Wednesday, July 22, 2009

this disturbing culture..

Something about the new world culture of burping at will really bothers me these days. Anywhere I go, whether it's in the States or overseas, I find people who don't bat an eye after burping. I'm not only talking about small burps either, in group meetings during the last school year one of the girls would frequently burp loudly, then carry on. Perhaps I place too much emphasis on refinement, but this is something that really disturbs me. The worst kind is when someone burps in the office, the smell slowly wafts through the air, and you're stuck wondering how to not throw up and still smile. When did it become socially acceptable to do this? Or am I really looking for bones in a chicken's egg? (To use an old Chinese saying.) Your thoughts?

Monday, July 20, 2009

d'aww, ice age 3 in 3d

I went up to NOVA this past weekend as a purely spur of the moment thing. Sometimes you just need a change of scenery, yanno? While I was up there, I caught a showing of Ice Age 3 in 3d. Is it just me, or are there a lot of good sequels this summer? There was Transformers 2, and now Ice Age 3. Part of the previews were also in 3d, and I saw a trailer for the "squeakle" of Alvin and the Chipmunks. Haha, very cute!

I wonder if all movies are going to move to 3d? It certainly promotes more audience interaction and makes the movie even more realistic. I forsee a day in which people's minds will be actually projected into the movie, and you can actually live it, perhaps watch it through the eyes of one of the characters! Now that would be pretty awesome, or I've been watching too much Star Trek. =P

PS. If you watch a movie in 3d, do remember to *recycle* your glasses. My friend, upon exiting the theater, tossed them very suavely... into the trashcan. O_O!!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

they have this kind of food in c'ville?

So L'etoile ended up being booked solid for the week, and apparently all spots were filled on Monday. Seems like Restaurant Week is popular indeed. =) My friend and I opted for C&O, another charming restaurant on the downtown mall. It was $27 for a three course meal -- with very hearty helpings. All I can say is.. wow. I had no idea they had this caliber of food in C'ville. I'm a big fan of TopChef, and I would compare the food to what they produce on the show. It was amazing, and I almost had to waddle out after the meal, haha. If you ever have the chance, go just to have their bread. Their bread is so. darned. good! I wanted to be able to just eat the bread and nothing else. I was pretty heartbroken when I found out that they made in it in the restaurant, and didn't get it from a bakery. I would love to have a steady supply of that bread. =D

As I was going to work today, I saw an orientation leader put up balloons on the side of the road. Sigh, I'm truly old now. Rising fourth year! Consumed with thoughts of my future career and the impending separation of all my friends. Sigh. It really seems like it was only a short blink of an eye to when I was traipsing these Grounds for the first time. *shakes a stern finger* Enjoy your years in college! Or as I like to say it, reach out and seize college by the throat, don't let go until you've shaken everything you can from it. ..a bit graphic, but you get the point.

My friend who was in the car asked an interesting question though -- how many friends do you still have from orientation? I thought about it for a little bit, then realized with some surprise that I barely remember anyone I met from orientation. So don't be worried if you don't click with the people at orientation. I didn't, not that much. Yet here I am today with a huge network of people and the best friends I've ever made. I did make all my best friends from first year though, and met all of them during my first semester. Morale of the story is, don't coop yourself up inside during those first months. I know it can be a huge shock, moving to a new environment and being surrounded with strangers, but go out, talk to people, and make some friends. =)

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Restaurant week in C'ville!

This week is Charlottesville's much anticipated Restaurant Week, in which all the fine restaurants of C'ville put together mouth watering menus available at greatly reduced prices. I'm going with a friend to Cassis tonight -- I'm not sure what kind of food they serve. My friend is a huge fine food buff and is basically dragging me there. Oh well, can't say no to good food! =D

We were also going to go to L'Etoile, a fine French restaurant, but they've been booked solid for the rest of the week ever since Monday. Whew. That's a great reputation there.

Other notable Charlottesville happenings include a Film Festival in the spring in which a lot of local productions are featured and a.. Used Book Month (for lack of anything better to call it, aka I've forgotten the actual name) in which there's huge book yard sales all the time (most exciting for a book lover like me!). I'm a bit braindead right now after looking at reams and reams of numbers, so these are the only two I remember.

Recently I've been reaching out to a lot of alumni, and reconnecting with what's happened in their lives. As we're in the middle of the summer slump right now, you've probably already experienced how easy it is to lose touch with people. This gets worse after college, when people scatter off to all different parts of the world, much less than country. Make an effort to keep in touch with your friends! You don't want to look back one day and wonder "hum.. I wonder where did so and so go? And what about so and so?" I've already done my fair amount of that with people who've graduated! =(

Sunday, July 5, 2009

previous location: new jersey/new york

Just came back to NOVA yesterday from New Jersey/New York (was visiting relatives). It's nice that it's a doable 3.5 hour drive from NOVA to Jersey, I'll definitely be up to visit the City more often.

I spent a total of four days in Jersey, with frequent excursions to the City. My relatives took me to Flushing at one point to experience really authentic Taiwanese bubble tea and hot pot. Mmm, pure deliciousness. Nothing like that to be found around C'ville, unfortunately.

Tromped all over Manhatten, checking out Brooklyn Bridge and other must see sights. The highlight of those excursions though was definitely watching "Avenue Q" on Broadway. This was the first time I've ever seen a Broadway show use puppets! It was a really great production, and the lyrics especially clever. They also combined use of TV screens to add to the experience. For all my love of classical productions, I was really surprised by this one and hugely enjoyed it.

I attended a fourth of July cookout (happy fourth everyone!) that reminded me of an organization at UVA that does similar events. For all international students reading this, the International Students Institute hosts a lot of events for students from overseas, or those who'd just like to meet more people. They have friendship nights - in which a church group sponsor supplies a great spread, and many international students gather to meet each other and for a night of festivities. I remember them hosting trips to DC, horseback riding, and rafting on the river as well. Definitely an organization worth checking out.