Following a less-than-tumultuous day was another busy, sunny day. The first thing I did this morning was head off to America's only Taco Bell on a beach to partake in some Earth Day activities for, admittedly, extra credit. But boy, I have been missing out. The sheer number of volunteers, surfers, scientists (one of whom my physio class helped do a plastic transect for), and even children at the beach was astounding. The beach was amazingly shining and litter-free, as was the creek. After a fun time walking around and joking around with two of my friends and missing low tide to observe some tide pools, my mother and I went to the local Fresh and Easy to buy polenta, whole wheat flour, puffed cereal, among other foodstuffs.
After spending a couple of hours at the beach and supermarket, my mother and I went to Kohl's to spend some cash card, buying some puzzle games and books for her cousin's daughters, new work-pants for dad, and, for me, a pair of red sandals (my first ever!). Having satisfied our shopaholic cravings for the day, we headed home.
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| My comfy, new red sandals after a day of walking. Wonderful cushioning saved my feet. |
Then it was off to the Vanderbilt reception at the Palomino Restaurant in SF. Being shy from lunch time and dinner, from 3-5pm, they served just appetizers such as thin-crusted pizza and calamari (and not the parents anything at all), and I chattered (or more like listened) to a group of predominantly female and white group of admitted and committed students, feeling a bit awkward due to the gregariousness of most of the girls. It was definitely a smaller reception than the other colleges, and it is probably because of the stigma of being located in "the South," where people think others transform into "country hicks" or have nothing to do due to being landlocked. But who knows? Vanderbilt provided me with a stellar financial reward package, a great opportunity to study in its reputable medical program, and beautiful (yet humid) weather. Whether or not I'll attend is still up in the air.
After the brief, slightly uncomfortable reception, my parents and I went to chinatown, doing what else but buying some food and eating at a Szechuan restaurant, indulging as best as we could on a windless, cloudless, bright and warm day.
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| A flashy car with hydraulic bouncers and a couple of friendly-looking Latinos. |
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| Dried jujubes! It was something I was excited to see because of my love of jujubes. |
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| Highlight of the day: So the above two pink labels are different in that one is grown in the South and the other, in the North. I see my mom alternating scoops between the two into her plastic bag. I ask her what on earth she was doing. She responded, "I don't want to discriminate." I couldn't stop laughing. |
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| Humongous fly encapsulated in what appears to be amber. Fake? Looks unreal to me. Also, wouldn't it also be of scientific value if it were real?? |
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| Szechaun cuisine contains chilies predominantly, something I didn't find out until today. The fish inside this chili-oil concoction did not smell fishy whatsoever, tasted extremely creamy, and barely tasted spicy at all. It definitely gets full marks from me. |
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| The rest of the dishes were delicious too, of course. Especially those peanut noodles at the right. However, I had to ask for my ice water about 3x before someone remembered my request. |
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| The end of a wonderful day. My self-portrait must be somewhat lacking, for sure. |
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