Lost in Translation

So I discovered, today, that despite my fluency in both Punjabi and English, there are some things that do indeed, get lost in translation.

Scenario: I'm waiting in line at a drive-thru Starbucks (I know, ironic, given the post below) for almost 25 minutes with my parents. Being stuck in anywhere with my parents (i.e. our home) is very frustrating, but the confines of a car, along with the knowledge that we were boxed in this drive-thru line, was just too much for my claustrophobic nature. Anywho, I quickly got frustrated listening to them bicker, and said the following: "GODDD, what is it about being in a car with you two that just makes me want to kill myself?!"

I thought nothing of the event until just now, when my Dad comes to me, honestly worried, about why such a small thing as my parents bickering would make me want to kill myself. He goes on to tell me that he'd been thinking about it all night and all day today, about what could be bothering my young little mind so much that I would contemplate suicide.

HAHA. What I said was obviously an hyperbole (GRE word of the day, check!), but apparently there is no room for exaggeration in Punjabi.

Small city girl, big city dreams

As of two days ago, I have dived headfirst into GRE-land, and I'm noticing how different my study style is here in Suisun City versus in Berkeley.

Pro-suburbia
-I have a car, so weather and distance doesn't hinder me from going out to study
-Drive-thru Starbucks!
-'Cash-only' is an unheard of concept
-Mom makes me breakfast and dinner everday, and chai is available around the clock
-Because there are no universities nearby, libraries are never crowded, parking and/or desk availability is never an issue

Con-suburbia
-Library closes at 5pm (wtf?!)
-Because the libraries cater to elementary schools, are the desks and chairs are super low (nothing more awkward than looking up from my 'private booth' and seeing a 60-year old Asian man staring me in the face)
-Mom doesn't understand the concept of lunch; its breakfast, chai-break, dinner (how Indians are still so obese is beyond my comprehension)
-No T1 connection at library (I'd be suprised if it was even DSL)

On the other hand, I'm actually enjoying studying for the GRE. I know, shoot me, I'm a nerd. But maybe its because without school to worry about, I'm in a very relaxed, nay reposed, state of mind and the daily dose of mental stimulation is actually welcome.

4 months!

I moved out of my NY apartment on August 19th. Today I finally received my security deposit back. Almost 4 months later, and after many hassling emails and canceled checks and stories of stolen checkbooks and lost mail. I'm not sure what my subletter's deal was, but just a warning: If you're going to sublet a place that is far from your normal home, I would suggest leaving with the security deposit and/or money you are owed in hand. And a check isn't good enough, because as I learned, they can write a check and then cancel it.

On the bright side, I totally forgot about this money and feel like I just got gifted $500. Now where to blow it?

Egg-rolls!

Today, I mastered the 1-egg omelet. A great accomplishment, I've been working on it for about 2 weeks. So normally I love making omelets but don't like eating them, but I realized that's because the egg:insides ratio was too high. So I tried making omelets with only 1 egg, it was very difficult, but today I succeeded. Except the finished product looks more like a Japanese Hand-Roll than an omelet, but its made of eggs, hence the name Egg-roll. I'm open to suggestions on names. Anyway, the 1-egg omelet is deliiiicious, so now I can finally make and eat omelets! Q I think I'll have you over to celebrate morning of the 20th.

Peace, love and Breakfast!

Jazz!

I bought my very first jazz CD yesterday! While having dinner at my new favorite Thai restaurant, Anchalee, I went to the bathroom and discovered local band Time Out Quartet playing at the neighboring cafe. After their show, I picked up their promotional CD, short and simple, only 8 songs.

While cranking out my Philosophy 2 paper yesterday, I popped the CD into my computer and was amazed. It was an instant transformation- suddenly my living room was this peaceful, romantic setting with sound so crisp and clear that it felt as if the band was playing from my balcony. It was pure, unadulterated music coming from the speakers- no singers, no one to tell me what the song should make me feel. Just me and the music. And Kant and Mill. It was a good night.

In case anyone's interested, I put the .zip of the album on sendspace, feel free to download and listen!

Two straight days of writing, now I'm out. G'nite!

Googlove!

Yes, yes. I am obsessed with Google. One failure, one serendipity to note.

Failure: A contact appeared in my chat list, whom I have never spoken to in person, but emails me frequently for BioEHS. And while the appearance of chat contacts is common, I cannot block this person for some reason. I have tried multiple times. For four days. And this person will not disappear. I know its not the end of the world, but I am very specific about who is in my chat list. I like to have the automatically adding feature because it lets me know when some of my friends (or GSIs, *cough, cough* Aaron Fields *cough, cough*) are on Gmail even though they might be emailing through their Berkeley account.

Serendipity: My gCalendar (yes, I stole that notation from the owners of iEverything, Apple) for December is all green (School Stuff) and red (UCB Academic Calendar). While that spells hell for me because it means its mostly finals and projects due, it is cute that it just happens to be holiday colors.