Do the stressed, pouty dance

So... it's another late night here in Boston. I manage to procrastinate just enough on the right things that lead me to stress, panic, and start chewing on my own hair. Last spring, I pulled an all-nighter. This spring, I do late nights, not enough sleep... on a rather regular basis. Healthy? I think not. But now let me do my stressed, pouty dance. (Why it's pouty? Who knows. I just feel like pouting, sulking, what have you. Let's just chalk up the pouting to: I'm tired and shouldn't have procrastinated so long.) Btw my boyfriend is sweet and delivered pretzels, Diet Coke, and Chex Mix to me as I freaked, whined, and pouted. I wonder why he puts up with my insanity, cuz it must be like dating a 4 year old sometimes.

I'm taking this biostatistic computer programming class. Learn biostats while you learn how to speak computer-speak. OMG. The best thing ever. NOT. I am the Asian that is incompetent when it comes to technology. I missed the boat on that gene... Thanks parents.

Oh right, I sprained my ankle last Monday. Now you might ask: how'd you do that? Well, you see, it's a funny story:

• I'm walking home (I made a quick trip home to see my mom- sorry I didn't see any of my Midwest lovers, but I spent my time with the fam) from the airport, pulling my luggage behind me. I'm thinking: I'm hungry, I need to work out this week, I'm REALLY going to start working out regularly. Then BAM. I'm on the ground. Rolled the ankle. I'm in so much pain I can't catch my breath. I sit down on the concrete sidewalk. Whimper. Cry. No one's around to see me. I can see my apartment building door like 20 feet away. Then a guy in a wheelchair rolls up. "Are you okay? Do you need me to get help?" I manage a I'm okay, I'm okay. He goes: I would help you myself... but I can't. I don't know about you but now looking back, I giggle a little. The one person who sees me is the one person who can't physically help me. Anyway, eventually he rolls away and I grit my teeth and hobble to my apartment. I then proceed to 1) call my mom and cry, 2) sit on the floor until my boyfriend arrives to help me, 3) stare at my other leg which is bleeding excessively from the knee. So yes, I'm the most graceful creature out there.
• And if you're concerned about me (which you probably aren't but that's okay, I understand): I'm doing better these days but I still have a bit of a hobble.

I have discovered the wonders of Sephora. It's fun. It's like a playground. I can't afford anything but looking and touching is still wonderful. It's drawing me in. It has put its spell on me. Too bad I'm still disabled and don't know how to put makeup on like all the pretty girls do.

Jobs. I need to find a job after graduation. Sigh. What if I can't find one and become a homeless person? Will you let me live with you?

Baby shoes are the cutest things ever. Teeny! But also the most impractical things. Actually baby socks are probably the most impractical. Shoes are next. Because: a baby is in the stroller. Kicks off sock or shoe. Has now lost one! There is no longer a pair. All that money you just spent on a pair of shoes. Gone. Just a thought.

I have nothing more to say at the moment since it is closing in on 3:30am and I desperately need sleep in order to make words become coherent sentences tomorrow in class. So I will close with this: I want to go back to Uganda because the weather here in New England is just not not not NOT okay.

A New Year

Hellooooooo out there. I know I've been MIA for a while. Blame the adjustment back to the US. Currently it's blizzarding in the good ol' New England area and all I want is to fly back to Uganda. Immediately. Snow is not cool. I'm rocking the hot pink winter boots, but I'm still freezing. What I really want is one of those huge black full body sleeping bag jackets, but something tells me if I got one, I'd be disowned by several people.

This new year brings a new place to live, new roommate with her dog, and new boyfriend. Will write more soon. :)

Why isn't there passionfruit soda in the US?

Passionfruit soda is awesome. Enough said.

I'm moving in with a beauty pageant girl for the spring semester... yup you read that right, beauty. pageant. Well she's gorgeous, and I hear she's incredibly nice which I don't doubt... but all I have to say is: there goes my self-esteem. Glad all I ate for the last 5 months in Uganda was starch, starch, and more starch, and we tried to fry just about anything we could get our hands on.

I have no idea how to exist without the other intern anymore. We've been joined at the hip ever since she got here and now this connection will be severed... What will I do?! Wahhhhh!

I am really, really, REALLY going to miss Uganda. I'm going to miss chapati and rolexes like a missing limb. I wish I could get on a plane, go home for 2 or 3 weeks, and then come back here. I love this place. I really do. I even love the unpleasant, not so fun stuff, because it's an adventure. I can always look back on something and laugh or find something fun to make out of it.

I am looking forward to a few things back in the States:

• Constant and dependable electricity and internet
• Nicely paved roads
• Driving my own car once in a while
• Being able to drink water out of the tap
• Flushable toilets
• Running water and showers with great water pressure
• Seletively bred, steroid-fed, antibiotic-injected chicken that have more meat on their bones (free range Ugandan chickens just doesn't taste the same)
• Chinese food
• Pizza
• Beer (more specifically Spotted Cow, Sam Adams, Miller Lite, Leinenkugel)
• Getting a tad tipsy and having fun with friends
• Snow
• Talking to my family on the phone without racking up a giant phone bill
• The male species...

I cannot believe by Friday night, I'll be back in Wisconsin!!! I'll either be unable to sleep due to jet lag or I'll collapse in exhaustion. If it's the former, those friends who read this and live in Milwaukee, call me and let's hang out! xoxo

Feeling like P Diddy...

Favorite upbeat song right now: Tik Tok by Kesha. Pretty sure I'm going to try to wake up to that song every morning to see if I do wake up feeling like P Diddy after hearing her sing it. I find it weird how some songs have the most absurd lyrics but are still so freakishly catchy.

Today is my last full day in Wisconsin, I fly back to that place over to the East tomorrow afternoon. (sniff) And then I start school... I'm not looking forward to it at all. I will probably die slowly and have an aneurysm by the time this semester is over. If I'm still alive in early May, I am going on a solid vacation where I can just sleep and relax.

There's so much snow. It's like living in a crazy winter wonderland where I'm scared to death to drive because let's think about it. I drive like 3 weeks a year, when I'm in Wisconsin. Other than that, I walk and take public transportation (which I have a love-hate relationship with). So the driving in snow/bad roads thing gives me nightmares.

Speaking of dreams/nightmares, I dreamed I was flying to Germany last night and I forgot my carry-on on the flight from Milwaukee to Chicago. I totally freaked out and woke up thinking I was going to forget something when I fly back to school. I wonder what that dream means... sometimes I think dreams don't mean anything. Then other times, they are a blatant indication of things I'm thinking about. I need a dream-teller... dream-explainer... you know, someone to tell me what my dreams mean. I wonder if it's kind of like fortune telling...

So my little sisters go to their friends' birthday parties and I marvel at what gets given as gifts these days. Gift cards to clothing stores... really? For my birthday, back when I was young, I had all these cool things that I wanted. I received some pretty spiffy stuff and went to some birthday parties where other people received superbly cool stuff. Parties back in the day were so much better than they are now... maybe that's because I hail from the 90's.
FOR EXAMPLE:

• Bop-it: Probably one of my favs... I wonder what that would be like to play with drunk now... probably awesome. Maybe I'll have to hunt one down to give it a whirl.
• Furbies: My music teacher in grade school had a furby that he would sit on the top of his piano during class. What a weird invention... I never had one. Back in the day, I wish I did... not so much any more.
• Beanie Babies: Okay, these toys were supposed to be worth "soooo much money." They were bean bags that had heads and tails sewed onto them. What a weird thing to have people obsess about.
  
• Pokemon vs Digimon: still haven't figured out the difference, nor do I really care.
• Fairy Winkles: Does anyone remember what these things are? I had 3 fairy winkles... or did I have the Wee Winkles... who knows. They were so cute! A little strange, but a fun toy.
  
• Polly Pocket: My absolute favorite toy as a kid. Now if you think about it, it's definitely a chocking hazard. But I loved them. I had so many... and I'm pretty sure my parents still have them all stored somewhere. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. toy. I swear by that toy

Well now that I have word vomited all over this post, I'm going to go to lunch with my mom.

Holiday Joy

I write from the comforts of my parents' kitchen with the snow falling outside. Oh, I love Wisconsin and snow. It's truly got that Christmas feeling and it makes me giddy. The snow is gorgeous. As long as I don't have to shovel tomorrow morning. I'm officially screwed on the present-buying front though. I still need gifts for the parents and one sister. Yikes. Hope the world is ready for me tomorrow morning. It'll be a mad rush to find stuff.

Flying back was amazingly crazy. Planes were super backed up to Wisconsin, something silly about weather and planes having problems. My flight was overbooked by 3 seats. So I gave up my seat and for compensation, I got a free round trip ticket and free dinner courtesy of Midwest Airlines. How awesome is that?! Now I'll probably take another trip back to Wisconsin for FREE. Or maybe I'll jet-set off to somewhere fun for vacation!! Washington State? Former roommate- please let me visit? Somewhere in California? Hello warm weather. Anchorage, Alaska? Sounds cool too! The delay was only about a 1/2 hour, so it was totally worth it. Also made some friends with the people waiting to fly back to Wisconsin. It was a jolly good time. Yes, I just used the word Jolly.

Dear Santa,
Please send tons of money to my bank account. That would make me very happy. But if you cannot do that, can you at least bring me a few new pairs of shoes??

Snow Snow oh the Snow

There is nothing I do better than procrastinate. And that's what I'm currently doing. I have discovered a mad obsession with a Spanish CD. I have no idea what the name of the CD is. But I feel like the current song is talking about colors... or maybe not. My Spanish is oh so bad. So I have no idea what the singers are saying. But I'm okay with that.

It snowed. Oh yes. The East Coast got dumped on by the Snow Bunny, just like the Midwest did a while ago. And through the Snow Bunny, I ventured to get to work this morning. Except I walked around with a happy grin on my face as I jumped through snow drift after snow drift. All I could think of was: SNOOOOWWWW!!! While everyone walking around me looked like they wanted to kill someone. To me, it is finally winter and Christmas time.

I am almost done. ALMOST. One more final to plow through. Bleh... If I could work up the motivation to study, we'd probably be in business. Since I don't have that motivation, I'm thinking about going to bed. Bad idea? Yes, I know.

Current Favs:
Tea: Harney & Sons Paris. LOOOOOOVE
CD: You know, this Spanish one
Food: Rice Noodles- yes, I'm Asian. Deal with it.
Hair-do: Bed head hair. Leave as is post wake-up.
Outfit: GIANT Wisconsin sweatshirt, pink Wisconsin sweatpants, pink/yellow/white striped fuzzy socks. Yes I match.
Class: All the ones that are officially over
Work: I really kind of really like my job at the store. Selling things is fun. Helping people is fun.

HAPPY SNOW BUNNIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Adventures of the Diet Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash

I'm stupid. The next time I walk into a grocery store and see Diet Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash (my favorite soda ever), I shouldn't buy two 12-packs. I walked 1 mile home with my soda. All I could think about was the delicious taste of its liquid sliding down my throat as my arms screamed angry profanities at me and my credit card. Then as I walked... the cardboard was ripping... the box in my left hand ripped. Oh yes, I was the girl kneeling on the side of the road, grabbing at cans of soda (3 rolled away from me). Now I have a backpack of food, 1 broken 6-pack, 1 complete 6-pack. So I unload some food and put all 12 cans into my backpack. I am that pathetic girl walking home with her soda. Oh Diet Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash, you had better be worth it. And right now, you are. Not only do you taste great, I walked into my apartment giggling my head off at the outrageous-ness of the situation. And how stupid I am to think I would be able to get two 12-packs 1 mile home. But nonetheless, this soda is awesome

Wisconsin, I hope you enjoy the snow. I will think of you, dream of you, and wish you well from here on the East Coast. Keep it around so I can see it when I come home for Thanksgiving!!

Dear...

Dear friends who read this and anyone else who is unfortunate enough to stumble upon my blog,
I am debating buying some Uggs... Yes, I know this will go against everything my Midwestern mind has been taught. But it is cold here, on the East coast... and I need boots. So unless you can come up with some other kinds of boots to keep my feetsies warm this winter, I may purchase some Uggs. Dont judge, suggest other options!

Dear Neighbor,
Whoever you are, you wear heels all the time. They may make you look 10 feet tall or give you a boost of confidence or are the only things you have to wear, but they are annoying. I can hear you tap tap tapping across the floor at 7am... at 8pm... How about we walk around the apartment barefoot for a while?

Dear Work,
I do like you. You pay me money. But I do not like the unexpected schedule change. You have officially taken over my weekends. I will see you again soon...

Dear Santa,
All I want for Christmas this year is money. Lots and Lot of money. If you could print like $100,000 for me, I would be grateful. Or at least enough to cover my rent and tuition, I'd be a happy camper. I always believed you were real. I swear. On my family's cat's life... all 9 of them. Please make my wish come true, oh please?!

Dear East Coast City,
It snowed. It looks awesome. Except now why the hell are you so icy? Not only are you icy... the stupid ice covers your stupid brick or cobblestone sidewalks. No, it does not make it any easier to walk on. Seriously, we need to consider laying concrete down... Brick just doesn't do it for my ankles. One of these days, I'm going to break one and then I'll really have something to bitch about.

Thanksgiving wrap-up

Thanksgiving story: my family bought a bottle of wine. First bottle of wine for Thanksgiving. EVER. It was only 1 bottle, but still. It was some wine. Problem: no wine opener in the house. Yes, I live in a dry house... except for the vodka my mom cooks with. So there was no way to open this bottle of wine. We tried using a Swiss army knife's bottle opener- no luck. We tried Googling "How to open a bottle of wine without a wine opener." I tried the screw and hammer technique. Stick a screw into the cork, use the hammer's nail prying end and pull... It didn't work. After much sadness (on my part), we finally pushed the cork into the bottle. The wine was good and it was well worth the effort.

Black Friday morning- 4am, I joined the other crazies on the shopping excursions. JCPenney provided me with the yearly Disney snowglobe. I didn't really buy much, but I enjoyed the neurotic atmosphere of people buying tons of shit.

I am so full. I think I ate my weight in food these past few days. I should not eat again for a very long time. Now on to homework doing... Curse my public health writing class. It is taking over my life and it's driving me a little nutty. HATE HOMEWORK RIGHT NOW. All I want to do is watch a movie and take a nap.

Brilliant Idea: Do not eat again until winter break. I will never become unfull unless I don't eat for 3 weeks.