Commencement: Part II

Graduuuaaation!




The only other time in life that this many flowers are bestowed upon an individual is probably at a wedding...maybe the Olympics. Ni's second graduation took place on a warm sunny Sunday afternoon in the Greek Theatre. What a proud moment.

Here's the new grad herself! Sharply pulling off the robed look. If you follow my tweets you may have noticed that I commented that people in their graduating regalia look like HP wizards. Well, in that case, I saw a guy stroll through the library with his black gown over a collared shirt, slacks and a striped tie. Need I say more? Alas, I have no photograph of it.

But Ni's graduation was an exciting day. The weather cleared up beautifully as if had been overcast in the days prior. Mei Yee also flew into town for the occasion. The speeches were inspirational, the occasion joyful. What's not to enjoy! After the ceremony, we walked around campus finding the landmarks to take pics.


cheese, cheers, and congrats! with that marks the end of spring and the beginning of summer! :) ...read on!...

Commencements. Part I

I enjoy going to graduations. I've been to three so far and it hasn't gotten old just yet. I find them all to be especially inspiring. It's a rare moment for reflection and anticipation in our hectic lives. it's a moment that combines the past, present, and future and provides a summary of the knowledge one has accumulated both academically and personally.

Commencement ceremonies span two dimensions. The sea of people in black robes sends a message of unity. But it also overwhelms the existential mindset in that graduation doesn't really mean much at all. Hundreds of people graduate within a short span of two hours. So what. What makes the difference.

6 hours of graduation-fare and plenty more of post-grad celebration has showed me that the individual makes the difference. What the degree means to the person and what the person does with the degree is what matters. Most of the grads that I spoke to said that they didn't feel any different whether their tassel was on the left or on the right. That's because change is a gradual process, not an event. Graduation is just a marker of the change, not a signifier of the change itself.




So congrats Class of 2010!! I'm so proud of you and your journeys. People have told me that it doesn't matter where you start--it's where you end up that's important. But I've come to learn that each ending has a new beginning. So let this not mark and ending but a beginning of a new chapter in your lives. ...read on!...

Nearing the End

Let's see, the last two months were filled with conferences, ginger, and crazy class. But to sum it up in three short words I'd say: just toooo fast. In feeling, the time went by really quickly. But if I were to actually systematically think back to what has happened since March...a whole lot! Not only in events but also in the things that I've learned.



Hence the slide on Monte Carlo: the ultimate method to find order in randomness. It's just part of human nature to impress the notion of order or significance (p) in the idiosyncrasies of everyday life.

So what have I tried to systematize in my random life? Well for starters, I get a lot of stomachaches. Might be due to stress, might be due to internalizing issues that causes me to develop somatic complaints (loong strech but hey!) So I bought some delicious ginger syrup from Cost Plus World Market. I put it on EVERYTHING from toast to sandwiches to marinades for meat. Yum. :) and yay.

I also like to fidget with my hands when I'm a bit tense. so I also made turtle bolopaos. Forgot a couple of ingredients but at least they look cute. Melobelo liked them. But I think from now on, I'll leave the bolopao making to the professionals. The bakers in Chinatown (especially in SF) are phenomenal. It's a real art to be able to make bread. I admire those that can.

Oh and the conferences. Great for developing public speaking skills and great for learning new things. Ni and I both attended two separate ones in the last month.


Here's Ni telling kiddies how great Cal is. (and it is!)

I presented a poster. ...read on!...

Pink PINK

Back to Berks and stuck in a pink house. Of course the latter was by choice. A fun spring break is necessarily met with a pile of work to do. This included two papers and a midterm to study for. However, the hours of confinement have paid off! I finished 1.5 papers and reviewed all the lectures. As a reward for myself, I went on a nice long walk.



Not too far down the road, I spotted another pink house. I thought it was cute and very much "spring-like", especially with the nice tree in front of it. The weather was absolutely gorgeous--sunny but not hot.


Continuing down the road, I saw these nice pink flowers and thought, "hey! I see a theme here!" So I took a picture of my shoes and bag as well. :)






I walked for a good two hours and passed by several shops. One of which was a flower stand and they had lovely bouquets on display



oh Spring is in the air and so is pink! Admittedly, pink isn't one of my favorite colors but I suppose there is an exception to every rule!


...read on!...

It's a Jungle out there!

I really like my sister melobelo :). And I'm glad that I was able to spend some goood quality time with her over Spring break. We did a lot of things actually--we had mini "sleep overs" and pretended to be sushi (I was the rice and she was the eel); we watched The Princess and the Frog and Ponyo (multiple times); played Wii together. Fun


This is us on our hike to Point Pinole. We actually got lost along the way. Ahh the blind leading the blind. She said that she had gone on the trail several times so we veered from the path that our parents were taking and decided to roam a bit on our own. We ended up completely missing the pier but no worries--we ran into little baby goats. They were cute





The fence was an electric one so Melobelo tried to stay away from it. But she still wanted to pet the goats. Solution? "Here goat-y goat-y. Baaah Baah". She preferred shocking the goats instead of herself. :)Melobelo makes me feel young and carefree inside. I like how she makes me feel really alive and appreciate the moment. Underneath her silliness, she's a wise kiddo.



Now she and the parents are off to NY, scouting Tyra and the JoBro's. Jealous! While I'm back in Berks writing papers and studying. Speaking of which...the financial market is calling!
...read on!...

Spring Sushi

The last time that I recall having sushi was in China over the summer. Not a pleasant experience. And since then, I haven't really been able to even stomach the idea of getting sushi. However, my mom did find a sushi-making class as part of the adult continuing education series at the local community college. It sounded like a lot of fun and a good activity for mom and sister. But...in a tale similar to gift of the magi, only Ni and I were able to go. Nonetheless, it was educational and fun. As an extra bonus, we were able to share it with the rest of the family for a sushi dinner!


Our instructor was a cute Asian American woman and I think my favorite part about her was her spunk! Although the authenticity of the techniques are questionable, she gave us a lot of neat tricks and tips on sushi making like how to cool down sushi rice without using a fan or how to prevent the rice from sticking to the bowl.



These are the products of our class experience. We took that and transformed it into a sushi dinner!

Although there was a class fee, there was hardly any real sushi. One lady in the class was surprised to find out what sushi was!



In our variation, we went ahead and did the sashimi and roasted eel. YUM!


...read on!...

muffin fail!

This week I've been having crazy cravings for something dense, chewy, sweet, bread-y. All in short: muffins or some sort of quick bread. I absolutely love my mom's banana nut bread and zucchini walnut bread. The cinnamon, the cake-iness of first bite, and the taste that comes with aging. So good. We also have a mini loaf baking pan so sometimes we make them into individual loaf servings. Bread-making is usually a summer thing though especially because fruit ripen a lot faster than can be eaten!



So I decided to whip me up a batch of cinnamon pear muffins, recipe curtosy of a mixture of my own and something I spotted on tastespotting. Let's just say that the one of tastespotting, which was just a basic muffin recipe, was probably better. haha

But I think I started off with a pretty good Saturday morning. I made myself a cup of ginger coffee to prepare myself for the paper I'm about to tackle and had a little muffin. It wasn't sweet and actually a little bland save for the ripe pear chunks. Our oven was kind of hyperventilating though because it was kind of dirty so the high temperature just made the dirty bits cook and smoke. So my muffins also had a "smokey" taste to it ;). hehe oh well. I topped it off with some cinnamon sugar so hopefully that will balance it out.

OK! onward paper ho!
...read on!...

Little Treasures

Berkeley is wonderful and full of little surprises. It's so easy to get lost in texts and papers, especially at this time of the semester, that we forget to open our eyes and take note of the special ambiance of this area. Just today when walking from class, I spotted this:
I doubt I would be able to see it anywhere else. And then later on in the day, I couldn't help but feeling, "yes, life is wonderful". Aside from the major panic attacks induced by midterm-paper-article-project-work, our life is pretty carefree. 真的是一身轻！ I don't have to worry about my next meal (granted it might not be the tastiest...at least I have food!), about having a roof over my head, about being safe. At times like that, I realize just how fortunate I am to have these little treasures.


And speaking of which, OPPORTUNITIES are abound! Like this:



I'm taking an erhu (二胡） decal and we had a performance a couple of weeks ago (maybe more now that I think about it!) to celebrate the lunar new year. Our little ensemble wasn't spectacular, but our decal facilitator was! He is an amazing musician and a great teacher. The class is so much fun too!



...read on!...

meet coraline

Hello. My name is Coraline.



I am an elephant made of purple yarn. In my free time, I like taking naps, sipping juice, and nibbling on chocolate nibs.
I have a friend named Bear Bear. Bear Bear is a white teddy. We both like the color purple :)



Indeed, friendships should be based on simple commonalities. I'm glad I have a friend like Bear Bear. Quality, not quantity as I always say! ...read on!...

Break Time!

It must be pretty cold in Vancouver, because this is what it looks like in Berkeley:




Aside from the occasional fog...absolutely beautiful! especially right after the rain.
I love love love the OLYMPICS! I find it kind of ironic though that the 2010 Winter Games are coming right at the heart of the spring semester and pretty much at the midst of the spring season. In any case, GO TEAM USA! (and I'll just say, even though I'm really happy that Lysacek won gold, I'm still obsessed with Johnny Weir. No one really has style like he does ;) )
But anyways, watching people skate, flip, plunge, jump, ski...that's what I've been doing when I really should have been studying for midterms.

I have a couple of midterms right around the corner--the one for developmental psychopathology is coming up next. The text book is occasionally fun to read because there are these delightful pictures of unhappy looking children--after all, we are learning about disorders that occur in childhood and adolescence. awww look at that little darling. I want to hug him.





ok maybe I'm not so cute but this is what studying kind of feels like (or lack thereof because Shaun White is simply AMAZING!)

But anyways, speaking of breaks...I went to the bathroom the other day and found this ironic little bit of vandalism. Why do people write on bathroom walls anyways when none of it makes sense both contextually and grammatically?!?

...read on!...

hectic week

I like being back at school! I like the energy; the agendas; the action. bam bam bam!


this semester certainly started with a big bang and I can't believe it's already been three weeks! It feels like much longer. I know Einstein must have said something related to that about time. something something but i won't be able to reiterate it as eloquently. So here is a picture of a warped Campinile. I'm so glad that they have finished construction there! Last semester, it was kind of a pain getting around campus and the construction blocked off one of my favorite lunch sites: the benches in front of LeConte. But of late, i've been hanging out here:
oh home sweet home.
Anyways, as you can probably tell form the picture it has been glooooomy lately. And that has been rubbing off a bit on my mood. It feels heavy and just kind of blah. I have had a couple of adventures though!


1. Adventures of being a girl.

i'm not very good at doing my nails. but in the spirit of FEBRUARY! i thought I might be festive :).


2. Adventures in the library.


an ideal place to people watch. and the view is nice! Doe is really beautiful, especially the ceiling :)

3. Adventures down College Ave.



on days that's not raining, Berkeley really is a lovely place. The other day I was taking a walk down College and ran into a cute little puppy dog. He was walking himself with his leash and behind him followed this dalmation! They looked like such a good couple. But in all honesty, I like looking at dogs, but not touching them.

I think February will be quite a promising month! ...read on!...

epic fail

How can you resist this?

我因该努力学习汉语。可是，我喜欢上网；喜欢看看东西。 无论我很容易 distracted, 我都必需做完我的作业。

今天，老师还给我们的小考。哈哈我的成绩不错！ ...read on!...

Welcome Back

Rain Rain Go Away...I swam to class each day. For this past week at least. It's a bit funny that we use words as if there is a specific demarcation between things like seasons. The first week of Spring 2010 felt more like autumn. Pouring rains, falling leaves, howling winds...wishing it was the holiday season. I caught Ni singing some carols just the other day!


But speaking of getting back into the swing of things, one of my biggest dilemma was fitting orchestra into my schedule. It's something that I've done for so many years that it just feels like a part of me. I don't know if it has to do with the weather or the time, but I just don't feel the excitement or camaraderie that I usually feel. Even after the first rehearsal, we had played two of my favorite pieces: Tristan und Isolde and Brahm's 3rd but still no extreme sense of belonging. More of a routine feeling. Have I lost it?

I find that one of the most beautiful things about playing in a large ensemble is the ability to create something together. Our individual parts don't sound much of anything on their own. But when we play together...it's like magic. It makes sense and even more so, it makes art--music. Something that traverses time and space. Something entirely yours, but theirs at the same time. I guess it'll also touch onto philosophy. Tangential to epistemology? Maybe! I know that you know what I know because it's also music to you!



We'll see how week 2 goes. Hopefully something will click. Other than that, this week was busy and fun but I don't think I was entirely "there" the whole time. ...read on!...

Of Carbs, Proposals, and the Last Huzzah!

Carbs are usually under appreciated until times of stress. On Thursday, Ni made Parmesan Rosemary Breadsticks to accompany this artichoke tomato pasta. It was really good! Especially the breaksticks :)

Why so stressed one may ask? Research Proposals. It's high time again to apply for summer and fall internships and it's about time to take control of our lives! I have actually been writing for the latter half of the break and to be frank, I've been enjoying it. Perhaps it won't be so bad after all to get stuck in grad school
But when we are in the actual process of reading writing and research, it's not such a pretty sight.



The desks are cluttered



The faces are sad and furrowed in concentration

The end just doesn't seem possible!

Fortunately, we were able to take our parents on a little excursion to the city on Saturday. We visited Chinatown and Fisherman's wharf. It was nice to get some fresh air and see what the city has to offer. Since moving to Norcal, we haven't had many opportunities to really explore the area. Oakland Chinatown has been a favorite spot to hit, but other than that it's the same-old same-old.

The change of scenery was nice. We saw a lot of seals barking at each other. Ni enjoyed their blubbery masses. I thought they smelled. :)

There were several ominous-looking clouds that roamed overhead, but the breeze was refreshing. After being cooped up in the house for a couple of days, being outdoors was nice. We ate chowder and chili at the fisherman's wharf for a late late lunch. Pier 39 is eerily reminiscent of Santa Monica's boardwalk and it made me miss LA. I was hoping that we could go down sometime soon, perhaps for the Lunar New Year (another date I'm quite excited about!) We shall see. Although it's only a few weeks away, there is so much that needs to be done during that time (i.e. 3 applications are due!) But it's ok. they are meant to be tackled one at a time.


Being at home for the past 4 weeks has been not only refreshing but warming. It made me realize just how amazing family is. I definitely had a lot of fun and would have to say that I've gotten closer to my sisters. In a world of constant change, it's nice to know that I have at least 2 people who have my back! Although I am excited to get back into school, I'm a bit nervous about the new semester. Classes are definitely going to be challenging, but who isn't up for a challenge!

OK...I'M READY! BRING IT! Let the good times roll!
...read on!...