tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44104851666783557682024-02-07T16:52:06.639-05:00MyxomycotaRandom rants into the vacuum of the internet. If they get read and thought about, all the better.The Chansterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17328624631222868806noreply@blogger.comBlogger93125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410485166678355768.post-6896001705315663682013-08-10T22:36:00.002-04:002013-08-11T15:46:09.600-04:00Moving on...and moving in!Wow. It's been nearly two years since I've posted here. A lot has changed in that time! I graduated with a degree in Engineering Chemistry back in June 2012. Moved home and reveled in not paying rent. My rent was being a good house-daughter by running errands, cooking, and doing laundry.<br />
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Then I was like, "Oh right, let's do something with my life." So I started volunteering at the hospital, since no paying jobs were to be found. I called ladies due for their mammograms and learned a lot of patience. I also spoke to patients about their overall experience at the doctor's office in order to kick off a study. And then serendipity struck!<br />
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A lady from my church who is a dear family friend ended up volunteering with me at our free food pantry for the local community. We started chatting and she offered me a job! I ended up spending the next seven months with the pain management practice she worked at. My job was ostensibly to initiate their new electronic medical record system. I was the main interface with the company representative and assisted the staff and doctors with the transition. But I sort of turned into a Jill-of-all-trades. Computer not working? I've got this. Schedule patients for office appointments or surgical procedures? I'm a pro. Website maintenance? Check. Pretty much everything one could do without any licensure (ie MD or RN) I ended up doing.<br />
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While being paid rocked, I still wanted to go for the ultimate goal of having "Doctor" be my title. So I applied unsuccessfully for med school. Got wait-listed, which sucks. But since I still wanted to be in school for the 2013-14 school year, I applied to a bunch of post-baccalaureate and masters programs. To my joy, I was accepted to UMDNJ (now merged with Rutgers) in Newark, NJ and am now a candidate for a Masters of Biomedical Sciences. Hopefully I can bang this out in one year and be on my way to med school next August!<br />
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Which brings me to the meat and potatoes of this post. Now that the catch up is done, I can rant about the moving process. I finally finished moving in, with the addition of a chest of drawers with all my clothes and my crochet hobby (that's a whole blogpost in and of itself waiting to happen) delivered by my family. In my joy, I posted this fact to Facebook and my dear former housemate Katerina (<a href="http://well1ngton.tumblr.com/">well1ngton.tumblr.com</a>) suggested that I blog about this experience! You should go visit her at her Tumblr.<br />
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I was lucky enough to score a room in a townhome just around the corner from campus. I made the journey to visit it back in June and was excited by the relatively cheap rent for the proximity to campus. Plus it was $500 less than living in the dorms. Signed the lease and bought the furniture in my room from the previous tenant and then headed home to work and relax until the last minute.<br />
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Fast forward to August 1st. I ended up putting the internet/TV/cable in my name and had to come and meet the technician. I get inside and meet one of the girls leaving the house and see that there is some plaster on the floor. From the ceiling. Looking up, I saw a huge patch job that had begun to crack. Apparently that started 5 minutes to me entering the house. No big deal, the girl was contacting the landlord to get that and a leak in the kitchen fixed.<br />
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Now we're at this past Wednesday, August 7th. I decided to solo move most of my stuff, made possible by the fact that I didn't have to move much furniture, just the aforementioned dresser delivered today. I pull into the driveway and start hauling boxes up the stairs. So. Many. Stairs. I began to seriously regret renting a room in the top floor of a three story building. I just thanked my lucky stars that I didn't have to move the bed in. When it came time to haul up the printer, the FINAL item, I actually draped myself across the box in my car and took a small break. The way I was huffing and puffing you would think I had just run a marathon. Definitely don't need to worry about fitting a cardio routine into my life. Once all was moved in, I finally noticed that what had been a small crack less than a week prior had not only not been fixed, but had become exponentially worse. The entire former patch job had fallen out and water was dripping into a large salad bowl. And the kitchen was also leaking from the ceiling. I foresee major repair work in our future and I'm super glad that I don't have to foot the bill.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/kaarsten/kaarsten1009/kaarsten100900309/7864923-exhausted-young-woman-carrying-a-moving-box.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/kaarsten/kaarsten1009/kaarsten100900309/7864923-exhausted-young-woman-carrying-a-moving-box.jpg" width="224" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OGAWD NOT MORE STAIRS<br />
<a href="http://www.123rf.com/photo_7864923_exhausted-young-woman-carrying-a-moving-box.html">source</a></td></tr>
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I headed home to drop of the car and spend one last night in my bed at home. The next day I took the train into Newark and began to settle in. Had a meeting for a class and met one of my new housemates. We got along swimmingly. My first night in the house was uneventful except that I discovered that the blinds in my room did diddly-squat when it came to blocking light. I have two windows, one small and one ENORMOUS window. It's great during the day since natural light is awesome. Less so at night when I need near-complete darkness in order to get to sleep. The streetlight from outside came in so ferociously that I could see perfectly well without any lights on in my room. And I have absolutely awful night vision. By completely exhausting myself and pulling the covers over my head I managed to get to sleep. Then the next morning I woke up. Not by the courtesy of my alarm, oh no. That was set for 6:45AM so that I could leave the house at 7:45 for orientation. I woke up at 6AM due to the sun assaulting my eyes through my woefully inadequate blinds. This is probably literally the earliest I've woken up without an alarm. And 45 minutes may not seem like a big deal, but I take my sleep very seriously. I ended up feeling exhausted at about 2pm even with tea to prop me up. I definitely needed better window coverings to stave off the sun for as long as possible.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/4496005632/hEF4ADA6D/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/4496005632/hEF4ADA6D/" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Me. At 6AM. Not a happy camper.<br />
<a href="http://cheezburger.com/4496005632">source</a></td></tr>
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Needless to say, when my family arrived today and wanted to know if I needed anything, the answer was CURTAINS. We headed out to the outlying area and snagged some decently priced curtains. I'm only planning on living here for a year. I don't' need the best, they just need to protect my delicate eyes. I've put them up and now it's a bastion of darkness in my room when I need it to be. So now I can say that I am officially completely moved in. And can finally get a good night's sleep. So I bid you, dear reader, adieu until I next have something to say. The misadventures of grad school shall now commence!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5lrCY3DWUq13XI4PAaPgLhDE7ciTPGK0bG-t_-HTLZNlZdhDeg1Zj7wEBXrchLqywDPBXNCqIISggU78WIBI61q7trewjwQfbK4O_2_IQitL9_VFmOYeOL7tzJbBYISejON73ochyqOA/s1600/clip-art-sleeping-448647.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5lrCY3DWUq13XI4PAaPgLhDE7ciTPGK0bG-t_-HTLZNlZdhDeg1Zj7wEBXrchLqywDPBXNCqIISggU78WIBI61q7trewjwQfbK4O_2_IQitL9_VFmOYeOL7tzJbBYISejON73ochyqOA/s320/clip-art-sleeping-448647.jpg" width="285" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good night world.</td></tr>
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<!-----go--><!------->The Chansterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17328624631222868806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410485166678355768.post-16214587679055471332011-10-03T23:15:00.000-04:002011-10-03T23:15:35.424-04:00Now to create some controversy...and possibly delicious bakingA friend of mine requested the recipe that I use for scones. I make a much more buttery version than the type one usually finds in North American coffee shops. Having never had authentic British scones, I cannot speak for authenticity. All I know is that I like them better, and more butter never hurts when baking.<br />
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Also, my favorite accompaniment for these scones is clotted/devon cream. It's ridiculously hard to find in the US/Canada. I've only found it at specialty British shops and Whole Foods. But buy it, it's definitely worth it. If you don't have clotted cream, then butter (yes, more butter) goes quite well with scones. For additional deliciousness, toss on some jam for good measure. I particularly like marmalade, peach preserves, or strawberry jam.<br />
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A final note - there is some controversy about the proper pronunciation of scones. The way I say it is with a short o, sc-aw-ns. Others say it with a long o, sc-oh-ns. But Monty Python is on my side! Go to 00:53 and you'll hear Michael Palin say it my way!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5zey8567bcg" width="420"></iframe>
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<br />
Aaaaand without further ado, the recipe.<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Scones (adapted from the Robin Hood Cookbook) </span></b><br />
<b>Ingredients
</b><br />
2 cups flour (at least, you'll need more)<br />
1/4 cup sugar<br />
3 tsp. baking powder<br />
1 tsp. salt<br />
1/3 cup butter/shortening at room temp (this is 5 and a bit tablespoons of butter for those using sticks)<br />
1/4 cup currants (you can sub in raisins if you want)<br />
1/2 cup milk<br />
2 eggs<br />
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PREHEAT YOUR OVEN TO 425F. I always forget to do this, so I'm making this the first step. Actual prep time is really short, and if you forget you need to wait forever for your oven to get hot enough.<br />
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Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.<br />
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Cut in the butter. The recipe I have recommends a pastry blender, but I just use my hands. Just work the butter in until there are no large chunks of butter and the mixture resembles a coarse meal.<br />
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Mix in the currants. Again, I just use my hands.<br />
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Make a well in the center. Add milk, 1 whole egg, and 1 egg yolk (reserve the white for the glaze). Stir with a fork and add more flour until a moist dough is formed. I suspect the original recipe used smaller eggs and thus less flour was needed to form the dough.<br />
<br />
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead roughly 20 times, working in more flour as you go.<br />
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Roll the dough out to approximately 1/2" thick. If you want a few wedge-shaped scones, make a large circle. For smaller, rectangular/square scones, try to make the dough uniformly flat while making it somewhat rectangular.<br />
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Now get the egg white you saved and beat in a spoonful of sugar. It will look a bit foamy. This is good. Get a pastry brush and brush it all over your dough. This gives your scone a nice glaze while it bakes.<br />
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Cut into either wedges or squares and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes. They'll be slightly browned on top.The Chansterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17328624631222868806noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410485166678355768.post-61304002705662863372011-09-06T20:26:00.001-04:002011-09-06T20:30:40.159-04:00It's that time of year again!Back to school after a nice long break.<br />
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But what did I do with my time? Judging from my previous posts, a lot of gaming. Which is very true... I played tons of Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2, Assassin's Creed, and Portal 2. My most recent acquisition is Bioshock, and I am permanently petrified while playing. Everything is trying to kill me. And they're all creepy-scary.<br />
<br />
Bioshock, while terrifying, is really fun! And it has a very interesting storyline and backstory. My sister purchased Bioshock: Rapture, which is a prequel to Bioshock and expands on the origins of Rapture. It's very well written and I highly recommend it. You get to see Rapture in its heyday and witness its slow descent into madness. You get to know the people that you only hear from through audio diaries in the game.<br />
<br />
BUT I WAS USEFUL TOO! I took a bio course, did an unpaid internship, and took the MCAT.<br />
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That's right folks, the Chanster will soon* be Dr. Chanster! I spent most of my time at my internship studying like mad for the MCAT. It truly is a thinking test rather than a knowledge test.<br />
<br />
On a final note to everyone as they are getting back into the swing of things, BE SAFE! And enjoy this Songs to Wear Pants To video.<br />
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<iframe width="560" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bsUyKcWGV_k" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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*If by soon you mean in many years after I slog through med school. First I need to get that pesky application done.The Chansterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17328624631222868806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410485166678355768.post-55078094847496292782011-07-03T13:43:00.003-04:002011-07-03T17:02:29.802-04:00Assassin's CreedI am completely obsessed with this series. I'm continuously blown away by how they improve on the series with each game. I recently finished Brotherhood and am now working on getting 100% synchronization. But a friend of mine visits and she plays AC:1 and I still enjoy watching it. Admittedly, the first game had a number of flaws, but it just makes me appreciate the improvements even more.<br />
<br />
And now Revelations is the last one. I've been so very tempted to pre-order, but I just need to remind myself that I won't be anywhere near my Xbox when the game comes out.<br />
<br />
EDIT: I figured what was up, I just needed to update Flash. Here are the literal trailers in all their glory.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kKrtbUinWOU" width="560"></iframe><br />
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<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zJjJY5YpKRI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>The Chansterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17328624631222868806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410485166678355768.post-75022056291906406742011-05-24T20:20:00.001-04:002011-05-24T20:20:30.220-04:00Turret Opera...and how I've been spending my time lately.Finished Portal 2, Assassin's Creed, and Assassin's Creed 2 storylines. Great games all around.<br />
<br />
Yeah, that's what I've been doing in the long hiatus from blogging.<br />
<br />
Here's the turret opera from Portal 2. I've been obsessed with it.<br />
<br />
<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_kPyGvqNn4Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>The Chansterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17328624631222868806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410485166678355768.post-62092550197455687162011-04-23T16:07:00.000-04:002011-04-23T16:07:46.127-04:00Eclipse- Live TweetsI watched Twilight:Eclipse with my housemate after she killed her brain with an all-nighter then an exam. It was an okay movie, but Taylor Lautner got some excellent one-liners. Otherwise a pretty drivelly movie. I also liked getting some background on the Cullen Clan and the wolf pack. Those were actually more interesting than the main plot.<br />
<br />
Anyways, without further ado, here are the live tweets.<br />
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And heeeere we go!<br />
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K: Shitty weather for a shitty movie. Apropos, no?<br />
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I HAS A CAPE! YOU HAS NONE! I BE FASTER THAN YOU!<br />
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Run pretty boy, run!<br />
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Run fail. Now you writhe in pain. Good set up. Please, let the rest of the movie compare.<br />
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Bella Swan - most emotionless voice over ever. I care not for your...angst? Happiness?<br />
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He's SO SPARKLY! And you can only bask in his sparkles.<br />
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Annnd my movie just paused. My PS2 refuses to play this movie.<br />
<br />
Alright, technical difficulties over. Back to high school.<br />
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I spoke too soon. It just restarted again. It's not the disc (no scratches/smudges). WTF?<br />
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Alright, take three. Here we go.<br />
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Party? Fun? That's what you said last time. Way to be a downer, Bella.<br />
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Oooh, the plot thickens. Disappearances? Volturi? Could get dicey!<br />
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Oh Charlie, you're so oblivious. Poor man.<br />
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No, Bella, it's a present. Act happy! I know it's a stretch, but please.<br />
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It's blue and dark. Creepiness factor: Through the roof.<br />
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Epic chase scene!<br />
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Culminating in some epic fail.<br />
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Oh man, Taylor Lautner + Awesome music = BAMF.<br />
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Oh teenage drama. Etc., etc.<br />
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Oh the pack. And not a shirt to be seen.<br />
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Gee Jacob, you're just scoring SO many points with Bella. Badmouthing her bf and his family. Her life choices. GOOD JOB. <a class=" twitter-hashtag" href="http://twitter.com/#%21/search?q=%23sarcasm" rel="nofollow" title="#sarcasm">#sarcasm</a><br />
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Oh hello pretty boy, you're being a huge creeper right now.<br />
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I take it back, Edward's a much bigger creeper.<br />
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Please boys, stop comparing and focus on your mission. Protect Bella. She's Switzerland, ja?<br />
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Doesn't he own a shirt? LOL. You're just jealous because when you shed your shirt, you're a DIAMOND CUPCAKE!<br />
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OMG Vampire army! EVERYONE PANIC!<br />
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Bella and Edward are still the most awkward kissers. Not much has changed since the last movie.<br />
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Jacob, you have emo hair. *twitch twitch*<br />
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Bella just punched Jacob. It was great.<br />
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<br />
<div class="tweet-row"> <div class="tweet-text">Yay Charlie. Stepping in like a boss. Breaking up fights. Like a boss.</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text"> ...And she broke her hand...punching my face.</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">Total misunderstanding.</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">See Bella? Your life isn't as bad as Rosalie's was.</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">Graduation! Everyone's so full of possibilities!</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">And now we PARTY!</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">Or not. An army of newborns are coming. Time to plan and strategize.</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">Training montage!</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">Ooh, deep dark secrets revealed. Backstories are a win for this movie.</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">Eau de wolf coming up! Oh, this is so very funny.</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">You know, with all this planning and strategery, I'm wondering what they've told Bella's dad.</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">Oh wait, nevermind. They just gave the cover story.</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">Oh this just turned into the birds and the bees talk. Awkward.</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">And another awkward talk. This time with her bf. Bella, I believe you need some practice in non-awkward topics.</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">OH GOD HORNY TEENAGERS. And the boy is being the sensible one in this instance.</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">D'aww marriage proposal.</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">The subtle manipulation of her puppet by the redhead is just SO subtle. Way to go scriptwriters.</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">Epic music for an epic buildup to a fight scene!</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">THEY'RE IN THE WATER. O CRAP.</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">Um, way to go Edward. Worst possible spot for a camp.</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">Oh god the one-liners out of Jacob's mouth. "I am hotter than you." Bahahaha.</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">And Edward stares impotently across the tent.</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">Aw, and now you two are having a heart-to-heart talk.</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">And more drama. Great.</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">KISS ME JACOB! Because that'll solve all your problems, miss engaged to edward.</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">Yes battle scene. Finally a distraction from this lovey-dovey drama.</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">Breaking vampires kind of sounds like loose change.</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">Think fast bella! How can you be of help in a vampire fight? The answer? CUT YOURSELF! Blood distraction!</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">win.</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">Ah, Jacob, one last try? I suppose you must.</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">Angsty introspection. Yay.</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">NO EDWARD, NOT EVERYTHING'S ABOUT YOU. It's all about Bella, you know that.</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">Oh gee, Charlie's going to flip his lid.</div><div class="tweet-text"> </div><div class="tweet-text">FIN. It wasn't a horrible movie, not great. Kristen Stewart has one face, but Taylor Lautner's one-liners made it pretty great. </div></div>The Chansterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17328624631222868806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410485166678355768.post-33643482893455769422011-04-21T23:49:00.000-04:002011-04-21T23:49:12.548-04:00Time travel and Alternate Realities - A rantI just had a long rant to my housemate and thought it would be interesting to just put it out there. If you, dear reader, have any thoughts, please comment below.<br />
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The instigator for this rant was me going to see Source Code, as I mentioned in the previous post.<br />
In Source Code, the entire movie is Jake Gyllenhaal in a machine that has him live the last 8 minutes of another person's life before he dies. This is to investigate the bombing of a train and to find the perpetrator before he sets off a dirty bomb in a major city. That's all fine and well.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">****SPOILERS****</div><br />
However, the explanation given by the inventor is that these aren't just memories, they're alternate realities. Jake's actually displacing the man and is, for all intents and purposes, that man in that reality. This usually wouldn't matter since he dies one way or another after 8 minutes. At the ending of the movie, Jake insists on going in one last time before they pull the plug on him in his original reality and he dies. This is to save everyone on the train, including Michelle Monaghan, with whom he's fallen in love. After saving everyone, he sees the clock count down his last few seconds, and he prepares to die. Presumably the original man will reappear, somewhat confused, be a hero and get the girl.<br />
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But that's not the end. Oh no, that would be too sad. Instead, to Jake's surprise, he's still alive and goes on to, presumably, live happily ever after as the man he displaced.<br />
<br />
BUT WAIT.<br />
<br />
He's not himself in this new reality. He's a history teacher. What happened to the original person? He's been completely replaced by Jake. Is he dead? Also, Jake now has to fake being someone else. Someone with different memories, a different personality, different skill set. How can he pass himself off as a stranger? The girl he's in love with is in love with the original person. She'll eventually realize he's essentially a different person from the man she used to know. Etc, etc.<br />
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This has been bothering me for the last week.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">****END SPOILERS****</div><br />
I love time travel and alternate realities. I think they're awesome, but I am very wary when they're used as plot devices.<br />
<br />
If the entire premise of the TV show/movie/book hinges on time travel/alternate realities then the mechanics and rules should be well thought out. Admittedly, a bit of hand-waving is necessary, but there should be a consistent set of rules with loop holes thought of in advance. For example, in Quantum Leap, Sam Beckett displaces people much like Jake Gyllenhaal does in Source Code. However, they explain that the person who is displaced appears in the "waiting room" in the present day and is returned once Sam leaps out of their life. Quantum Leap was not completely perfect, but gave a reasonable explanation for what happens to the poor sod who's replaced.<br />
<br />
Another inconsistency that's been bothering me takes place in my beloved time travel series, Doctor Who. In the revived series, in the first season, they establish an important rule. You may exist in the same time as a previous version of yourself, but can never have physical contact. This creates a paradox that the time-space continuum really hates and creates rips in the fabric of reality. This formed the entire basis of an episode.<br />
<br />
Fast-forward to the end of the latest season. As reality is collapsing on itself, Amy Pond is sealed in the Pandorica until approximately 1997, and subsequently interacts with and physically touches the 1997 incarnation of herself. This may be acceptable since the Amy in the Pandorica and the young Amy are not precisely the same person, due to the collapse of reality.<br />
<br />
However, the most recent Christmas Special does infringe upon this rule. It's the Doctor Who version of a Christmas Carol and the Doctor is playing with a Scrooge's past selves to make him into a nicer person. It nearly works, but doesn't quite until the Doctor brings the child version of the Scrooge into the present day and horrifies him with the nasty man he will/has become. This finally softens the old Scrooge's heart. And he hugs his past self.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2010/7/7/fd9fde12-e117-4e61-9f2e-a5ed545eeec9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2010/7/7/fd9fde12-e117-4e61-9f2e-a5ed545eeec9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
This blatantly disregards the previously established rule. And this is the same individual, not going through the collapse of reality loophole, otherwise the Doctor's scheme would not work.<br />
<br />
Basically, time travel and alternate realities are fantastic devices, but my plea to writers is this: Think of the rules and stick to them. No more, no less.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR0cwH0uMeDSov1jyVMTiSWK3He5Xwww2j8vXHej93OoIklwJ9qG4M0klCChwunR8lt2X4Bi7N-u2YDl_XlkLSt5SeDbjv7uPIBwKUebIX4XqoT93yAapPxZosIcfH4IfRXNVRXvi788U/s1600/backfuturehandfade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR0cwH0uMeDSov1jyVMTiSWK3He5Xwww2j8vXHej93OoIklwJ9qG4M0klCChwunR8lt2X4Bi7N-u2YDl_XlkLSt5SeDbjv7uPIBwKUebIX4XqoT93yAapPxZosIcfH4IfRXNVRXvi788U/s1600/backfuturehandfade.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And I didn't even mention Back to the Future</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The Chansterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17328624631222868806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410485166678355768.post-66722894180583579992011-04-17T15:06:00.000-04:002011-04-17T15:06:15.672-04:00I'm not dead yet.I haven't posted in a while, and for that I apologize.<br />
<br />
Life happened. Last two weeks of class were just an avalanche of design projects. And I wasn't even the worst off since I'm not taking any electives. Everyone in my class was pulling late nights in the computer cluster. I also was busy assisting other groups along with my own group. Somehow, I ended up as one of the people with a better handle on the projects we were assigned.<br />
<br />
I also discovered that Excel really doesn't like having too many rows. One spreadsheet ended up having over 10,000 rows, and Excel was not happy about it. I asked it to graph 10,000 data points and it froze. I felt really bad. I apologized profusely. I imagined an anthropomorphic Excel huddled in a corner, with 10,000 data points running in front of its eyes. I felt horrible after imagining that.<br />
<br />
On a bright point, I managed to finish most of my work before the ChemEngChem End-of-Year Banquet, which was a fantastic time. Good food, good wine, and good friends.<br />
<br />
So thus ended classes, with frazzled nerves and lack of sleep. I saw Source Code with my friends to celebrate not having any work to do. Choir and orchestra concerts happened and were very fun and very successful. Then I go some pretty bad news.<br />
<br />
My grandfather was in a car accident. He wasn't egregiously injured, but he did break his leg. I went back to Toronto to help my grandmother out whilst he was in the hospital. Just driving her around and helping around the house. It was stressful since my grandfather didn't take the anesthesia well. Seeing my grandmother stressed made me pretty darn stressed. But he pulled through and my dad came back up to help with all the paperwork, so that worked out well.<br />
<br />
So now I'm back in Kingston and am cracking down to study. Two(!) exams and then headed home.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://justhinking.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/NotDeadYet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="176" src="http://justhinking.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/NotDeadYet.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The Chansterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17328624631222868806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410485166678355768.post-35233997528697270862011-03-21T20:47:00.000-04:002011-03-21T20:47:13.957-04:00Honey CakeMy gosh, I just made an amazing cake.<br />
<br />
I have the BBC as my homepage and I perused through their cake recipes yesterday. One cake caught my eye: Honey Cake.<br />
<br />
Honey.<br />
<br />
Cake.<br />
<br />
I grabbed a few more ingredients and made it. It was super easy, basically honey, flour, sugar, and eggs. If you want to recreate this easy recipe, just click <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/honeycake_67599">here</a>.<br />
<br />
If you're wondering, I used light brown sugar where it calls for muscovado sugar, and flour with a teaspoon of baking powder for every cup in place of self-raising flour. A bit of conversion in order to get grams into cups is needed, but nothing the internet can't handle.<br />
<br />
It won't survive the night.The Chansterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17328624631222868806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410485166678355768.post-83905987420611603362011-03-18T19:40:00.001-04:002011-03-18T19:40:56.500-04:00On Friday, we shall have a post about "Friday"This is a terrible song. But the girl is not the worst singer...just the autotuning made it worse. Also, the songwriter must have failed grammar in elementary school.<br />
<br />
"We so excited"<br />
<br />
Really? That makes no sense whatsoever.<br />
<br />
Everything else I could possibly say is said much better by this video (some NSFW language).<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="283" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YJ9XIP6XNXs" title="YouTube video player" width="450"></iframe><br />
<br />
Gahhhhh.The Chansterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17328624631222868806noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410485166678355768.post-67205629870394915722011-03-13T10:23:00.000-04:002011-03-13T10:23:01.780-04:00Yes BriTANick is back!Love these guys.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="269" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/mephJf3-zYE" title="YouTube video player" width="425"></iframe><br />
<br />
I laughed for a full two minutes the first time I watched and still giggle a lot during subsequent viewings.The Chansterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17328624631222868806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410485166678355768.post-30573796106175620262011-02-18T00:43:00.000-05:002011-02-18T00:43:29.223-05:00I did it.I made the red velvet cake.<br />
<br />
MISSION COMPLETE<br />
<br />
I also remembered to take pictures before it was devoured!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDQMPO8o2tSkETOmSx35qEgLGXYCCEYe6JFVQi55s-fGkmTUtl0PszQIcWnOaitMnKmElnefP-KIQR2Nh4lH_H_Pup2r5tuDcv7pXaujU-stmyTMPhTJ445LnoMroUpVdH2bQie1oPiWw/s1600/1737378880.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDQMPO8o2tSkETOmSx35qEgLGXYCCEYe6JFVQi55s-fGkmTUtl0PszQIcWnOaitMnKmElnefP-KIQR2Nh4lH_H_Pup2r5tuDcv7pXaujU-stmyTMPhTJ445LnoMroUpVdH2bQie1oPiWw/s320/1737378880.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cream cheese icing. Yum.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKVAKBHTTCTbVWySS_JAWwY2OCYFID9QgfaRjXPkhX99vUMzEQm6ncyVf0uSWUpVMd5jqrTQ5UX8WqF6JPicnckeELzknamLW9z4uK9lkkEsksCPh9TBlBbydg94Gjq_HxuKwbBwy93-o/s1600/898518080.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><br />
It sat there a few days barely touched (which had me slightly worried) and then BOOM. It disappeared. I think everyone was working up the nerve to tackle it.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKVAKBHTTCTbVWySS_JAWwY2OCYFID9QgfaRjXPkhX99vUMzEQm6ncyVf0uSWUpVMd5jqrTQ5UX8WqF6JPicnckeELzknamLW9z4uK9lkkEsksCPh9TBlBbydg94Gjq_HxuKwbBwy93-o/s320/898518080.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">JUST LOOK AT IT</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">You may have noticed that it's a bit pink. Funny story. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I had all the ingredients except for the red food coloring. Just, you know, the iconic part of the red velvet cake. So I ran out to Food Basics. No food coloring, period. Same story at the Shoppers Drug Mart down the road. I finally take the trek all the way out to Loblaws and they are COMPLETELY out of red food coloring. Both by itself and in the little 4-pack of colors. All that's left are the NEON colors.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So I grab the neon colors and purchase them. Once I'm home, I open them up and test a drop of the red in some milk. It turns NEON RED. So red it necessitates capital letters.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But, beggars can't be choosers. I whip up the rest of the cake and the time comes to add the food coloring. I finally throw in only a quarter of the recommended amount of food coloring and make up the rest in vegetable oil.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm quite happy with the result. A bit more Valentines-y than the deep red.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I still have leftover cream cheese icing and will make cupcakes since I'm now prepping for reading week and need to use it up.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKVAKBHTTCTbVWySS_JAWwY2OCYFID9QgfaRjXPkhX99vUMzEQm6ncyVf0uSWUpVMd5jqrTQ5UX8WqF6JPicnckeELzknamLW9z4uK9lkkEsksCPh9TBlBbydg94Gjq_HxuKwbBwy93-o/s1600/898518080.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKVAKBHTTCTbVWySS_JAWwY2OCYFID9QgfaRjXPkhX99vUMzEQm6ncyVf0uSWUpVMd5jqrTQ5UX8WqF6JPicnckeELzknamLW9z4uK9lkkEsksCPh9TBlBbydg94Gjq_HxuKwbBwy93-o/s320/898518080.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OMG CAKE</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKVAKBHTTCTbVWySS_JAWwY2OCYFID9QgfaRjXPkhX99vUMzEQm6ncyVf0uSWUpVMd5jqrTQ5UX8WqF6JPicnckeELzknamLW9z4uK9lkkEsksCPh9TBlBbydg94Gjq_HxuKwbBwy93-o/s1600/898518080.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKVAKBHTTCTbVWySS_JAWwY2OCYFID9QgfaRjXPkhX99vUMzEQm6ncyVf0uSWUpVMd5jqrTQ5UX8WqF6JPicnckeELzknamLW9z4uK9lkkEsksCPh9TBlBbydg94Gjq_HxuKwbBwy93-o/s1600/898518080.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>The Chansterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17328624631222868806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410485166678355768.post-14248777718929891022011-02-10T22:39:00.000-05:002011-02-10T22:39:18.343-05:00That day with all the red associated with it is coming up...Hearts. Yeah, that sounds about right. Valentine's Day. 'Tis soon. And I've created a new mission for myself.<br />
<br />
MAKE A RED VELVET CAKE.<br />
<br />
With cream cheese frosting. Completely made from scratch.<br />
<br />
YES.<br />
<br />
A test cake shall be made this weekend since the paper I'm currently procrastinating on will be handed in.<br />
<br />
ALSO<br />
<br />
I found my Valentine's Day cards. Courtesy of <a href="http://johnnywander.com/">Johnny Wander</a>'s John, who kind of embodies my internal monologue.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://johnnywander.com/highres/229-print.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://johnnywander.com/highres/229-print.jpg" width="425" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Upper and bottom right, especially.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The Chansterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17328624631222868806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410485166678355768.post-85140912410612121562011-02-02T14:45:00.000-05:002011-02-02T14:45:33.673-05:00It snowed. This is my day so far.And there was still class.<br />
<br />
The other college in Kingston was closed.<br />
<br />
WHAT NONSENSE IS THIS.<br />
<br />
Woke up, shoveled 6 inches of snow from my steps/walk. Trudged my way to class on the road since the sidewalks weren't cleared yet. At 11 in the morning.<br />
<br />
Class happened. Nothing special to report.<br />
<br />
It's still snowing.<br />
<br />
I looked out the window of my last class. Decided to bus it home.<br />
<br />
I love Kingston transit. It's warm. And free. And right in front of my house.<br />
<br />
Thank you bus driver who drove me home.<br />
<br />
I am warm now. My housemate booked me a massage/mani later today.<br />
<br />
Before anyone gets ideas, I want the mani to help me stop biting my nails. My health and safety is at stake since I regularly handle things that can kill me in the chem labs.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nataliedee.com/122608/ohio-winters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.nataliedee.com/122608/ohio-winters.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nataliedee.com/archives/2008/Dec/">How I feel now.</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>The Chansterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17328624631222868806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410485166678355768.post-45618521107038141222011-01-25T19:44:00.000-05:002011-01-25T19:44:24.651-05:00Rumblings in EgyptOne of my friends from Elementary/middle school who I fell out of touch with, but am still facebook friends with, posted a plea for attention on the protests in Egypt.<br />
<br />
What did I think? I didn't even know what she was talking about. I was safe in my lovely bubble at university where the outside world just falls away.<br />
<br />
Read her post <a href="http://earthandtraveler.blogspot.com/2011/01/accept-presence-of-hunger-do-not-accept.html">here</a>. It's very well written and you should all research what is going on in Egypt. Here's an excellent <a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/01/20111251711053608.html">article by Al-Jazeera</a> that sums up the events quite well. The clashes with the authorities have already claimed three lives. Let the awareness of the unrest spread and international pressure come.The Chansterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17328624631222868806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410485166678355768.post-67328004514782664042011-01-17T16:30:00.000-05:002011-01-17T16:30:37.309-05:00Whoa, it's a bit different around here...Hey all and welcome to the new year! Or I would be welcoming you if I hadn't procrastinated for the past two weeks and am now lamely posting in the middle of January.<br />
<br />
Speaking of which, the middle of January has awful weather. It's really really cold. It's the kind of cold where it hurts to breathe. Absotively awful. It's also snowed an absurd amount since I've returned to university. I spend most of my time looking like a hatted ninja using a balaclava and a hat with ear flaps. Ridiculous, but warm.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYipRBNoXNQ-8haBGPJzTRQz0fh-qBCmaYPnV4wvKKDiaLV5JnxJ6vrUyfyuStollGqup2oSeT3ekvoW8-t8Ux-VUAKMFGyQz5G41wwTDeZZvhvcNqmTIzm2dFa02a2_BPhTi6ugYHJy4/s1600/Photo+39.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYipRBNoXNQ-8haBGPJzTRQz0fh-qBCmaYPnV4wvKKDiaLV5JnxJ6vrUyfyuStollGqup2oSeT3ekvoW8-t8Ux-VUAKMFGyQz5G41wwTDeZZvhvcNqmTIzm2dFa02a2_BPhTi6ugYHJy4/s320/Photo+39.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kind of like this.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghCGAEhc55t7aEkr8sjNtxD6q1ddqA53uQIc51NRBZLdm6XFxVEJMg0MAFC7DCZ2kDod_40J1nlustk4H6SkWLvix2320_zKeVtqd0PfFpMotNB99XOWYvFmUnc7BlFawmm3qi-_yRrYA/s1600/Photo+38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghCGAEhc55t7aEkr8sjNtxD6q1ddqA53uQIc51NRBZLdm6XFxVEJMg0MAFC7DCZ2kDod_40J1nlustk4H6SkWLvix2320_zKeVtqd0PfFpMotNB99XOWYvFmUnc7BlFawmm3qi-_yRrYA/s320/Photo+38.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OH NO MORE SNOW.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
So I decided that a New Year meant I should get a New Look! I changed up the design and put a spiffy twitter gadget off the the side ----><br />
<br />
Now you can see my tweets on my blog! So I'll be blogging whilst tweeting! O. M. G.<br />
<br />
So if you read this, you should totally follow me on twitter. I mostly use twitter to stalk my favorite celebrities. My favorites are Grant Imahara from Mythbusters and Stephen Fry. Both are great. Grant's adorably geeky and Stephen is just full of win.<br />
<br />
Finally, I have done more culinary shenanigans. First, I made pizza with my housemate. From scratch. Okay, not completely (the sauce was from a can), but we did make our own dough! It was amazing. The crust was so delicious that I could just eat it by itself. There would be pics, but my housemate took them and I haven't stolen them yet. I will add them. Eventually.<br />
<br />
Okay, fine don't hold your breath.<br />
<br />
I also attempted to make fudge, in order to give my candy thermometer a test drive. It ended up being more of a caramel-toffee type thing, but still delicious.<br />
<br />
Right then. Off to go do some actual work. Or make a cup of tea. And perhaps some culinary shenanigans. And work. Eventually.The Chansterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17328624631222868806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410485166678355768.post-92131827442466065342010-12-31T15:55:00.001-05:002011-01-20T21:15:24.188-05:00ZOMG NEW YEAR<a href="http://www.laaloosh.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/chocolate-chip-cookies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Well what do you know, we made it another year. It's been stressed, exciting, wonderful, and just plain old fun.<br />
<br />
Christmas was awesome. I got some excellent geeky items of clothing:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://imgs.xkcd.com/store/imgs/stand_back_square_0.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/store/imgs/stand_back_square_0.png" /></a><br />
On a tshirt. I'm wearing it right now.<br />
And I also got a most excellent apron: <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.topatoco.com/graphics/00000001/qc-baking-apron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="http://www.topatoco.com/graphics/00000001/qc-baking-apron.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
I'll be baking up a storm while wearing this.<br />
<br />
<br />
Finally, my sis got me an enormous bag of Swedish fish. YUM.<br />
<br />
Here's my present to everyone: My favorite chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe! I couldn't find a pic of the ones I've made because they disappear before I even get the camera out.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://webpages.shepherd.edu/ECOLLI02/chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://webpages.shepherd.edu/ECOLLI02/chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a href="http://www.laaloosh.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/chocolate-chip-cookies.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a><br />
Anne’s Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies <br />
<br />
• 1 cup butter or margarine <br />
• 1/2 cup white sugar <br />
• 1 cup packed brown sugar <br />
• 1 tsp. salt <br />
• 2 tsp. vanilla <br />
• 2 eggs <br />
• 2 1/2 cups flour <br />
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda <br />
• 2 cups chocolate chips (or <br />
chocolate chunks) <br />
• Music that makes you want to <br />
dance <br />
<br />
1. Preheat oven to 350°. <br />
2. Crank up the music and dance around the kitchen gathering ingredients. <br />
3. In a mixing bowl, combine the butter with both sugars; cream together with a big <br />
wooden spoon until light and fluffy. <br />
4. Add the salt, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until well mixed. <br />
5. Add flour and baking soda; mix until just combined. <br />
6. Stir in the chocolate chips. For even better results, chop up your favourite chocolate bar <br />
instead of using chocolate chips – dark, milk, or white; with or without nuts or toffee. <br />
7. Drop heaping tablespoon-size balls of dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined <br />
with parchment paper. <br />
8. Bake until cookies are golden around the edges, but still soft in the center, 8 to 10 <br />
minutes. <br />
9. Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheet 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, <br />
and let cool completely – or don’t! They’re even better warm. <br />
10. Serve with a tall glass of milk or a steaming mug of tea or hot chocolate. <br />
<br />
*Makes about 3 dozen By: Anne Blayney<br />
<br />
<br />
Have a happy new year and I'll see you on the flip side.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmTsaNRoHQV-cyI2muou65Jk8Ur2VsivonuZRaTCXmT5-cUfgGrExzFNKiJaag-p5A9wDNRCmLx4u5MUsG3L1ob6TEEawKm-ESF0eqqem0eVdXK9kgIAHWCDxCK6nOTAA4al9_tFfndgo/s320/champagne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmTsaNRoHQV-cyI2muou65Jk8Ur2VsivonuZRaTCXmT5-cUfgGrExzFNKiJaag-p5A9wDNRCmLx4u5MUsG3L1ob6TEEawKm-ESF0eqqem0eVdXK9kgIAHWCDxCK6nOTAA4al9_tFfndgo/s320/champagne.jpg" /></a></div><br />
"Here's to the new year...may she be a damn sight better than the old one..." - Col. Sherman T. Potter, <span style="font-style: italic;">M*A*S*H</span>The Chansterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17328624631222868806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410485166678355768.post-20834415883897912002010-12-18T12:40:00.000-05:002010-12-18T12:40:59.966-05:00Freedom!I...I survived? What?<br />
<br />
Now I'm home with my family and completely content.<br />
<br />
It's nice to be back.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9gMOZcF9c9ClinEp0gWmnhpzjymN-uIZesjUvFomAu9yY6TF6ITlZuy8hYHkW1wPHYfca7zQGrP2mom6qFV68W2YRRE4LeP3y0zMAcE_XwrkiH9UJPnGFjdxNX32qD6mFQY0Hec32W9Q/s1600/Kitten-Pictures-48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9gMOZcF9c9ClinEp0gWmnhpzjymN-uIZesjUvFomAu9yY6TF6ITlZuy8hYHkW1wPHYfca7zQGrP2mom6qFV68W2YRRE4LeP3y0zMAcE_XwrkiH9UJPnGFjdxNX32qD6mFQY0Hec32W9Q/s320/Kitten-Pictures-48.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://kitten-pictures.com/happy-kitten/">I went to bed with this face.</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>The Chansterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17328624631222868806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410485166678355768.post-37014016890091095132010-12-14T23:07:00.000-05:002010-12-14T23:07:18.574-05:00A small interludeI just loaded the dishwasher and have discovered a few things in my sink that should not be there.<br />
<br />
1. Several tea bags. Since we don't have a garbage disposal, they should probably go into the trash.<br />
<br />
2. Two (soggy) cookies. Failed experiments from weekend procrastination. Again, either eat them or put them in the trash, not in the sink.<br />
<br />
3. A piece of broken glass. I don't know what it broke from since none of the other glasses were broken. Mystery.<br />
<br />
4. A moldy piece of...something. Zucchini, maybe? Either way, we're either discovering the next penicillin or we're going to die from a mysterious spore-based disease. Or MRSA. Take your pick.<br />
<br />
5. The sink traps are covered in unidentifiable things. I think I saw one move. <br />
<br />
If I don't die from exams, my sink is going to kill me.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_yxqBvW2LnGy1ilZ1hf8AZFBGFjAdD6BbprZDptm26YqQL4CcVEH_G_VB55GDH8S9avfM4E2TOm5wznES4YNR5YTxqvt3uigxc8uInUwm3YqTdNtQGvVV-DFNiWuySV4uXu78WqYY7uM/s1600/sink27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_yxqBvW2LnGy1ilZ1hf8AZFBGFjAdD6BbprZDptm26YqQL4CcVEH_G_VB55GDH8S9avfM4E2TOm5wznES4YNR5YTxqvt3uigxc8uInUwm3YqTdNtQGvVV-DFNiWuySV4uXu78WqYY7uM/s1600/sink27.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If only my sink looked like this...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The Chansterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17328624631222868806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410485166678355768.post-47596027976837073392010-12-12T22:41:00.000-05:002010-12-12T22:41:31.795-05:00#ohgodGuys, exams are kind of kicking me where it hurts. This video sums up how I feel.<br />
<br />
<object height="264" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/o7dp9OSqpdU?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/o7dp9OSqpdU?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="264"></embed></object><br />
<br />
I'll see you on Thursday if I survive.The Chansterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17328624631222868806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410485166678355768.post-7515413185433681732010-12-08T11:43:00.000-05:002010-12-08T11:43:28.926-05:00Cabbage medul!It's finals time, so I am now frienemies with the internet. I need it to download course work. But then, there's this eeeeeeeviiiiill thing called youtube.<br />
<br />
Anyways, I really like this one guy on youtube called criken2. He makes funny machinimas. Personally, I like "Romanquest," a Grand Theft Auto IV recording, quite a lot. But, he recently uploaded "Metro 2033: Criken's Quest for Cabbage." And it's awesome.<br />
<br />
Just what I needed, another awesome distraction. Thanks, criken!<br />
<br />
<object width="425" height="264"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/EIGcNjXFwoA?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/EIGcNjXFwoA?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="264"></embed></object><br />
<br />
Now I destroy many other people's productivity. Go me!<br />
<br />
Beware the seenging paipes.The Chansterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17328624631222868806noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410485166678355768.post-54999123595100051082010-11-23T16:38:00.000-05:002010-11-23T16:38:08.061-05:00My secret's been discovered!So, I was working on a project in a group when the following text conversation took place between myself and my lovely housemate K:<br />
<br />
K: It goes "a new hope" "the empire strikes back" and then "return of the jedi right?<br />
Me: Yep. Planning another marathon?<br />
K: Naw just wanted to sound intelligent in front of my nerd friends. thanks!<br />
Me: I'm glad I'm your go-to person for nerdiness.<br />
K: .... and culinary schenanigans.<br />
Me: Haha, that too. We must do that again.<br />
K: Aaaaaargh. sometimes i wonder if your the witch from hanzel and gretel trying to fatten us up.<br />
Me: Nooo my secret's been discovered!<br />
K: THE MUGGLES KNOW.<br />
<br />
Mwahaha.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUULCQRx7dhnPAbd9_zVnp_mI_WaRYZNaFaNYW8xPejdopVGZ1V-TVJ-zJ19ayUo38P0cY8Iumv82TuqcScwK1H4oAGRThgwoSDDKTIlLCA7jXQ77Y9wh8YYe0mLSCG9UIzl4en6edRcg/s1600/gingerbread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUULCQRx7dhnPAbd9_zVnp_mI_WaRYZNaFaNYW8xPejdopVGZ1V-TVJ-zJ19ayUo38P0cY8Iumv82TuqcScwK1H4oAGRThgwoSDDKTIlLCA7jXQ77Y9wh8YYe0mLSCG9UIzl4en6edRcg/s320/gingerbread.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When I start making the house look like this, be very worried.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<a href="http://picture-book.com/content/gingerbread-house">Image source here</a>.The Chansterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17328624631222868806noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410485166678355768.post-71206551598051782412010-11-11T09:58:00.000-05:002010-11-11T09:58:50.483-05:00A bit of sillinessI was watching Quite Interesting (one of my favorite shows) and they brought up a hypothetical quandary. One adage is that cats always land on their feet. Another is that toast always lands buttered side down. So what if you attached a piece of toast to a cat with the buttered side up?<br />
<br />
According to the adages, the cat will turn indefinitely.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOeakpfC0PjNdpIFrLYI1WiRFVm1oJlRC6uhUzJlBzfA4s3hRbM7uZYXwtloGZAhNYCvrhsZcbOL1hW2OARfffOTGOvmUlNmnW1bsKZJDIsWsQu017v45MF1D5PVcy3vMxT_RXahkR8rY/s1600/Buttered_cat.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOeakpfC0PjNdpIFrLYI1WiRFVm1oJlRC6uhUzJlBzfA4s3hRbM7uZYXwtloGZAhNYCvrhsZcbOL1hW2OARfffOTGOvmUlNmnW1bsKZJDIsWsQu017v45MF1D5PVcy3vMxT_RXahkR8rY/s1600/Buttered_cat.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sigh...seriously, this isn't funny anymore...hellooooo?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The Chansterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17328624631222868806noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410485166678355768.post-21522489814604029192010-11-10T22:45:00.001-05:002010-11-11T23:38:38.664-05:00Too Asian?EDIT: Maclean's has the article back up. See it <a href="http://oncampus.macleans.ca/education/2010/11/10/too-asian/">here</a>. <br />
<br />
Are universities too Asian? Are Asian kids forcing others out? If unis are truly meritocracies, then those who work hard will get in, regardless of what ethnicity they are. I'm of Chinese descent, but I don't consider myself Asian. I'm solidly North American without a real hint of Asian attitude. Most of my friends in high school were not Asian, and not for lack of Asians. Here at uni, I have a few chinese friends, but an equal, if not greater amount of non-asian friends. <br />
<br />
Here's the text to a pulled Maclean's article I got from a friend on Facebook. It was reported on by Toronto Life <a href="http://www.torontolife.com/daily/informer/the-new-normal/2010/11/10/maclean%E2%80%99s-asks-if-u-of-t-is-%E2%80%9Ctoo-asian%E2%80%9D/">here</a>, so I'm not making it up.<br />
<br />
When Alexandra and her friend Rachel, both graduates of Toronto’s Havergal College, an all-girls private school, were deciding which university to go to, they didn’t even bother considering the University of Toronto. “The only people from our school who went to U of T were Asian,” explains Alexandra, a second-year student who looks like a girl from an Aritzia billboard. “All the white kids,” she says, “go to Queen’s, Western and McGill.”<br />
<br />
Alexandra eventually chose the University of Western Ontario. Her younger brother, now a high school senior deciding where he’d like to go, will head “either east, west or to McGill”—unusual academic options, but in keeping with what he wants from his university experience. “East would suit him because it’s chill, out west he could be a ski bum,” says Alexandra, who explains her little brother wants to study hard, but is also looking for a good time—which rules out U of T, a school with an academic reputation that can be a bit of a killjoy.<br />
<br />
Or, as Alexandra puts it—she asked that her real name not be used in this article, and broached the topic of race at universities hesitantly—a “reputation of being Asian.”<br />
<br />
Discussing the role that race plays in the self-selecting communities that more and more characterize university campuses makes many people uncomfortable. Still, an “Asian” school has come to mean one that is so academically focused that some students feel they can no longer compete or have fun. Indeed, Rachel, Alexandra and her brother belong to a growing cohort of student that’s eschewing some big-name schools over perceptions that they’re “too Asian.” It’s a term being used in some U.S. academic circles to describe a phenomenon that’s become such a cause for concern to university admissions officers and high school guidance counsellors that several elite universities to the south have faced scandals in recent years over limiting Asian applicants and keeping the numbers of white students artificially high.<br />
<br />
Although university administrators here are loath to discuss the issue, students talk about it all the time. “Too Asian” is not about racism, say students like Alexandra: many white students simply believe that competing with Asians—both Asian Canadians and international students—requires a sacrifice of time and freedom they’re not willing to make. They complain that they can’t compete for spots in the best schools and can’t party as much as they’d like (too bad for them, most will say). Asian kids, meanwhile, say they are resented for taking the spots of white kids. “At graduation a Canadian—i.e. ‘white’—mother told me that I’m the reason her son didn’t get a space in university and that all the immigrants in the country are taking up university spots,” says Frankie Mao, a 22-year-old arts student at the University of British Columbia. “I knew it was wrong, being generalized in this category,” says Mao, “but f–k, I worked hard for it.”<br />
<br />
That Asian students work harder is a fact born out by hard data. They tend to be strivers, high achievers and single-minded in their approach to university. Stephen Hsu, a physics prof at the University of Oregon who has written about the often subtle forms of discrimination faced by Asian-American university applicants, describes them as doing “disproportionately well—they tend to have high SAT scores, good grades in high school, and a lot of them really want to go to top universities.” In Canada, say Canadian high school guidance counsellors, that means the top-tier post-secondary institutions with international profiles specializing in math, science and business: U of T, UBC and the University of Waterloo. White students, by contrast, are more likely to choose universities and build their school lives around social interaction, athletics and self-actualization—and, yes, alcohol. When the two styles collide, the result is separation rather than integration.<br />
<br />
The dilemma is this: Canadian institutions operate as pure meritocracies when it comes to admissions, and admirably so. Privately, however, many in the education community worry that universities risk becoming too skewed one way, changing campus life—a debate that’s been more or less out in the open in the U.S. for years but remains muted here. And that puts Canadian universities in a quandary. If they openly address the issue of race they expose themselves to criticisms that they are profiling and committing an injustice. If they don’t, Canada’s universities, far from the cultural mosaics they’re supposed to be—oases of dialogue, mutual understanding and diversity—risk becoming places of many solitudes, deserts of non-communication. It’s a tough question to have to think about.<br />
<br />
Asian-Canadian students are far more likely to talk about and assert their ethnic identities than white students. “I’m Asian,” says 21-year-old Susie Su, a third-year student at UBC’s Sauder School of Business. “I do have traditional Asian parents. I feel the pressure of finding a good job and raising a good family.” That pressure helps shape more than just the way Su handles study and school assignments; it shapes the way she interacts with her colleagues. “If I feel like it’s going to be an event where it’s all white people, I probably wouldn’t want to go,” she says. “There’s a lot of just drinking. It’s not that I don’t like white people. But you tend to hang out with people of the same race.”<br />
<br />
Catherine Costigan, a psychology assistant prof at the University of Victoria, says it’s unsurprising that Asian students are segregated from “mainstream” campus life. She cites studies that show Chinese youth are bullied more than their non-Asian peers. As a so-called “model minority,” they are more frequently targeted because of being “too smart” and “teachers’ pets.” To counter peer ostracism and resentment, Costigan says Chinese students reaffirm their ethnicity.<br />
<br />
The value of education has been drilled into Asian students by their parents, likely for cultural and socio-economic reasons. “It’s often described that Asians are the new Jews,” says Jon Reider, director of college counselling at San Francisco University High School and a former Stanford University admissions officer. “That in the face of discrimination, what you do is you study. And there’s a long tradition in Chinese culture, for example, going back to Confucius, of social mobility based on merit.”<br />
<br />
<br />
Take from this what you will, I guess.The Chansterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17328624631222868806noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4410485166678355768.post-54973009777419544482010-11-02T22:17:00.000-04:002010-11-02T22:17:56.119-04:00Elections and Glee!So midterm elections were today. I hope there was high voter turnout. I'm just kind of thrilled that Christine O'Donnell didn't win (and I'm not in the country, a citizen, nor do I make my home in Delaware). She was just a little too kooky and right wing for me. And when she opposed separation of church and state in front of a law school audience, that was the last straw for me.<br />
<br />
In other words, Glee needs to have an episode centering around the jazz band and the piano player. I want to know more about them. They're awesome.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnSbPucA5KB2gYTKyCgEr8YAoBVg22gw25UlLZlBs6PvdNH4jBtD7aRMglUtnHEcVHKzA202RBKV19OYG0n-M_ybiI0WaEUTya9F5URE8QNKoPR0fad8g-rkgCKfUAv19kf26P5iMsPA/s1600/glee-thumb-250x332-10924.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnSbPucA5KB2gYTKyCgEr8YAoBVg22gw25UlLZlBs6PvdNH4jBtD7aRMglUtnHEcVHKzA202RBKV19OYG0n-M_ybiI0WaEUTya9F5URE8QNKoPR0fad8g-rkgCKfUAv19kf26P5iMsPA/s320/glee-thumb-250x332-10924.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Plenty of these posters. WHERE IS THE BAND?</span></div>The Chansterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17328624631222868806noreply@blogger.com0