encore...!

the songs that i've been listening to on repeat on my ipod lately:

"the story" ~ brandi carlile
"love stoned/i think she knows" ~ j.t.
"maybe i'm amazed" ~ jem
"your song" ~ elton john & moulin rouge versions, though i prefer the latter
"beautiful disaster" ~ jon mclaughlin
"put your records on" ~ corinne bailey rae

tomorrow marks the beginning of the last week of classes, which means that W.I.L.D. is next weekend! OK go & reel big fish are coming to campus.



yesterday was "night market," an annual event hosted by the asian american association where all sorts of student cultural groups set up booths to sell ethnic food. it's a great event--a walkway is lined on both sides with these food vendors and people are just packed in between. there's music and live performances, the smell of 'home cooking' (as close as it gets out here), and, basically, the sounds of re nao. there's not quite an english translation for this term--it's people and noise and bustle and liveliness...

anyways, i was waiting in line to get some hong shao rou with white rice and this girl behind the booth was refilling a small rice cooker with uncooked rice, and the sound of the grains hitting the inside of the metal pot immediately hit me with thoughts of home. it's the strangest things...

the meat tasted just like the stuff my dad makes, and the hardboiled egg that came with it tasted just like the eggs that my mom makes using the leftover juices after my dad makes the meat dish.

i can't wait to go home~17 days now. my parents have been doing lots of work on our house--painting, bamboo wood floors, crown molding, a new pool table. from the photos i've seen, it's beautiful. ^_^


after this weekend is over, things should be well again. it's just been really busy lately. i've had 3 presentations in the last 2 weeks, lots of problem-set grading, tons of group work. exams should be okay--they're pretty evenly spread out for me. i'll be working at the art museum a lot during reading week next week though~we have a new ansel adams exhibit that needs to go up & our turnaround time for taking down the current exhibits and putting his works up has to be ridiculously fast, so it'll be crunch time.

summer should be kind of totally amazing, though i won't have much time at home, which is kind of a bummer. i'll leave for shanghai between june 10th - 15th & the internship will run from the 15th to august 10th. then i'll fly to beijing, where my mom will be for her college/med school reunion. i'll get to see grandparents & my aunt, uncle, & cousin. i'll return home with my mom around the 22nd and return to school about a week later. my dad might come to beijing too. for the month before i leave for china, i'm just going to bum around at home. i think we might go to the beach for a week, maybe myrtle beach. oh em gee i'm so excited.

the weather's been lovely here, very warm~70's & 80's. i hope it doesn't thunderstorm later as forecasted. i had to cancel my rain boots. they changed their estimated delivery date to the middle of JUNE. i was like, NO. that's $20 of my money that target will never get.

i'm addicted to the o.c. now. my suitemate has the first 3 seasons on dvd & we've gotten through to the second season. it's just so ridiculously good. ack i've used the word 'ridiculous' way too much in this post~i hate when people do that.

i think i'm done. today is not an articulate day.