August 2010
3 posts
Parents back from Hawaii. I now possess 10 pounds of macadamia nuts.
Four days before the GRE exam. 1.5 review books and 3000 vocab words to go. Logical move: study. Actual move: click on a facebook ad for $150 louboutins. spend the morning and early afternoon reading up on the shoe piracy business and debating with fellow shoe enthusiasts (gina).
In theory, I should be very stressed. Luckily, I have a recently formulated theory: enthusiasm defies logic...
First entry in a long time. Reason is purely practical- forgot the password, and between teaching, romping around Asia and leeching the parents, haven’t quite had the desire to run through all permutations of 90’s boy band singers with misspelled words from the teeny bopper lexicon. Had been at it for a while- finally even tried “FrankieMunezqtpye.” Then had to leave the computer in disgust. ...
July 2009
2 posts
07/02/09
University holiday for a week! Brian and I are flying to Cambodia to check out some Cambodian shit.
Later
On the way to Siem Reap from Phnom Penh, in a cab with a young New York couple. Eric is planning to go to law school, make a shit load of money, and retire early to do some hardcore chilling. Mary has just decided to enter a post-bacc program and apply to med school after two years as an...
June 2009
13 posts
06/27/09
Got lost on the way home. Chased in the dark by a (large) pack of (large) dogs. Shaken, but alive (barely).
06/26/09
Moved out of the school apartments into a brilliant brick and cedar house high in the mountains. The only taxing part of the move was purchasing bed sets and motor biking home with pillows and sheets strapped to our bodies. The house is deep within a rural community, and there is an about 5 km stretch of dirt road riddled with potholes, confusing turns, and in all likelihood, trixy wood...
06/13/09
There are a number of ways to describe the unbelievable, liberating, exhilarating feeling of whizzing down a Thai highway on a motorbike. For me, I believe the best word is “unstable.” Nonetheless, purchased a bright red motorbike today for $650. The included neon yellow helmet, along with a Chinese character anagrammed on the side, gives a somewhat jingoistic Chinese vibe. Although Megan...
06/11/09
Evening
Motor bike lessons with Matt (the Canadian). Dean once told me I looked funny riding a bike. My mother was forcing him to teach me; we were mortal enemies and rivals at that point. That day, under the lingering late summer sun, drowning in the din of cicadas, my most hated childhood foe challenged me to brave the steepest stretch of Tifton drive- a challenge I honorably accepted. The...
06/08/09
First day of class at Mae Fah Luang University. I am given 3 types of 2 hour classes: Academic Reading and Writing (5 sections per week 30 students each), Intensive English 2: Speaking and Pronunciation (5 sections 60 students each) and Writing 1 (1 section 15 students). I wear my highest, pointiest heels and try to appear thinner than usual to intimidate the students into good behavior. This...
06/07/09
First day in the apartment. It is a biodiversity hotspot. So far:
Giant cockroaches: 5
Millipedes: 3
Geckos: 2
Beetles: 7
Small jumping spiders: 11 (*Some specimens may have been counted twice)
Earwigs: 2
Small ants: 1 million trillion (*All specimens definitely only counted once)
06/06/2009
Night
Land-ho! Have finally arrive at Chiang Rai after a transfer in Bangkok and yet another near death experience, this time involving my voluminous luggage, a rickety trolley and a sloping non-stepping escalator. We are picked up from the airport by a throng of English teachers from the university. I am tired, but able to remember the group as consisting of large Asian people, small Asian...
Sometime Between the Second and Third Day of...
On the plane from Stockholm to Kuala Lampur, Malaysia. I fear that the combination of only eating airplane food for 3 days and watching Bollywood movies nonstop for 11 hours is turning me into cyborg. A flying Indian cyborg. Anyhow, I must say I am thoroughly impressed by Malaysia Airline’s choice of stewardesses. They all have beautiful figures and striking, ageless faces- they are the only...
Mid morning in Scandinavia
Finally arrived in Sweden. Upon entering the airport, one of the Harvard girls yells out “It looks like Ikea in here!!!” We are collectively met with stares of disgust. Having fulfilled our American duty of cultural insensitivity, we press on and purchase many Swedish muffins, which we promptly and noisily consume. The feasting aside, we are all pretty psyched to see some hot blond...
06/04/09
8AM
“I would say, pack a small suitcase and a day pack and go from there.”
- Princeton in Asia orientation packet
Day of departure. In the car, Dad tells me a story of the time he fell down a well and almost died as a young child. He says that he had forgotten all about it until the previous night, when he vividly re-lived the event in a dream. Mom says it may be a premonition of ill fortune...
06/03/09
Morning
Day before departure. Mom has seen through my ruse of preparedness and she and Dad are on the verge of an anxiety attack. I maintain my nonchalant demeanor to balance the energies of the household. I am, however, secretly stressed and decide to go shopping to ease the panic. I wander into the water shoe section of REI and realize I NEED a pair of Tevas. The salesman tells me that the...
06/02/09
Two days before leaving for Thailand. Instead of packing, I go hiking at Great Falls with Gina. We attempt the Billy Goat Trail, leading to a rocky, mud filled afternoon of danger. I feel pretty good upon completing the trail (alive), and later tell Martin about our adventures over the phone. I had seen a sign mentioning casualties on the trail, and made sure Martin knew that more than 100...
06/01/09
Three days before leaving for Thailand. Mom says I should be pretty much packed by this point. I tell her I am. This is a lie. She has taken to following me around the house and telling me to lose weight while energetically performing calisthenics. I reason that by appearing larger, I am more apt to ward off danger. Hence is the logic behind surviving bear attacks. I speak too quickly and...
March 2009
2 posts
Recession Talk 1.0
Stacy: I wish there were some sort of support group for seniors graduating without jobs....
Victoria: Yea it's called Sati's Thursday night.
Hello world!
I love you.