Almost there

It's almost December, applications are coming along and deadlines are coming up - final papers, projects, proposals starting to take shape. I am starting to develop more potbelly. Less games playing, more random stress-outages, and I think more general levels of happy times - yes, youth are so volatile (I'm still a youth-ish right?)

On a different note, I've been distracted by my cursor!!! Instead of seeing the typical hourglass+pointer cursor like so:

... I see this little guy:

SO CUTE!

And I get distracted.

Oh Wellesley

I like how the dining hall food is so much more beautiful and delicious when it's either spring or fall open campus, or when the health inspector comes by. Oh sigh... if only it were every day.

On that note, the salads at Stone-D are awesome today! It's laid out beautifully with ham, cheese, prosciutto, feta, sundried tomatoes, greek olives sprinkled and layered throughout, looks like the kind you get in nice restaurants :) Come and get it today before they never have it again! (until the next health inspector or a bunch of visitors come again)

<3

-----------------------------EDIT-----------------------------
STONE D GINGER ALE IS BACK IN BUSINESS!!!!!! YAY!!!!!! :D

Also, there are meatballs.

Happy

Ahh, the blessings of family :) I'm thankful for many many things this weekend, and that is one of the highest ones... A happy late Thanksgiving to everyone!!! Although each day is a day of thanks :)

I haven't updated in a suuuper long time - doh! Nuts. Mmmmm I had a really good hazelnut and peanut donut the other day from Tesco :) but really, so sorry to those who have been expecting to hear more from here! D: I cannot make up for it, but will try my best to post more!

As an attempt at a thoroughish update... pictures are now being posted to Picasa from my trip to Europe! Europe mainland, I mean. There's so much to write about that, haha, but those pictures will have to do for now... Schoolwork has definitely picked up a lot, and I've been madly reading and writing and coding and trying to read and write and, well, not really speak, Hebrew. Academic life at UCL is more challenging than academic life at Wellesley - I forget if I've already written about that - it's a lot less guided learning and a lot more "hey welcome to _____ your exam/essay is in 2.5 months have fun good luck" kind of thing, with sporadic assignments (courseworks) spattered between. I quite like that :) Although I do prefer Wellesley's taking care of us much more... Also, there's no good study space here. It's all so crowded wherever I go... I need better places to look maybe, or better times to try :/ I went to retreat this past weekend with the small group fellowship that I've settled with - ahhh it was a wonderful time :) I am reminded again and again of God's faithfulness in everything man, everything, and of His totally awe-some-ness that I dunno how to put into words - His love, His mercy, His wisdom, His sovereignty, His above-all of above-all... WOW it's flooring. Is that a word? He really puts "awe-filled" and "awesome" to a new level, or probably more so, to the one it belongs in.

In other news, our little Wellesley contingent and my flatmates are having a makeshift Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow! It's going to be a crazy fest with a mix of Asian and American and Britishish food, SO PUMPED YAAAAAY!!!! *dances around in flippy floppys!* I just put the bird into the fridge for an overnight brining :) Side note, the bird is chicken and not turkey... the turkeys were all too big to fit into our fridge. HAH! This will be my first ever attempt at roasting a whole chicken! We'll see how that goes tomorrow. I'm slightly afraid that it will blow up. Or shrivel up. Or burn up. Or something to those effects. What a great opportunity though... Thanksgiving! :) Also, I'm slowly picking up a Singaporean accent.. Just now walking back from small group I caught myself talking with the intonations that they speak with, and even after retreat I really had to try hard and stop myself from being a poser and blurting out 'lah's and 'meh's and 'loh's and etc in my sentences..

Mmm one more story of typical Lulu to end this post with (wow what bad English!! One would think that living in England would not result in this). Earlier today I was running from the kitchen (no, nothing blew up) but I rounded a corner too soon and ran into it. And subsequently fell into a heap. And of course, had a great laugh about it. With tears though, of remorse and of hunger (good thing there were snacks at OCF, and Sam's delicious blueberry crumb bars AHHH I ate too many for my own good). I was actually quite amazed at how much running into an inanimate object could hurt! Because it's definitely not the first time that's happened... I would say though that it was a pretty good example of poor proprioception, as in my rush to get to the front door I somehow forgot that my body was a bit wider than just my eye-span. So the moral of this story is to manage one's time better so that one does not rush to leave. Also, wear shoulder pads. You never know when they'll come in handy...

Icky

I have such a big pimple on my face that it hurts when I blink.

And I am unable to focus on schoolwork. Bahhhh school! Maybe I should just never have a weekend again. Maybe then my brain won't shut off as often. =___=

Break time

ATD Spring Tour 2009 Blog

- a recording of our random times and not-as-random times...

Washing Hands.

I used to have a bad habit of biting my nails, and also my cuticles :( Bad bad bad... Sometimes though, my hands would be dirty, and when I tried to bite them (that sounds weird) I would encounter a bitter taste. And thus, from those experiences on, I learned not to bite my nails. But anyway, sometimes this still happens, but not from nail biting. Rather, my current bad habit is touching my face, particularly in the chinish area, and I don't even realize most of the time. Mer. But sometimes, my hands would still be dirty and when I eat or even lick my lips unintentionally, I'd get that bitter taste again. Maybe, I will learn from this as well to not touch my face/chin area. This is such a random confession.

Well, now comes to a close a very fun-filled and sleep-not-filled weekend... There were adventures through Wellesley, non-Wellesley, and then the backyards of Wellesley again, and here I am sitting in the Science Library, looking up call numbers for reserves and preparing myself for some fun-filled hours of reading... hahhh -- but looking back, I really did enjoy this past week! Even through all the tensions and stresses, the insecurities and emotional swings, there were so many little glimmers and then radiant outbursts of beauty and joy that I know could only have come from God. Each time I go through a emotional roller coaster, I look back and forward in awe. I'm amazed at how often and how wonderfully God brings me through them all, humbled at His grace toward me, and so so excited (or pregnant) to see what He has in store. Admittantly, there are a lot of things I'm afraid of too, but perfect love drives out all fear, and what love is more perfect that Love Himself?

Sigh... of contentment maybe. No, more than contentment. What's the word for it? I duno. But I need to wash my hands =___=

Snowglobe

Massachusetts:

Wellesley:

Econ101 with Case

We're taking a 10 minute break so that Case can chase after a wasp with a styrofoam bar. He's already slapped at two students with it now. Unfortunately, the wasp is still victorious.

So many girly screams...

Ah, the battle ends. It landed on my water bottle. And the girl next to me slapped it. And it may have gone into my backpack. Ahh, good times in econ...

Oh, just kidding. It's back. :/ At least my chips are still intact.

"Hahhh"

^the word that echoes in my head following an awkward and/or embarrassing situation.

Wellesley's famous (or not so) Lake Day - where students historically skipped class and hung around Lake Waban. It's now been made into an official holiday (or not, since classes are not canceled for thisi event). According to the description on the college website,

Lake Day is one of Wellesley’s most closely guarded student secrets. Planned by student government leaders, Lake Day grew out of the desire for students to take a break from the rigors of their academic pursuits and have fun. From a historical perspective, the word would be spread among students that on a certain date they would take off from their classes to enjoy a day filled with music, dancing, food, fun, and games. Lake Day today is still kept as a secret and is a day filled with fun and festivities.

It's not really a secret though. Meaning, it is widely publicized and unless one is blind or deaf or has no connections period, one will know about it.

Today, festivities included a small petting zoo, a carnival ride (but ghetto - straight up peeling wood and rusted metal. and huge blinky lights), a trackless train (complete with an appropriate conductor, plus about 20/30 years, with max capacity of roughly 40 college students), plenty of cotton candy and cupcakes and fried dough, and about 2300 sadly deprived college students. It was quite a blast :)

In other news, my boss's boss introduced me to a new guy on the team, and it had to be the most awkward meeting I've had in a while. Hahhh...

On the way back

(buses have wifi now! ahhh!)

Mmm all in all it's been a great weekend... a true retreat into the city that turned up many things that I would never have expected.

I realized many of the blessings of going to Wellesley this weekend.. haha! That's kind of ironic - I originally was so looking forward to this trip as a retreat away from Wellesley, and now that I look back, it's become something that's helped me to appreciate it all the more... interesting.

Had so many great conversations these few days... strange and wonderful to catch up with home friends, meet their new friends and click with even newer friends - and that in itself was a strange experience. Clicking with others. Not that it's never happened. Actually, I think that's what brings about friendships - clicking! Ahh so many realizations through that too..

I wonder, how strong am I really? If I am strong at all? How long could I stand firm, if I can stand firm at all? One more reason to love Wellesley...

Other reasons include being able to eat without being judged (most of the time), and being able to talk to like minded individuals about things of frivolous matter in an intellecual way (like fashion and shoes. although the former includes the latter, the latter is also in a category by itself). And more.

The trees outside are so beautiful! Mother Nature is finally shedding her summer veil... Interesting how its Mother Nature and Father Time.

Etiquette is important.

1.5 more hours to go!

I had half a jar of covered espresso beans - equivalent to about 4 cups of pure espresso... but I still managed to nod off while reading through my neuro notes. You have failed me, oh caffeine! Caffeine is a bitter tasting substance, reminiscent of the bitter tastes of many poisons in our world. Our gustatory and olfactory systems work together to take in all those sensations of smell and taste to provide feedback to our brains, telling us which substances may or may not be beneficial or harmful. There are over 10000 distinguishable (for humans) odors, yet we have less odor receptors in our noses than do mice. That's because (our perception of) odor is not only dependent on the molecules, but also on the concentration of those molecules. For example, the odor molecule for coffee is the same as that of feces - the latter just happens to be much more concentrated. So the next time you smell that coffee and think "mmmm", think again.

Back to studying... :(

Eating alone

Often times I would kind of cringe at the thought of eating by myself somewhere, like for lunch or dinner or what not - and I know many people who shudder at the thought too... but I think that recently I've been really enjoying that... partially because I have no choice and there's just no time, haha - but also partially because it seems to be the few moments I have "alone" - I guess I've come to really appreciate and even look forward to eating alone. All that said, I also see that there's much much value in eating with others - a chance to build relationships, to deepen relationships, to catch up and wind down, and because everyone has to eat anyway, why not do it together if you can? There's definitely value in both.

All that said, I just set up another lunch date.. hahaha

In other news, I have a new pet:
http://www.giantmicrobes.com/us/products/algae.html

Courtesy of the bio department.

It's official.

I quit my job at the Davis.

:) :( :/ :\ :| 8| X| :{ :{( E|(:{D

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