My new blog

Salt-a-toria

Small Steps at a Time

Accidently sprouted mung beans, discovered the nutritional benefits of eating raw, sprouted beans and easy college "recipe."

My roommate's decorations! My favorite? The rosemary tree.

"Open Happiness" Coca-Cola tour opened a stall in the Leavey Center and randomly gave out prizes, including bottles of soda, scrapbooks, and frisbees!

Room: cleaned and organized compared to before. Notice the (lack of) computer chair?

I sometimes question myself...

...that's an understatement. I'm always questioning myself. Honestly, I'm always thinking about money. I know I'm getting a substantial amount from my school, but recently I've been spending a lot on small luxury/necessities. So that's sort of difficult. I buy things because they're relatively "cheap" and would definitely be used. However, how do I shake off this...guilt? Not exactly tremendous guilt, but that feeling that if had just applied for a few jobs or scholarships, all of this money I'm spending could be coming out of my own pocket. I have federal work-study, and a lot of jobs are uneventual--you can spend it sitting and doing homework. I feel as if I'm not taking advantage of this free opportunity.

That's another problem. Opportunity. Just because I have the opportunity, I'm not sure if I should always be taking it. I know that the dining hall is costing everyone about $14 per meals with 10 meals per week, but I definitely am not eating at the dining hall ten times a week, or even $14 worth of food (in my opinion, so I do try to hock fruits, which they guard heavily against). Should I be contented with that? Should I try to go more often to take advantage of what I'm already paying for? Or should I just not think of it that way? Just because I have the opportunity to earn $1500 per semester for just sitting around, should I take it? It feels ridiculous not to, especially since my international-student friends don't even have that opportunity and are paying a fortune to attend Georgetown...

Yeah, I need to get over myself. I can't ever imagine myself doing something so...conventional. My mentality (and admittedly, laziness) deters me from applying for these jobs. I've always dreamt of making money in college doing something I genuinely enjoy, such as selling food, selling stock images, fixing/sewing items, or even winning....scholarships? Money that comes out of things that I'm actually doing and like to do. So far, it seems counter-intuitive because one of my reasons for not finding a job is that I'm busy and feel as if I have too many responsibilities--I currently enjoy and take advantage of the few non-flexible hours I have each day. But besides that, all that's on my mind is midterms and an Indian friend that I made...I will find out more about her tomorrow...

Cinnamon rolls cooked on Mexican Independence Day with turbinado sugar!

Granola cooked on the same day. Perfect combination of ionized salt, blackstrap molasses, and honey.

Lackluster banana muffins...

Tried making spinach soup in my Magic Bullet. I guess it sort of worked?

Part of my desk set-up.

My friends and me when we went to the White House after eating at the absurdly-expensive restaurant, "Burma."

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi addresses the Burmese community and  finally receives the AU honorary degree in person.

Met some important people at American University after the Daw Aung San Suu Kyi address to the Burmese community. I believe this one lady was part of the cohort defending Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in a 2000 uprising.

At the Smithsonian Museum of Art with Yuzana on a monster hunt for the "Art of Video Games" exhibit.

Eating at chinese restaurant with overpriced watercress with a friend from American University.

Chocolate bunny with a shattered bottom. Customer service kindly offered to send a new one.

The longest physical struggle since I got here: getting a 10-ream box  of copy paper (because it was $49 - $10 instant coupon - $39 rebate = FREE) from Dupont Circle (L St.) to campus. I took the school's GUTS bus to Dupont, walked four blocks to Staples, tried to walk back to the GUTS bus stop, died about 2 blocks into the walk, and pulled in a kind taxi driver.) Then gave out free paper! :)

Getting involved in DC!

My extravagance for the week: I caved in and bought a refillable pen. I fell in love with the fine point and  ink... $4 for 2 and $1 each refill pack. I got tired of cheap pens skipping ink..I really need to watch where I spend money...Sigh, my wastefulness...

About to break a leg..

How has the past few days been? Far too fun. So smooth and enjoyable that I know that something bad is just waiting to happen.

Last night, I took the subway to a stop farther east of Georgetown to meet up with my daw lay and Mee Mee in the afternoon and had an amazing time. I saw and picked boo thee leaves and the vegetable itself in her backyard. She opened her invitation to her house to all of my friends, especially this one Burmese friend I had in mind. Mee Mee came over, and we promised to have sleepovers every now and then as well! After sending me home with "Nga pi Kyaw chin Baung Kyaw chin hin!!!!! Nga Kyaw !!! Boo nyunt!!!" I graciously invited this girl to breakfast the following day, and there, we hit it off.

We met up with one of her friends, who attends American University, and took the bus and Metro to Chinatown, bought buns and loads of Asian snacks, including white rabbit, a bamboo mat, then ate dinner at this one restaurant that displayed fresh noodle-making in its window, ordering Chinese (not American) watercress leaves, wonton soup, fried noodles, and Szechuan ("see-shwan," according to the waiter) chicken. The leaves were unfresh, but everything was delicious and probably handmade. Awesome.

Then we saw the Smithsonian Art Museum on the border of the very-small Chinatown (which has a lot of American stores and eateries simply with a Chinese translation tacked onto the sign as well, a very sad excuse for a Chinatown indeed). Apparently, the Art of Video Games exhibition was going on, and we embarked on a scavenger hunt, winning 7 buttons each in the process. Yay for classic Pac-man, Legend of Zelda, etc. buttons! Oh, and these was this one very awesome section in the museum where each game console was stationed in a blue-lit room, patterned on the floor with funky ceiling lights, and Final Fantasy VII was reppin' the PS. I loved the Smithsonian--it seemed that this event was highly underrated, since not many people were there. But now I'm going to make sure that I bring my camera with me whenever I go out--something I haven't been doing at all lately..

Later, we headed to Columbia Heights to shop at Target and Marshalls--stores that felt nostalgic in a weird way to buy stuff to prepare our common room kitchen for, you know, cooking and baking. After taking a bus "back to Georgetown," (mistakenly getting off 2 miles away from campus), this newfound friend and I shared stories, and just had a great time sort of getting lost, but sort of knowing where we were at the same time...and then there was a random, kind old black man who came up to us to give us his heartfelt feelings about Asians, sharing his background and complimenting us for who--or what race--we are...

Welcome to Georgetown

My first priority today was to get homework done. Of course, it was no-go. I shouldn't be surprised, given the extraordinary number of events going on around campus, such as the activities fair, meet-and-greets, and even drama.

This morning, I woke up to a hearty breakfast of overnight-soaked oatmeal and almonds with blackstrap molasses (I even forced a floormate suffering from initial stage pneumonia [she discovered that in the ER and is ironic because we are on the "Living Well" floor] to drink a concoction of ACV and those molasses as per a "healthy drink" recipe...). I generally try to avoid using the microwave, and I did read somewhere that one could benefit some soaking nuts overnight....

The benefits of soaking nuts and seeds

Other reputed benefits include increased enzyme activity, greater absorption of the food's nutrients by the body and increased digestibility. When soaked, nuts and seeds will begin the sprouting process which bumps up their nutrient profile considerably. Nuts should only be soaked after they are removed from their shells. You'll notice that nuts without skins such as macadamias, cashews or Brazil nuts don't have as much of the murky water residue, but soaking is still recommended for ease in blending and for nutritional purposes. 

http://vegetarian.about.com/od/beverage1/a/soaking-nuts.htm

Oh, the irony is that I recently completed the school's "Scholarly Research and Academic Integrity tutorial," which delineated the definition of plagiarism by giving different scenarios and teaching students about online university resources (and Google Scholar) AND am also taking a course called "Research Theory and Communication," which should be waning me from my gullibility of believing a lot of what I read on the internet, but it's going to take some time...

But anyways, today was a special day. Productive, even. Although not in the sense that I would usually call "productive." Importantly, I bonded with people. During the activities fair and lunch, I spent time with a friend, who is, in some ways, quite similar to me, and is suffering from her fair share of problems. Her problem, a boy (I will simply say), is reminiscent of a manhwa, and I could definitely sense some complexities that I experienced only vicariously through such graphic novels that is quite unfortunate for her but fascinating to me, as dreadful as that is. I am praying for her.

Después de, I accomplished some reading, and attended a floor meeting, introducing myself to upperclassmen in the LLC living in other dorms. Over Burgermonger (which makes fantastic vegetarian wraps), we talked, and I met, again, a minority trifecta of girls, Asian, Hispanic, and Black (I have been paying too much attention to and enjoying racial diversity; my views have definitely gone international ever since coming here), who gave me advice for my freshman year (don't take "easy A" classes--you'll regret not having room for fun and more interesting classes; when teachers offer and stress office hours, that means you are obligated to visit them for the sake of your grade; and take your time...and you can avoid having to buy textbooks by borrowing them through the library consortium). After collaboration, my LLC has some pretty ambitious plans for this year, especially group fitness classes and healthy cooking!

Speaking of healthy cooking, I've made it a goal to join certain organizations, mostly those involved with environmental health and food. I plan on working with Asian Associations, Relay for Life, the Farmers' Market, and some other green organizations whose names I can't seem to ever remember. Also, either the tabloid, newspaper, or yearbook. I definitely need to focus. I actually want job experience, as well, so we'll see if that ever happens, since I haven't heard back from the several jobs I applied for yet...

After the floor meeting, I made Kashi's 7 Grain pilaf, burning the bottom of my roommate's pan in the process (shh, don't tell her, at least it's currently taking an overnight soak) and finally got my electric water kettle to work, brewing a cup of chrysanthemum and green tea for my pneumonia-stricken friend (who is actually sleeping overnight in my room as I type this to avoid whatever is in the air in her room). Later, I joined the girl who lives across the hall from me that I have never met to go to the gym together. We met a freshman looking for a piano, and I led them to the practice room (my floormate enthused in finding someone who also played the piano). We exchanged numbers, then headed to the gym, getting on the elliptical for half an hour and talking about...stuff for the remainder of the time when we were supposed to be doing weights. Let's just say that this probably won't be the last time we stick together...

Meeting up with my former roommate, I spent time in other people's rooms in my dorms, mainly community scholars. We caught up with one of the female basketball players, talked and joked, headed to a movie showing of the Hunger Games that didn't happen, walked back, met up with other scholars and met new people...andyeah. It was nice, reminiscing about the program, sharing a feeling of aghast at the things that college students, especially the people we know (America's future politicians, people!), do, probably also because we saw a gruesome sight of someone being "GERMed" (ER workers transport unconscious victims of alcohol overdose) on our way back into our dorms. Sigh. I know last night was Club Lau, where our library is transformed into a dance club just once per year, and that people showed up wasted. I know what pregaming is now and how frequent is occurs. I am familiar with the things that go on that I never would be able to comprehend in high school (but did happen anyways, in retrospect), but seeing that unresponsive girl with the foaming mouth being carted by emergency respondents made me question the sanity of freshmen. University freshmen.

But I hope to just be fortunate enough to remain a bystander. Presently, my goal is just to UNTANGLE this thing called a schedule and retreat into academia...t.g.i.[a]holiday.

And thanks Charles, for everything. I just can't figure out how to respond to your advice in your comments, but I hope you know that I'm reading them and taking them wholeheartedly.

Hit the Ground Running

So, I've been here for almost two weeks now, and I haven't yet found the time to catch my breath. With New Student Orientation and Welcome Week (which is constituted by a perpetual schedule of events) and my naive desire to do and be involved in everything, I never had the time to keep in touch with my west coast companions (other than to call my mother about away-from-home insurance care information) with much regret. My social life here at the University has indubitably blossomed, but not perfectly. I chain myself to the friends I made over my first five weeks at school, secluding myself from another group of people about the same size for a preorientation program I attended last week, much to the worry of the multitude of the group leaders.

Last week, my program contained a group of people exactly the opposite of my community scholars group. It was hard to connect. And I know it was my fault. It was a program oriented around community service, charity, working with underprivileged inner-city denizens. Not only was I insanely introspective about the business about charity, but I also was in relation to the demographics of the people that were in the program. It was difficult for me to deal with, not because I injured a toe on the first day or because the program's schedules ran from 7 to 12 am everyday and involved a lot of walking on said toe or because my leg was a buffet for mosquitoes (which I discovered I'm allergic to, resulting in blisters and scarring), because I saw--or prefabricated--an irony between the well-endowed, single-mindedly visionary group of young college freshmen and the homeless or low-incomed receiving charity. I couldn't help but feel frustrated at the fact that those kids would never be able to sympathize with these situations, at the impoverished for being in the state they're in, feel that a lot of the actions during this program have been forced and obligatory, unaltruistic. I feel that people fool themselves into community service or are conscious, at least to some degree, about the benefits of doing so; after all, isn't the beginning of college all about building a resume? And then I become furious at myself. For thinking this way, negatively. Causing unnecessary worry and attracting the unwanted, and contrived concerns of the group leaders. But aside from all of that, I guess the program gave me a better grasp of DC history and culture, gave me more connections to different areas and societies in the city, and exposure. I guess the concept of "reflections" conducted every night, which embraced the silence and eliminated responses to the sharing of opinions, struck me, but then I discovered that this is something done not only uniquely. I guess I can now call the 50-something people I met my "friends," but I really wish I felt otherwise about that week.

On the other hand, I have been becoming closer with my floormates, and we've come to the conclusion that only less than a floor-amount of college freshmen (less than 1% of freshmen are in my living-learning community) wanted to devote themselves to being substance-free. Sad. But my dorm is pretty nice, having our own bathroom and all. Although my room is probably the smallest on campus (because the 4-person room next door, which comes with a spiral staircase and a full-sized kitchen) takes away space from our room. Everyone else on this floor (which is the top floor of the building) has high ceilings, thus better ventilation, except for me and my roommate. But that's okay, because we have the cleanest, neatest, and most well-equipped room, unquestionably! I introduced plenty of my community friends to my floormates, and everything seems to be just peachy.

I wanted to start classes, to hit the ground running. Why not? I've been here longer than most of the people. I certainly was given the means to do so. And I fell, hard. Well, according to my standards at least. How so? I missed a class today. Thursdays are my busiest days with 5 classes. I was supposed to attend 4 classes, since one is a lab, but I only went to three. The last class completely went over my head. *waves hand over my head* Whoosh. I missed a general chemistry lab recitation. A weekly, 50-minute class on the first day. But I sure am lucky. The class was led by a T.A., and what more is there to do on the first day of a lab recitation other than to go over the syllabus? I considered sending a letter of apology to the teacher and the T.A. for missing the class, but what good would that do? With any luck, attendance wasn't taken, and everything I missed is on the syllabus. But it doesn't matter. Missing a class has shaken me incredibly. This is only the first week and has the potential to be the precedent for the future. I don't even have a job yet. Haven't joined any clubs or started activities yet--and I missed a day of class. Maybe I needed this. A lot of things have been going my way recently, and I needed something to keep me from rushing everything. Something to remind me of how carefully I must tread around everything. Actually, this event caused me to slam the brakes on the car of signing-up-for-everything I've been gleefully riding. The other day, I even signed up for theatre and dance! Me! hah. I think it's good that I feel the necessity to reign in my ambitions and impulses.

But it wasn't the absence. Honestly, I have a lot of homework to do without all the textbooks I need (reading, practice, essay due soon already), have to read all the syllabi, have to write my first article as a recently given role as a "health ambassador" in the school's social media, have to find a job for pocket money, have to buy lots of personal care items (which are cheapest online, so I feel increasingly guilty about the carbon footprint I'm leaving buy ordering so often online), and have to wrap my head around my schedule so I can avoid something like today happening again--all while trekking the endless hills and stairs of campus in blue jeans (because my mosquito bites are scarred, healed, blistered, and my skin would be prone to more bites). I recently have been feeling a drop in self-esteem because of all the gorgeous people and gorgeously-dressed people on campus, but when that happens, I just remember my pride in being an outlier, my nonchalance in my appearance, and my confidence in myself when I do dress myself and hold my head up high.

So here's to slowing things down, accomplishing my homework, finding a job, and finding a campus organization or group that I will be enjoyably spending a lot of time with...

My essentials: laptop, planner, water, and light. The flowing amount of college freebies (bags, water bottles, pens, etc.) cover the rest of my desk. Planner is crammed full of things to do and events for the next couple of weeks, and the clip-on desk lamp has nothing to clip onto, so it just lies there, and since my roommate has class tomorrow and is thus sleeping, I use the New Student Convocation booklet as a lampshade, which works unexpectedly well. And the Brita Filtrete water pitcher, courtesy of my roommate, is my lifesaver--I drink over a pitcher a day...

The First 5 Weeks of a New Beginning

The first five weeks of the Community Scholars Program, from the start of July to mid-August, at Georgetown were absolutely phenomenal. I can't believe the head start I've been blessed to have been given. There were so many people I've met, including a Harvard professor with a penchant for Korean and Asian kids, lawyers Jeffrey and Marina with the senior daughter that called Georgetown the "most beautiful" place, the random Georgetown junior on the street who handed us her intern business card. The diversity here is similar to SF, but with a slightly different, perhaps more classy air. I am now only more eager to learn because of dynamic environment campus and am inspired by the people wanting to master 5 languages by the end of 4 years, to be head of the FBI, to be the president of the United States, and many more ambitious goals. Plus, getting to my connections here are convenient, since the Metro lines that the Georgetown shuttle gives a free ride to happen to be the ones that they live by. The unlimited resources at the school are overwhelming as well.

And I was definitely proud of myself when, at the bookstore, I went back to the cashier when I discovered that he left two mugs uncharged, to get them charged, in exchange for a lifetime of blessings from the kind old man. I only look forward to the future.