came home and gave my fridge a much needed cleaning. I found my ipod shuffle, a long-lost hair barrette, and something that I might have found beautiful had I found it growing at the bottom of the ocean. Unfortunately, it was instead located in one of my favorite pieces of tupperware (REAL tupperware, not reused take-out containers), which I had to sacrifice because I was too scared to clean 'it' out.

Lesson learned.

Happy Fall!

2008-09-17T18:23:00.000-07:00

I'll admit it, I don't like Halloween. I know I'm going to sound like a loser, but I don't think I've had a fun Halloween since I was 10. My Halloween memories are full of being left behind at frat parties by drunken friends or having to fight Japanese subway style onto the third bus that has passed at 2 am Boston for an hour long ride home. Besides, every Halloween since college I've moved into a new apartment, and we all know how much fun it is to move.

I do, however, love candy and always will. I'm going to reach back to one of my earliest Halloween memories and name a girl I knew growing up, Katie S. In kindergarten one day she brought in a singly wrapped orange pumpkin candy for a snack. It caught my eye when she bit into it to show our teacher, Miss Colton*, it was actually a marshmallow. Katie S. would grow up to speed through life and master karate and buy a house and have a baby by the same age most of us are proud to rent an apartment with 5 roommates, but I didn't know any of that then. I only knew I wanted that marshmallow pumpkin. I wanted it so badly I had a dream around then where I had one of my own and when I held it up to show my classmates they all accused me of stealing it from Katie S. (Yes, I really remember all of this).

Every other Halloween or so since then, I remember that Marshmallow Pumpkin and wonder where it came from. Of course, marshmallow peeps are always prevalent, but it couldn't have been a peep since they're not individually wrapped. Was it possible I imagined the whole thing?

Then the other day I saw these in a Duane Reade:
I promptly forgot the toothpaste I'd set out to buy as the memories all came rushing back to me. It had been awhile since I'd last thought about them, and I wondered if I still wanted them. Plus, I'm trying to be Eco-friendly, I don't really think individually packaged marshmallows are necessary for someone who lives by herself. But, if I didn't buy them, I'd always wonder about what might have been. So, against all odds I picked them up and set them on the cash register counter. They rang up at a startling $4.32, but I convinced myself that $4.32 is a small price to pay to indulge youthful dreams.

They were TERRIBLE! They weren't marshmallowy at all, they were chewy and weirdly vanilla flavored. I stuck them in the freezer where I stick everything that I don't know where else to put in my kitchen, and there they'll stay indefinitely. Halloween had made a mockery of me again! Boo Halloween and all its eternal disappointments! I'm just going to hole up and wait for Easter, the only holiday that produces candy worth acknowledging (besides Christmas and Valentine's Day).

In other food news, I'm going to the Big E this weekend, and everyone else should too! It's the greatest fair in the world, ask any carnie.

*I normally refer to women who are not Mrs. as Ms., but we actually called her Miss Colton (it was the eighties).

I forgot

2008-08-04T14:28:00.000-07:00

to mention the best part about my successful bubble tea experience from last week (see previous post). Upon completion of my drink, I realized I had to call my college roommate who introduced me to bubble tea and is the only individual to ever try to help me overcome the flaws in my bubble tea consumption. We're good friends but we don't get to chat much because she's busy with medical school on the west coast. Anyway, as I'm picking up my cell phone to call her to let her know her support was not in vain, I notice my phone is blinking because someone is calling me, and of course it's my college roommate just randomly calling to keep in touch!

I'm not a phone person, so I didn't answer right away. I called her back after listening to her voicemail and we had a good talk. It's so weird how often it happens that you're just thinking about someone, and then randomly cross paths with them.

I'm into listing things these days.

2008-08-03T14:16:00.000-07:00

I just realized I had a pretty good week last week. Here's a list of the highlights:

1. One morning, I scored over 1000 points playing Parachute on my Ipod. I was only shooting for 100+ points, but I think the game malfunctioned cause they stopped dropping parachuters on me. I just kept shooting those helicopters, so I count it as a win. I like to pretend the helicopters are rats and the parachuters are spiders.

2. I got a bubble tea and for the first time ever, I finished the boba at the exact same time as I finished the tea. Normally I drink all the tea before I realize what I'm doing, and end up with a ton of inaccessible, delicious-looking boba at the bottom.

3. My lab presented at ICAD with exciting results. I didn't get to go but I helped with two posters and my supervisor was only supposed to show them for half an hour each and he ended up staying for four hours for each because there was so much interest. It was pretty amazing to see all the work from the past two years summarized on a poster, but I don't feel like going into that right now. I will say that when my PI was showing one of the posters to the clinic girls I got so excited I clapped by accident.

4. My PI was taped for the 'marketwatch' section of the Wall Street Journal online, and I'm in the background which gave me something to tell my parents about. Check it out:
Me me me me me
I show up somewhere between 2 min and 50 seconds and 3 minutes and 11 seconds. I was fairly taken to task by my lab friends for not wearing gloves, but to be honest I wasn't really working.

I should really go work on my secondaries...(this is how I seem to end all my posts).

Submitted

2008-07-12T12:44:00.000-07:00

Only one year, one week, and one day after I said I would submit it. Not too shabby if I do say so myself (and I think I'm the only one who would:) ).

I'm about to be 3 hours late for a pot luck that's an hour away and I'm still in my pajamas, but I'm still having an Alaskan brewery IPA that I've been saving in my fridge since the end of May for this moment.

The Smiths are hot

2008-07-01T21:03:00.000-07:00

A few of my friends got engaged this summer so I've got couples on the mind...

I was going to pretend that this post was going to be about perfect couples, but in truth this photo caught my eye because in my occasional daydream that I'm winning an academy award for screenplay writing I'm wearing this exact dress! I had the daydream before I even saw the photo.

Isn't it beautiful?

Ngan's right

2008-06-30T20:07:00.000-07:00

Why aren't I writing on this blog anymore?

Here's a list of things I'm excited about:

1. My new sweatshirt
I thought it would cost $30 but when I went to pay it rang up for $20, and on that website it says it's $54! Now that's a good shopping experience.
2. This must be the place
That's not actually what they chose to title the movie, but I like that name better than what they did choose. Either way, I love comedies, I love road trip movies, I love mayarudolphjohnkrasinskiallisonjanneyandprobablyotheractorsinitthati'mforgetting, and most of the time I like Dave Eggers writing. Plus, figuring out the best place to raise your family is something I've thought about as a neurotic 20-something multiracial chica who is in no way close to starting a family of her own. I don't know if they're going to hit on racial themes but I hope so.
I'll admit to being a little worried about John Krasinski keeping up. Of course, I'm a fan of The Office and he seems like a nice guy, but the only film I've seen him in is Smileyface. As someone who spends most of her time with awkward nerdy guys, I just didn't buy it. Now, Johnny Kastl, there's someone who can play an awkward nerdy guy. Good effort with the hunched shoulders though John.
Still, it should be great!
3. SYTYCD
Yah Mark Kanemura! Bye bye doing anything productive on a Wednesday or Thursday night until the fall starts when I'll at least get Wednesdays back.
4. Table of Contents'
I just like them.
5. Snap crackle pop
Enjoy:)

Now back to work or sleep.

Guess what I did today?

2007-12-10T20:21:00.000-08:00

I used nine rolls of pennies to buy myself breakfast.

My new neighborhood is of a higher caliber than I'm used to, so I haven't been buying myself breakfast as much. Gone are the days of daily doughnuts and iced coffees for $1.50. Now if I'm running late, all I can get my hands on to make it through the morning are a vegan cookie and organic tea for $4.25.

(P.S. I'd seen a sign at this deli previously saying they NEEDED pennies, so I wasn't being a jerk by bringing my pennies over. Plus, I had no cash on me and was an hour late for work, what would you have done?)

(P.P.S. I moved again in case you didn't pick up on context clues. That's 5 neighborhoods in 2 years!)

There goes my schizophrenic dream

2007-11-07T20:03:00.000-08:00

of becoming a successful Hollywood writer in the next year before going to medical school.

Day 3 of the Writers Guild of America strike, no more episodes of The Office for awhile.

In spite of my dashed hopes, I support the writers. As someone who never bothered buying a television or getting cable, I have never seen most of my favorite shows on anything other than a computer. Needless to say, I can see why the writers need to make sure they're compensated for shows on the Internet.

I should really be focusing on writing my crappy chic lit novel anyway (or maybe even those med school applications).

Note: I put a link to the WGA website because I like other people's blog entries better when they break up the text with links. I'm not sure how useful this one is though, and I'm not sure what the 'West' on the website means.

ADHD

2007-07-17T15:42:00.001-07:00

The other night I went to a dinner party with a bunch of people that I don't know all that well and haven't seen in at least a year, longer for some people. Even though they were all perfectly nice, interesting people, I could not pay attention to a word anyone was saying to save my life. It wasn't for want of trying, I really tried to focus and be engaged in the conversation, but I kept completely zoning out and picking up something to read or looking in the wrong direction without realizing it. Eventually whoever was trying to talk to me would ask me what I was doing, and we would start the cycle all over again.

Focus...randomly start reading something...look up to realize people are staring at you...repeat.

It was a pretty awkward night overall, and that's when I realized how incredibly spoiled I am to have so many close friends in my life who don't really expect me to listen to them when they talk to me. Either I'm really lucky, or I've trained you all well over the years.

Hmmm, three useless posts in one night, I must be procrastinating on my applications or something.

Even more disturbing

2007-07-17T15:41:00.001-07:00

...and embarrassing for me to admit, but I like Kellie Pickler's album. I'm not sure what's going on with the world.

Vaguely disturbing

2007-07-17T15:40:00.001-07:00

Lily Allen says 1 in 10 people have a third nipple! That's a little more extra nipples than I think is necessary in the world, maybe she meant 1 in 10 British people have a third nipple.

Note: This post is not meant to make extra nipples feel discriminated against. Some people just have weird issues with nipples and I feel that even more nipples won't help the situation.

Week in Review 06/18-06/22

2007-06-22T14:21:00.000-07:00

It's been a solid week over here at NYP-CWMC. A bunch of pharmaceutical companies sponsored a week long conference to update doctors here on progress in medicine. Of course they need pharmaceutical companies to update them on medicine. I mean, we're not at an academic institution with research and conferences going on all the time or anything, and no one's ever heard of viagra before. They gave us free food and post-its twice a day, every day.

In other news, I figured out the difference between balsamic vinaigrette and balsamic vinegar/olive oil. One tastes good and one tastes bad. It's really made a difference in my salad eating.

And finally, I finally got up the courage to try speaking in spanish to the people who work at the columbian cafe I like, and they said "ella parece como espanol, pero piensa como ingles."

23.5

2007-05-21T19:50:00.000-07:00

Well, my half birthday is next week, 23.5 big ones. Looking back, I can think of three things to summarize my 23rd year so far:

~Awkward social exchanges~
~Awkward work exchanges~

and

~Celebrity crushes~

I have no idea why I was so impenetrable to them before. I just never really got that into anything about the entertainment industry beyond being entertained for the half hour I watched a show. Let me tell you, things have changed and my eyes have been opened.

Hello Hottie McHotness:

For those of you so unprivileged as to not realize who this is, you are missing out. Doug Murphy: I could rewatch those two seconds he has on camera every other episode over and over if I was willing to put in the time and effort it would take.

And Johnny Kastl, I registered for imdb.com just because it's the only website out there where anyone says anything about you ever. In sum, I registered just for you.

Seriously though, he's beautiful and funny. Mama has another reason to watch Scrubs.

Creepy

2007-05-16T19:36:00.000-07:00

So, I sent my mom some flowers from 1800flowers for Mother's Day. Normally, flowers from 1800flowers are not my family's style but I felt guilty when I got a phone call from my mom saying she was looking forward to seeing me and I wasn't planning on coming home.

Anyway, I felt very 'The Net' ordering everything online, but I just got a phone call from my family asking how I'd managed to get a handwritten card mailed from Ludlow! I tried to explain how 1800flowers works, but they insisted that they know my handwriting and it is definitely my handwriting on the card.

Now here's a predicament, I can either admit that I was so impersonal as to send a card that I did not handwrite and admit to my family that they do not, apparently, know what my handwriting looks like. Or, I can lie.

So, I did what anyone would do and sort of mumbled that I didn't know what had happened and trailed off. We left it at that.

I can't wait to see this card.

The guy totally gets it

2007-05-16T19:32:00.000-07:00

I'm jealous

2007-04-26T20:23:00.000-07:00

of Stephen Colbert

he has achieved everything I want in life...
he makes up words that get recognized in the dictionary.
and he mainly talks about how awesome he is, which is also one of my favorite things to do.

But, what really breaks my heart, what I've been dreaming about ever since I first visited the Ben and Jerry's factory at some young impressionable age, he has his own Ben and Jerry's flavor!

I want my own Ben and Jerry's flavor! I've wanted this for as long as I can remember! What if I never achieve anything worthy of getting a Ben and Jerry's flavor named after me?

My Ben and Jerry's flavor would be named Mujamint. Maybe Diana Mujamint.

Diana Mujamint

It would be, no WILL BE, mint chocolate chip ice cream with Reese's Pieces in it, and maybe hot fudge and peanut butter swirls. What if by the time I do someone else has stolen my flavor? What if someone's reading my blog and steals my idea? I'll sue. And I'll be heartbroken.

In fact, right now I have a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream in the freezer into which I have already poured a bag of reese's pieces. I should be eating it, not posting on my blog. I can't figure out how to end this blog entry so I can go eat my ice cream. This is getting very awkward.

I think I need to go. Yeah, I just need to go.

Yah!

2007-03-13T20:40:00.000-07:00

Peter Petrelli
You scored 54 Idealism, 58 Nonconformity, 16 Nerdiness

Do you ever... get the feeling that you were meant to do something extraordinary?

Congratulations, you're Peter Petrelli! You are a compassionate, idealistic person, which is great. You're searching for your identity and purpose in life, and you have a strong desire to be special, and do something great for the world. You're a bit on the emo side, but you have the best of intentions. Your best quality: Empathy Your worst quality: EMO

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 99% on Idealism

You scored higher than 99% on Nonconformity

You scored higher than 99% on Nerdiness

Ok, I'm not really sure I understand why my answers gave the result that it did, especially the nerdiness part, but oh well, I like Peter Petrelli.

which hero are you?

Shopaholic tendencies

2007-03-08T09:49:00.000-08:00

So, I'm realizing I really like raincoats. I almost bought one this weekend, and I had to stop myself and say "you don't need a raincoat, you already have three." I just don't think that's normal.

So I've instated a new shopping policy for myself wherein if I buy something, I have to get rid of something. So far, I bought a blue cardigan, and got rid of an old blue cardigan. If anyone wants a new raincoat, holla and I'll think about it:).

A Dream for a Dollar

2007-03-06T16:30:00.000-08:00

My coworker and I went and bought lottery tickets today, it's up to $370 million or something right now. Daydreaming about what you would do with that much money (or half that much) is fun. Unexpected result though, I'm actually pretty happy with my life as it is. Very happy: when I really am honest with myself about what I would do if tonight I won a ton of money, there's not much I would do differently than I'm doing now. All the things I really want but am not sure I'll be able to achieve, I couldn't buy with money anyway (like fulfillment and a happy, healthy family). At any rate, thinking it over made me feel like I was doing pretty well for myself, so, thanks New York Megamillions, I'll stop complaining so much.

Here's my plan for if I win:

So, let's say, after taxes and other people's collecting their winnings you get $90 million.

I would set aside $3 million each for my sisters in some kind of trust fund deal, and give my brother $3 million up front to do whatever he wants with (he has a family now). Then I would also give my parents $9 or 10 million to do whatever they want with.

I would donate money for more programming in schools, I'm not sure what yet, but I would probably donate to LHS music since I really felt like it helped me out and maybe something for programming to encourage students to push ahead more. I know people might argue with me, and all this talk about genius kids not being pushed enough in public schools is annoying, but I do think it would be worthwhile to make kids feel like school is worth their time. Also, I would fund more bilingual education programs. I would also probably donate to st. jude's children's hospital in my mom's name since she donates a lot to them already. Then I would probably make a donation in my dad's name too.

I would invest a bunch of it in things like bonds and set aside a couple million in a high interest savings account for myself.

I would buy an apartment building somewhere that my friends and I could live in rent free and make look nice and then later if I don't want it anymore I could just sell it for a profit.

Then I would keep working at my current job until next february , and then try to get a science writing internship next spring like I want to do anyway. Then, hopefully after getting into med school I would travel the hell out of summer 2008. Then I would go to med school without having to worry about acquiring lots of debt.

And I would buy myself new glasses and a nice laptop because I need them. I'll probably buy myself new glasses anyway, and actually I bought a refurbished desktop yesterday because I really need a computer, so I guess I don't really need a nice laptop. I'm excited to get my new computer, it's coming this week! Then I'll have a computer in my apartment too and maybe I'll blog more!

Awesome conversations I've had this week

2007-03-06T14:49:00.000-08:00

Cab Ride Home on Saturday night

Driver: "Where are you from if you don't mind me asking?"

Me: (No big deal, they always ask me this)

"Massachusetts"

Driver: "No, I mean, you know, I mean, you look like you're from somewhere else, you look like arabic or indian."

Me: (Fine)

"Arabic"

Driver: "Where, egypt, Jordan?"

Me: (Usually I lie, but I was surprised that he guessed Jordan)

"Jordan"

Driver: "Well are you a real Jordanian? Cause Jordanian's don't usually have black hair like that."

Me: (Again, surprised at his accuracy)

"Also Filipino"

Driver: "Ah, see? I know a lot of things. Can you imagine, our grandkids and great grandchildren, how awful they'll look?"

Me: (What?)

"What do you mean?"

Driver: "Oh you know, all this mixing, bleh, it will be horrible."

Me: "Well...you know, I'm mixed."

Driver: "I understand that."

Get over it Texas

2007-01-16T08:21:00.000-08:00

I'm not normally much of a Connecticut fan (it's clearly the lesser of the New England states) but I thought this was funny.

Heroes Chapt. 12 Trailer

2006-12-29T16:00:00.000-08:00

1/22/06

Uruguay, eh?

2006-12-29T13:34:00.000-08:00

random guy in elevator: "You're from Uruguay right?"

me: "No"

guy: "Oh, where are you from?"

me: "Well, my dad is from Jordan and my mom's from the Philippines" (I usually just say MA, but I was being nice).

guy: "Oh, pffft, all you girls look the same, all you look like the girl from Uruguay"

makes sense (written unironically, it does make sense).

Why ya gotta waste my flava?

2006-12-07T18:31:00.002-08:00

The truth is, with me being as awesome as I am, people ask me where I'm from all the time. Their conclusion always somehow ends up being that I'm from Jordan. And I understand that when you meet a really amazing person, you have to wonder what mix of culture and environment could produce such a person, was it the south, was it Canada? Maybe traveling as a young army brat created the personality that is me?

I also understand, that I'm very arabic looking and have a middle eastern last name.

But I can not understand why, if someone goes through the trouble of asking me where I'm from, and I go through the trouble of answering "I'm from America, but my father is from Jordan and my mother is from the Philippines" how that translates into "I'm Jordanian."

Time and time again, after going through the usual "where are you really from?" spiel with friends they will later see me and say something that translates roughly into "Hey, Jordanian friend! Come over and teach us arabic! What's going on in your country today?" And I don't know how to respond. If you're going to be ignorant and racist, at least permit me both of my parents in the incorrect identity you shove me into.

I don't mean to complain, but it's everyone and it's really weird. I had a friend tell me I should take it personally that another friend didn't know about the Jordan attacks that occurred during fall '05. I take it personally whenever anyone doesn't care about people in the world, not just the country my father is from, because I'm a person in the world. It's not a difficult concept. In response to a joke I made about pretzals being part of jordanian-filipino culture, people keep referring to the "jordanian-pretzels" I make. It's like I'm crazy, and I don't really have all these filipino relatives.

I write this blog entry, because I honestly don't understand why people have to simplify and categorize each other, and why everyone seems to put me into the same category. There are a lot of options; Jordanian, Filipino, Arab-pino, American? Why is it so easy for everyone to remember that I'm Jordanian and so hard to remember that I'm actually Jordanian/Filipino-American?

People do this with everything. I'm constantly being told I'm a science person, when in fact I'm sitting here right now writing because I like to write. I majored in anthropology in college, and people who I have told this to always seem surprised when they find out again that I did in fact major in something other than a science. I would like to find one person who's pure-blooded and has only ONE interest in the world. I'm not complex, or anything special. My dad is from jordan and my mom is from the philippines, just like someone else's dad might be from California and their mom might be from Texas. Get it right people, it's not that hard.

Left-handed people are annoying

2006-12-07T18:31:00.001-08:00

They all think they're SOOO special. Well guess what left-handed people? I've decided to teach myself to be left-handed. Makes things at work a little more fun, and it'll show you all how special you really are.

I got new jeans

2006-11-28T16:47:00.001-08:00

They teach me how to wear them.
I'm always impressed when I find that someone else has thought of a way of doing something I would never have thought of myself. Like whoever thought of conjugating a sugar to a radioactive substrate so we could scan the activity in a human brain, or Professor Yumus and his Grameen Bank; things I probably would not have figured out yet so obvious when someone else does them. Thanks for the help HINT jeans.

Write about something

2006-10-13T14:49:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite teachers of all time gave us that as our first assignment for his english class in high school. I did really badly on it. I misinterpreted the assignment and just wrote aimlessly for several pages; handing in what in later years would be the equivalent of a really long livejournal entry.

He actually did want us to write about something, not write about nothing. And he'd wanted us to keep it short. So, with those two maxims I've set up this blog. I'm going to write about things, and I'm going to try to keep it short.