breakthesky.net » Life

Just a Minute (August 2010)

Manda — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:21:54 +0000

On the last day of every month, I take Just a Minute to reflect on what I’m currently up to.

Melting… in the Shanghai heat and humidity. I’ve never been skilled at handling excessive heat and humidity, and I think the extra weight I put on in Germany has made it harder for my body to cope with heat. It’s quite saddening.

Deciding… on a Kindle for my choice of e-reader. The newly released model sealed the deal for me. However, I couldn’t get one in time for my birthday as Amazon went out of stock! I’m keeping my eye on when they get new stock so I know when to place my order.

Exploring… the World Expo pavilions!! They’re beyond amazing. Except for the US one; it’s so ugly. I know the US government couldn’t fundraise because of federal regulations and whatnot, but I wonder if the reason why it is so ugly is that it was designed by a Canadian. (I kid, I kid. And before I upset any Canadians I should clarify that I don’t mean that Canadians can’t design. They just don’t want the world to think the US can :P)

Re-reading… the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde. I love this series so much; Fforde is one of my favorite authors. He’s a literary genius.

Speaking… (or attempting to speak) Mandarin. I’m very rusty since I didn’t do any revising over the summer. Still, it’s all gradually coming back to me, and being in an environment that is saturated in the Mandarin language is doing wonders for improving my ability.

Eating… my weight in noodles. I adore noodles, and China has plenty of them! My favorite are the wonton noodles and Lanzhou pull noodles. Mmmmm.

Excited… to head to Beijing in a few days. As much as I love Shanghai, Beijing is really where my year abroad begins!

There Will Be No Carpet In My Future Home

Manda — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 13:57:17 +0000

It’s been over 85F in Chicago ever since I returned from Europe which is hot, hot, hot. (Today, thankfully, is a little cooler than it was yesterday.) Actually, 85F is typically rather nice weather if there’s a nice breeze and the sun is out and there’s no humidity. But still, in that scenario I picture myself living in a house with air conditioning. Right now, that is not the case.

The air conditioner in my house broke down the day before I left for Europe, right when Chicago was going through an unusually long heat wave. When I returned home, I knew the air conditioner would still be broken (duh) but I hoped that the Chicago weather would have cooled down at least a little. I was wrong. The weather now is actually hotter than what it was in late July, and I am sweltering in this heat. It is hotter in my house than it is outside. I don’t even have fans to help cool off!

It is disgustingly hot both outside and inside my house (the inside temperature almost hit 90F once, which was only two degrees cooler than the outside temperature; right now it is 72F outside and 85F inside) and I constantly want a bucket of ice that I can plunge my head into. It’s bad enough that I don’t have a fan to cool off with, but about 90% of my house is carpeted. I’ve always thought carpet was disgusting (do you know how much dust gets trapped in there? Unless you get your carpets professionally cleaned, you’re not getting any of that dust out when you vacuum) but it does nothing to help cool down the house. The house I stayed at in Germany had no air conditioning but it had wooden and tile flooring, which did wonders to keep the temperature in the house down.

I hereby vow to not have any carpet in my future home. That, and to make sure I have an air conditioner that won’t break down in the middle of a heat wave!

Right Now In Numbers

Manda — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 22:35:55 +0000

I just got home from my European vacation and I am so completely scattered it’s starting to become quite funny. It’s not so much the jet lag, because I’ve always been fairly good at getting over that. It’s the fact that I leave for China – for a year of study! – in five days that’s starting to freak me out. I would be freaking out before I left no matter how long I had to prepare for China since it’s an exciting yet daunting prospect, but… five days? If I pull this off, I’ll be Wonder Woman. (Or Travel Wonder Woman. Or Study Abroad Wonder Woman. Or whatever.)

Anyway. The above paragraph alone shows just how ramble-y my thoughts are, so I’ll condense the rest of this entry into bullets. I know there have been a lot of bulleted entries lately (and, unfortunately, I have plans for another bulleted entry tomorrow, but as it’s going to be a book review I think that’s acceptable) but I’ll try and pull things together around here soon.

Hours I have been in the US since arriving from Europe: 5
Days until I leave for China: 5 (repeating for good measure)
Suitcases that I need to unpack… and then repack: 2
Hours behind my internal clock is from US Central Time: 7
Degrees it is in my house: 85F (the air conditioner broke)
Fans there are in my house: 1 miniature one (currently in use to keep the water temperature cool for my brother’s salt water fish tank)
Pairs of shoes I bought in Europe: 4 (I LOVE shoes)
Weight that I gained (and need to lose) from my time in Europe: …a lot
Unread entries in my feed reader: 271
Days until my birthday: 4 (!!!)

Just a Minute (July 2010)

Manda — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 18:17:16 +0000

On the last day of every month, I take Just a Minute to reflect on what I’m currently up to.

Celebrating… that my dentist gave my teeth a clean bill of health. No cavities for me!

Listening… to my latest musical discovery, The Script. So good!

Eagerly… anticipating whether or not Amazon will release a new graphite version of the smaller Kindle in August, according to rumors. If there is a new model released, it will go a long way in helping me with my e-reader decision.

Implementing… a comments policy on this blog. It’s pretty standard stuff, and nothing that I didn’t go by before – valid name/email combination, no spam, etc. The only difference is that now it is all in writing. Still, it’s worth mentioning in the name of transparency and all that.

Reading… Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I want to see the movie when it comes out in two weeks, and I have a rule that if a movie is based on a book, I must read the book first.

Eating… lots of German food, like spätzle and maultaschen. Yum!

Playing… Pokemon SoulSilver on my DS. It is a great way to kill time in transit.

Loving… Europe!! It is truly a magical, wonderful, amazing place.

I Am Me

Manda — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:25:39 +0000

I’ve been following the website Post Secret for quite some time now, but this was the first secret (from this week’s post) that struck a chord with me:

All my life I’ve felt I’ve been caught between the worlds of the East and West. I’m a half-American, half-Chinese girl who spent early childhood in Hong Kong and formative years in Western countries. I speak the language of my home (Cantonese) and am minoring in Mandarin Chinese at university, yet I won the award for highest marks in English at my Australian school and got top grades in my English classes in the US, both in high school and college. I know the ins and outs of both Asian culture and Western culture, from the importance of displaying modesty to bragging about one’s achievements. I go out and have fun with the best of them, yet study hard with the discipline of a person whose parents have repeatedly stressed the importance of studying and education. I have Western friends who perceive me to be more Chinese, Chinese friends who perceive me to be more American, and flip-flopping opinions from both sides of my family in regards to which nationality/culture I “belong” more to.

To some, all of the stuff listed above matters; it’s as though putting people in categories and pigeon holes are matters of life and death. It’s like when it comes to checking off what ethnicity I am in the census: why isn’t there an option to choose more than one race? Can’t I qualify as both on paper when I do mentally and emotionally? Why do I have to choose what I “feel more like,” Chinese or American? How can I pick between two cultures I have grown up in, two families that I have, two parts that make up who I am? None of this should matter, although sometimes, people insist it does. What really matters is that I am me and nothing, no category or description or label, can define what makes me, me.

I feel like I sent this secret in myself.

Just a Minute (June 2010)

Manda — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:44:10 +0000

On the last day of every month, I take Just a Minute to reflect on what I’m currently up to.

Finding… a happy medium with my “to tell or not to tell?” dilemma regarding introducing my offline friends to this blog. There are still some kinks with my decision that need to be ironed out but aren’t there always kinks in a decision like this?

Listening… to Savage Garden’s discography. I knew I loved you before I met you… ♪♫

Finishing… my two summer courses. I am scheduled to make a presentation today (on Wimba, no less) and submit my final report, and then I am D-O-N-E with class until my fall semester!

Re-exploring… Tumblr. I go through phases with Tumblr; I’ll be very addicted for a month and then I won’t even log in the next. But hey, feel free to add me!

Packing… for my upcoming trip to Minnesota and South Dakota, where I will be spending my Fourth of July weekend. Mt. Rushmore, ahoy!

Baking… dozens and dozens of chocolate chip cookies to eat while on the road this upcoming weekend. Seriously, there are so many cookies that I’m practically up to my ears in them.

Annoyed… that after I upgraded my iPhone 3G to the iOS 4, it’s been really slow and/or lags a lot. Not impressed, Apple. (Or is it AT&T’s fault? Cause I haven’t been impressed with them lately either.)

Anxiously… awaiting to see “Toy Story 3.” I’m so upset that I haven’t been able to see it yet! Luckily, I’m hoping to remedy this within the next week.

Proverbs

Manda — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 16:25:47 +0000

I could write about some ongoing occurrences in my life, but that would involve a lot of ranting and whining (my entries about having to chase people around and freaking out about a possible dental cavity are prime examples). Quite frankly, I am tired of writing such negative entries, so I’ve decided to write about proverbs instead.

Yeah, proverbs. I know that sounds random, but I’ve started surfing the web for proverbs because I think they’re unusually insightful and, at times, incredibly relevant to the world as we know it. Especially when you can put a certain proverb in a cultural context because of where the proverb originates from, such as the really awesome Russian one I found about going to church vs going to a bar.

Below is a list of some of my favorite proverbs I’ve found as a result of my web searches. Hopefully this will tide me over until I have good news to write about!

No matter how long the night, the day is sure to come.
- African proverb

Four things come not back — the spoken word, the sped arrow, the past life, and the neglected opportunity.
- Arabian proverb

If you want happiness for a lifetime – help the next generation.
- Chinese proverb

That the birds of worry and care fly above your head, this you cannot change. But that they build nests in your hair, this you can prevent.
- Chinese proverb

Do not remove a fly from your friend’s forehead with a hatchet.
- Chinese proverb

Love is friendship set on fire.
- French proverb

What! No star, and you are going out to sea? Marching, and you have no music? Traveling, and you have no book? What! No love, and you are going out to live?
- French proverb

At the end of the game, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.
- Italian proverb

The church is close, but the road is icy. The bar is far, but I will walk carefully.
- Russian proverb

Don’t speak unless you can improve upon the silence.
- Spanish proverb

Whoever gossips to you will gossip about you.
- Spanish proverb

I Might Have a Dental Cavity

Manda — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 15:48:53 +0000

After I finished brushing my teeth last night, I decided to examine the one of my wisdom teeth on my lower jaw. The gum area has been feeling a little tender, so I wanted to make sure everything was okay because I am deathly afraid of getting pericoronitis again.

Well, the gum area looked fine, but I noticed the tiniest of black marks on one of the fissures/crevices on the top surface of the tooth. I rinsed my mouth out with Listerine. (It was still there.) I brushed my teeth again. (It was still there.) I gently went over the surface of my tooth with my toothbrush to see if the black mark was a small seed stuck in the crevice, or if it was a sign of something far more dire. (It was still there.)

I have come to the conclusion that this black mark on my tooth just might be a cavity. I know nothing about cavities as I’ve always taken excellent care of my teeth, but this is the only conclusion I can come up with. I’m hoping there is another conclusion that can be drawn, seeing as I have no dental expertise and I’m jumping to the worst conclusion as usual, but I’m starting to get freaked. The tooth doesn’t hurt (yet), but… what if the black mark is a sign of a cavity? What if my tooth starts rotting away and it has to get yanked? What if my other teeth also have cavities but I can’t tell? What if all the teeth in my mouth are going to start decaying, one by one?

I DON’T WANT A CAVITY!!!

Nagging Bitch

Manda — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 15:55:02 +0000

Since my return home from my short trip last week, I have been very, very busy. I’ve had to catch up on assignments that I had to get extensions for, as well as work on the final projects/assignments since the summer session is winding down for the two classes I’m taking. My mom got surgery a few days ago and I’ve been busy with taking care of her and keeping house. I’m trying to wrap up loose ends for my upcoming trips, like plane tickets and accommodation, which is never an easy task.

These responsibilities have been compounded with headache-inducing frustration and stupidity from various “professionals” in my life. All the stuff I’ve already mentioned has been pretty commonplace for me this summer; classes, vacation-planning, and family responsibilities aren’t exactly new territory for me. But there are some other things on my plate that have become far more complicated and drawn out than is necessary, which has been causing me untold amounts of stress. All of it comes back to the same thing: I have to chase up various professionals in my life for overdue answers.

The results of a blood test
I had a blood test done a month ago. Nothing fancy, just routine check up stuff. She told me that the nurse would call me in 4-5 days with the results of my test. 4-5 days passed… nothing. 2 weeks passed… nothing. By the time the one-month mark was hovering along the horizon, I placed a phone call to the nurse and asked what was going on. Cue several more instances of phone tag before I got my results – one month after I had been promised them, and only after I had called the nurse multiple times. What ludicrousness. What if I had been dead and dying of some horrible, deadly disease? More importantly, why was it up to me to push and push the nurse to do her job of obtaining the results of my blood test?
My banker’s inefficiency at her job
At the closest branch of my bank, there is this one lady who is an absolute trainwreck. She’s incredibly careless. She forgets to tell you things like required minimum balances or service fees. She also has a tendency to make typos when it comes to bank account and routing numbers, which is obviously a huge mistake in the world of banking. A month ago, I had to get a letter from my bank with my account and routing number information. She wrote it and I mailed it; I had thought that was that. Wrong. Apparently, she mistyped one of the numbers, because I got notified that the letter couldn’t be processed. I probably should have double-checked the numbers in the letter before I mailed it, but come on – the woman is a banker. Bankers should know better than to mistype account and routing numbers. After an additional, and very frustrating, trip to the bank, I got a copy of another letter with my correct information.
My school’s abroad office’s lackadaisical manner
Being lackadaisical isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but when it comes to running an office that sends students abroad, it is a very, very bad thing. I need a visa to study abroad in China next year, and until I get documents from my abroad office for proof of student status, I can’t apply for the visa. The office has known since April 15 (read: they’ve known for two months!!) how many students are going to China. However, I have yet to receive any forms for my visa. This is a problem. Starting July 1, I am out of town, and starting July 27, I am out of the country. How am I supposed to take care of my visa if I am not at home to a) receive the visa documentation and 2) apply for the visa? This is an abroad office. They should know that students travel during the summer. Hell, I have made it clear to my advisor that starting July 1, I won’t be around to apply for my visa and if that happens, I’m screwed. I just really want my documents so I can get my visa and secure entry into China for next year. Is that too much to ask for from an abroad office? I don’t think so.

In all three instances I have had to make numerous phone calls, send various emails and even make trips to the office to get things done. It’s stressful, it’s ridiculous and it’s not part of my job description. It’s not fun to be a nagging bitch; I don’t particularly enjoy it. All of these people are paid to do their job. So why do I have to chase them around until I get answers? Why am I the one scrambling for information that was promised to me weeks ago? Why has it become my responsibility to make sure things get done or risk things falling apart when they are the professionals, not me?

Texts From Last Night Bios

Manda — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:27:12 +0000

I am a firm believer that if you search the Texts From Last Night website hard enough, you will be able to find a text that can sum you up in, well, a text. This belief is affirmed by the countless times a text from TFLN has popped up in my Facebook news feed due to a friend writing it on another friend’s wall.

This is the text from TFLN that sums me up in a nutshell:

(314): In case you were wondering, you weren’t dreaming. I really did get stuck between my bed and the wall last night.

I actually have that text in my “About Me” box underneath my profile picture on my Facebook profile :P

(For those who are wondering: yes, I have gotten stuck between my bed and the wall before; I had to get a friend to move the bed so that I could get unstuck. It was pretty painful at the time but it makes for quite the story!)

Question of the Week: Have you found a text from TFLN that pretty much sums up who/how you are?

(Thanks to everyone for the well wishes for my mom. Her surgery went well and the whole family is very thankful for that.)