freshman 15 anxiety

I’m a little worried that I’ll go back to the bay and find myself +10 lbs.  The food is incredibly delicious here.  The Asian food at home is nothing compared to what I’m eating now. 

If this picture grosses you out, you won't be able to handle the rest.

They have taro inside the pearls now, and even pearl noodles.  I’m getting really sick of the pearl milk tea though.  I usually drink that stuff about four times a year, but I’ve had three drinks in the past week already.  I am definitely getting myself an RSF membership this summer.  Hopefully I won’t encounter an ankle sprain this time.

I rode the little motorcycle by myself yesterday for the first time.  It is definitely easier seen than done.  I was doing pretty well for the first few minutes practicing in a narrow alley (big mistake).  I reached the end of the alley and got off to turn the motorcycle around, unintentionally turning the right handle/accelerator.  If it weren’t for a huge concrete block in front of me, that vehicle would’ve run off itself.  I tried to regain control, but I ended up turning the right handle again.  The motorcycle crashed twice on the block and I have a dozen purple bruises all over my legs.  Lesson: Driving a car is much easier.

Recently, I have been terribly addicted to Untouchable, a Korean hiphop duo.  Their music was my coffee during finals week.  I’ve even memorized some of the lyrics after putting the songs on repeat, even though I have no idea what they mean. 

Update: It is raining cats and dogs here.  I miss the sunny weather in the states.  The south isn’t too bad though.  I left 彰化 for the south on Friday and planned to return on Sunday.  I ended up spending an entire Saturday at 高雄’s 夢時代  eating pounds of food.  It’s the second largest mall in Southeast Asia.  This extended my trip to Monday.  Then my aunt wanted us to stay longer, so we agreed on Tuesday.  Somehow it got delayed day by day, but I finally left on Saturday night.  The rain has stopped now.  It is unbearably hot outside.  I hate unpredictable weather

• @Austin I’ll try to find the pens for you!  I haven’t seen any Pilot ones yet.
• @HG I flew one of Eva’s old planes.  The new ones have better seating arrangments (3-3-3) and personal screens.  By the way, did you mean scented markers or scented highlighters?
• @maxbaroi Withdrawing must’ve been a difficult transition.  When are you coming back to Cal? 

One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things. -Henry Miller

where am i again?

Arrived at around 5:15 AM.  We were lucky enough to get a direct bus to 彰化 for a change.  Now I know which buses have the private equipment.  The amenities on the bus were way better than those on the plane, which is pretty pathetic.  What kind of plane doesn’t offer a personal screen for movies, video games, and music while flying international?  You can get all of that on a two-hour ride on a bus.  Sad.

I had a major culture shock once we got off.  Technically, Loveboat impaired my last trip, so I haven’t truly been back in five years.  Mandarin isn’t spoken often in this part of the country, and the Taiwanese I learned this past semester only helps my ears.  My mouth is as mute as a rock.  Nevertheless, my first day was booked with stuff.  Took a taxi, walked in the pouring rain, drew blood at a hospital, took an x-ray, went to a grand opening of a market, saw some old faces, saw a white guy, met a group of Indonesians, ate 肉圓 & 碗粿, got honked at a billion times, shopped, etc.  Some of that stuff is pretty unusual though.  I hate how there is almost no regard for pedestrians here.  Foreigners are a very uncommon sight where I’m at.  And if you have to see a doctor, go to a legit hospital.

Apparently, a lot of businesses here will be closed for the weekend beginning tomorrow for 端午節.  I think I’ve only been here once or twice for that previously, and I was only in grade school, so I don’t remember much from it.  Hopefully, I’ll get to see some sort of celebrating here.

10:29 PM.  I’m so tired from that red eye flight.

“There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.” – St. Augustine

warm breezes, sandy beaches

At last.  The moment has arrived.  It is so nice to be able to sleep in and not worry about anything.  I wish life was always like this.

The last few days of the semester were excruciating painful.  I racked up many hours of sleep debt.  Still, I haven’t pulled an all-nighter yet.  I filled up an entire blue book, front and back, for my last final.  If only juvenile delinquency didn’t exist, then I wouldn’t have to endure right hand pains for the kids.  When they called time, my right pinky was entirely gray.  Flipping through the pages of the blue book, I saw my handwriting slowly evolve (or simplify?)  from a mature college student to an uncontrollable kindergartner.  Yeah, my hand pretty much died.

Nevertheless, I’m glad I didn’t withdraw from Berkeley.  When I got really sick last month, I didn’t make it to most of my classes.  And when you miss one lecture, you miss a lot.  At least that’s the case for my classes.  So I stared at the page for more than half an hour before deciding against it.  I figured that with three weeks left, it was worth the drive to keep going.

I finally got my ears pierced after that final. It’s been almost two years since I first thought about it.  It was really a decision from a whim of now or never, since I was leaving for Taiwan in a few days.  I’m glad I went through with it that day, even though I was running on two hours of sleep from the night before and felt really lightheaded from not eating anything before the exam.  The pain wasn’t bad at all.  I think I thought it was going to be really painful and prepped myself for it.  I’m totally going back.  And I’m probably going to be chided for it.

I’m leaving for Taiwan tomorrow night.  If you will be there, please let me know!  I’d love to meet up.  (09) 8163-9419.  Good for 5/26 to 6/21.

I should get packing.  Have a wonderful summer!

so how was your weekend?

Seriously, I thought I couldn’t hold out any longer.  I kept thinking and rethinking about the what ifs.  At 104°, clinging on for dear life is like winning the sweepstakes; the odds are slim to none.

I’ve reduced down to a little more than four degrees at the cost of missing an entire day of classes.  I’m so behind, I can feel it already.  Telling my professors that “I can’t focus very well” is a total understatement.  Constant ringing in the ears, pounding headache, lumpy throat, damage of vocal cords… I hope I don’t have brain damage.

The worst part of my day now is breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  No joke.  You know you’re extremely sick when everything you eat tastes like shit.  Salty food is too salty, sweet food isn’t sweet enough, and neutral food tastes like plastic.  It’s so bad that I enjoy eating mashed potatoes without the gravy.  Gravy is way too salty.  And water has this weird chlorine aftertaste.

You’d think that someone in the family would at least give me meds or mail something since they live only an hour away.  Too bad everyone’s in Vegas right now.  The timing couldn’t have been more perfect.

Thanks to everyone who checked in with me.  I think it helped my recovery a bit. (:

PS. Urgent Care waiting time is 40 minutes.  On average.  Best to set up an appointment if you don’t want to spend your day at the Tang Center.

“When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking.”  -Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

spring break medley

I’ve been waiting for this week since President’s Day.  I always dread the last few days before school breaks.  Last week turned really ugly with two papers, a midterm, and an in-class essay, not to mention mandatory readings.  And I didn’t even procrastinate!  I would have already completed at least half of the assignment the night before.  The quantity of unfinished work probably made me panic, so I started skipping stuff to study.  But it’s all over now and that’s all that matters.

I really needed this break.  Getting sick of Cal.  Literally.  I caught a terrible cold a couple of weeks ago and could barely talk in the morning.  I hate it when that happens.

I messed up twice already with my no-desserts campaign, thanks to forgetfulness.  I swear, I have a very good memory!  Don’t try anything stupid with me.  Anyway, I ate a Starburst, and a few days later, a crème brûlée.  I guess that’s +2 from Easter.  By the way, if you live in/near San Jose and haven’t been to McCormick & Schmick’s, you have to go!  That’s where I ate the custard.  It’s pricey, but the food is bomb.

Mmm.  You know you want it.

Recently, I’ve been seeing a lot of short hair.  I thought it was about time to pay the stylist a visit.  So now, a chunk of my hair is gone.  No more dead hair cells!  But bangs can get really irritating at times.

A little bird told me that the UC waiting game is over.  Seniors: Congratulations!

And now back to reading.

Where you start is not as important as where you finish. -Zig Ziglar