Archive for September, 2008
it is SO HOT today, i am practically melting into the floor. a bunch of us went for a picnic in Morningside Park nearby, but what little sunday morning enthusiasm we had was quickly worn out by the scorching sun. so we sat around playing some half-hearted frisbee (what is this Ultimate Frisbee thing?) and lazily debated the virtues of aspartame in a fake cola drink. then we trudged home. lazily.
pictures of my campus because the weather has been nice enough lately to produce some photos of vast blue skies!:
#1 this is a picture of College Walk, which is the quad area of the campus. i put my foot there to signify that i was in an elevated position! i was actually sitting on a really tall wall that has a statue at the end, under which is a secret spot of sublime shade and people-watching opportunity. actually it’s not very secret – lots of people love to sit and study under that statue. me included. my only gripe is that the statue isnt very pleasant to lean on cos it’s got all these painful statue-vertebra jutting out of it. and i also am always half afraid of falling off the wall :(
#2 from the other side of College Walk. that huge neoclassical building in the background is where that tall wall is
#3 and this is the building! it’s called Low Memorial Library, but it’s no longer a library. it’s an admin building now. it’s huge, prominent and smack in the middle of campus.
#4 people usually meet and hang out on the steps of Low cos it’s nice and sunny, and is right in the midst of everything. that’s good ol’ Alma, who also provides good shade!
#5 Low Steps when school started
#6 and this is Butler Library! i havent yet been in there, but from what i hear, come exam season and study breaks, people camp out at the doors so that they can secure a good study place. i think i will eventually have to join them in line, because the cafes around college are so busy that they dont really let you study in there, and the closest Starbucks has harsh lighting. i miss Starbucks Telawi, the most perfect study place on earth :(
#7 these are two of the residence halls! mine is the one on the right. the sky in this pic is so blue it’s surreal
#8 the lawns outside my hall. also a good place to sit and study. or sunbathe in bikinis, as many people have been doing. i’m not sure if this is common practice, because when i got here, already a handful of girls were laying out blankets and tanning in bikinis. so i thought this was normal (hahaha in Malaysia confirm kena suspend), and thought of doing the same to even out my tan, but then the other day i overheard a couple of people saying that people who tan on the green should stick to the beach. hmm! such confusing americanisms. but i’m learning.
#9 this is the Mathematics building, where i take my Econ and Calculus classes. buildings here are funny; they dont always open up to the first floor. the Math building opens to the third floor at ground level!
#10 and that’s Havemeyer, another building of classrooms
#11 The Lion, a symbol of Columbia. our collective athletic teams are called The Columbia Lions. our official color is a beautiful light sky blue :D
#12 the fountain at the quad, where Scarlett Johansson’s character was last seen contemplating a postgrad degree at Columbia in The Nanny Diaries. a little bit further up from here is Hamilton Hall, where i have my Italian classes, and also where the protest scene in Across The Universe (which is an amazing movie) was filmed
#13 spot the flag! :D this was taken during convocation (convocation here is not graduation, but is instead the welcoming of new students). i’m the only Malaysian international for this intake, though i’ve met two other Malaysian-Americans who mostly grew up here in the States.
#14 the Pupin building, which is wayyyyyy on the other end of campus, where i have my Literature Humanities classes. my Lit Hum teacher looks so much like Renee Zellweger…
#15 St Paul’s Chapel. it’s beautiful on the inside. behind it is Casa Italiana and beside it is Maison Francaise, though i forgot to take pictures of these two. from what i know, they function as some kind of mini Italian and French embassies on campus, where you can go to for information or research on both countries.
#16 the inside of St Paul’s
#17 more green. grass here is really different from back home.. you can sit on it and not get your bottom dirty or wet!
#18 the dining hall in my residence hall. i’ve discovered that the food’s not too bad! the other day they had chinese food… jasmine rice (but they put green peas in the rice O_O) and sweet and sour pork!!! the pork tasted just like what we get back home
#19 this was taken during a large Activities Fair on campus, where all the clubs, sports teams and societies would set up recruitment booths. i signed up for SO many mailing lists, but i still dont know what i want to do. i’ve shortlisted ballroom dancing, performing arts, figure skating, parliamentary debate (which has to be taken off the list because i decided not to go for the tryouts today :( sigh i immensely regret this), model united nations, political science group, the south east asian league.
#20 i followed it but didnt find anything absurd :\
#21 College Walk again. oh! that red brick building would be Maison Francaise
#22 the side of Low Library
#23 a really funny poster i saw on campus during activities recruitment week… hahahaha i laughed so hard
more to come soon! i havent actually explored very much of campus, but when i do, more pictures shall come. i really have so many things to blog about but i dont know where to start. not just about my new life here, but also things that are going on back home.
i’ve also been getting more and more emails regarding US college applications, and most of them seem to be asking the same questions about how to navigate the forms, how to write the application essays, and how to increase chances of admission into the Ivy League. so to any college applicants reading this, would you guys like me to write a walkthrough post on the whole entire process and also some tips and advice for essays and constructing your application? i give good advice :D leave me a comment if you do. if enough people want it, i’ll do the post.
okay, homework time :( i have another 3 calculus problem sets to finish.
September 14th, 2008
i am absolutely speechless.
a politician makes racist remarks, calling all chinese in Malaysia squatters and akin to ‘American Jews’, and upon causing an outcry refuses to apologize, saying that he did no wrong… is allowed to walk free with nothing but a mere 3-year suspension from UMNO.
but a journalist, who first picked up on the news and reported it, was detained under the ISA today. article here.
the Internal Security Act (ISA) is a form of detention without trial, for a maximum of 2 years, but this period of 2 years can be renewed indefinitely. a detainee is held incommunicado for the first 60 days and is allowed no contact with the outside world, be it family or legal representatives. it is a blatant abuse of basic human rights, and a convenient tool for the government to shut up anyone who’s saying anything that they dont like.
there is something very, very, very wrong if a POLITICIAN who makes RACIST STATEMENTS AND THREATS is protected by the law.
September 12th, 2008
i woke up today to many long emails in my inbox, from friends and strangers alike, all offering encouragement, support and their own LDR success stories, following my comments-off post from yesterday. even till now the mails are still coming in. thank you :) i’m feeling so much better and a lot less lonely now. you all are so cool!
i loved reading the success stories the best, many of them about long years apart and finally ending in marriage, or high school sweethearts who are still together to this day. stories like these fill me with so much hope and encouragement. and it’s always so interesting to hear how different couples have navigated the arduous LDR process! webcams and skype are everyone’s best friend, it seems :D
today was a good day and i was kept reasonably busy. got caught in a sudden downpour at one point and missed a class because it was all the way at the other end of campus and i didnt have an umbrella. all my books got wet too :( i cant wait to go umbrella shopping and buy the cutest umbrella there is. and a pair of colorful wellingtons to splosh around in!
i also signed up to tryout for the Parliamentary Debate team here at college.. but i’m not sure yet if i like the american parliamentary style. it’s two-a-side and the opposition is unaware of the motion until the government start speaking. it’s a challenging format that displays excellent rhetoric, but at the expense of structure and in some cases, substance. oh wells, i will give it a shot anyway :) i’m going to be in my element because talking fast (something that i always gravitate towards despite harsh rebuke from previous trainers) in american parli is a good thing, but i already foresee myself having a big problem talking fast without segueing into Manglish. over here, they dont understand me when i speak with a Malaysian accent :( speaking in an American accent is fine, but it can be tiring. i dont know if i’m up to debating in a whole new accent..
and after a lot of thought, i decided not to write for any papers. i’m also going to do some form of dance, but i’m not sure which. either that or figure skating. or maybe equestrian. and i also signed up for the surfing club, hahaha! there’s no Malaysian club here so i joined the South East Asian League. oh and the Singaporean Club had a durian at their booth!!! i squealed and tried to eat it.
i also meant to take some photos of my campus to show, but the skies were so gloomy today. so, another time maybe. but for now i will show you pictures of Times Square!! it’s an amazing place with so much to see and do, and i will definitely be blogging more about Times Square when i have the chance to explore all its nooks and crannies!
#1 one of those ubiquitous hot dog stands
#2 hot dog with relish, kraut, ketchup and onions! yummm :D
#3 we went to watch Little Mermaid the Musical on Broadway. sigh! see my excited face!! i am swooning just recalling it. it is an excellent musical and adaptation of the Disney movie. trust me when i say the story is better than in the movie. and i say this despite the movie being my favorite Disney show of all time. will blog more about this soon, or maybe after i’ve watched a few more Broadway shows
#4 Times Square at night
#5 posing ala deodarant!
#6 this guy and his bunch of friends saw me doing that and started imitating me in their own photos. hahaha so funny. so i snapped a pic of him!
#7 and then we took a photo together!
#8 me and Martian :) stupid Bank of America sign bleached the whole photo red.
#9 in Times Square, even the subway station is lit up with neon signs..
#10 as well as the McDonalds!! even the police station here is done up in neon signs.
#11 EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE ^_________^
#12 Martian made me do this -_- apparently because i pout a lot in photos. YA MEH WHERE GOT
#13 ‘The TShirt’. only as common as the phrase “New York, New York”
#14 this spray paint artist (among many others) was doing such an amazing job. that piece of work on the table was done solely using spray cans, some round covers for the planets and a little piece of cardboard that he used to ’scrape’ out the outline of the buildings. so talented
#15 while we were watching the artist, suddenly all these cops started running past us O_O and running VERY quickly too! our first NYPD-in-action sighting!!! besides the men on foot, several cop cars quickly blocked all traffic at the intersection. just to nab this one woman in a tight black dress and heels. i was so impressed that they actually caught her! the above photo is them shoving her into their vehicle. i’m so curious to know what she did…
#16 back to being happy after the NYPD action was over
#17 i seriously wonder how much it costs to place an ad on that tall skinny building in the middle
#18 a totally accidental pose, i swear!!! Martian’s just very good at capturing moments
#19 but i’m better :D my favorite photo of the night.
okay gotta go! have to finish Italian homework. folks back home, please eat some mooncake for me!
September 10th, 2008
Martian just left New York to go home. he got on the plane 50 minutes ago. how do i put my feelings into words? i cant breathe. i’m really scared. i’m really, really scared. he’s no longer just a 5 hour bus ride away. what do i do when i cant sleep? what do i do when i need him to hold my hand? how do i find my way around the NYC subway without him? who do i look for when i need to cry? have i been wrong to have lived the past 2 years so quickly and so ungratefully? am i being coherent? i cant think straight. i was okay at first but then i found a goodbye card he secretly left for me inside my NYC guidebook. and now i am a wreck. i am a broken, sad, teary, angry, regretful, frightened wreck. i feel so lost. i feel exactly how i felt two weeks ago when we argued at Times Square and i stormed off and got lost on the subway. but two weeks ago, he was still in the same city and i could run into his arms and say i was sorry. it was so easy and so convenient and so lucky of me. i’ve never been a long distance person. i’ve never been good at it. how do i do this?
September 8th, 2008
10 things i learned in my 2 weeks here. this is Part 1. many more to come in the 4 years i am spending here, i predict.
1. tap water here is drinkable, but tastes so bad when boiled. i’ve made 3 mugs of milo since i got here, and each one tasted reminiscent of chocolate-flavored swimming pool water. i have been unfairly blaming this phenomenon on the milo powder, thinking it some counterfeit version of the good stuff i am used to, but yesterday out of frustration i decided to stick a spoonful of it into my mouth, and found it tasting very much like the real thing. hmm! after some more experiments, i deduced the culprit to be the boiled water. so now i buy really big and cheap bottles of water to boil when i want milo.
2. that i would need sunblock. you know that tan i got after the Pulau Perhentian trip? ya the tan that caused my own mother to not recognize me when i opened the door for her. so i only recently managed to get rid of half of it, so i was almost fair again right before i left KL, and very happy about it too… but after 2 weeks in this hot US summer sun, i look roasted once again. it’s not fair (literally!!! haha.. ha.. ha..), it really isnt. i thought the east coast was supposed to be the land of pasty people wrapped up in winter coats :( but my collegemates tell me with much seriousness to enjoy the sun while it’s still here. they look so solemn that i feel pressured into believing them. hence, the new tan.
3. that i will need an American credit card to buy stuff online (actually, just a Macbook so far, but i’m guessing that other American companies would also require a credit card with an American bank too?) and that AT&T prepaid lines cannot be used to call and text internationally. haih. but it said on the flyer that i can call and text internationally….. =(
4. that there is SO MUCH WALKING to do. my dorm is actually on the furthest south end of the school, and almost all of my classes are at the furthest north end of campus. i walk on average 5000 miles every day, and if you think this is exaggeration, i can assure you it is not. every night, my feet cry themselves to sleep. i’m so glad i brought several pairs of flats, but i wish i’d brought more. high heels have absolutely no use here except on party nights, because even outside of campus there’s a lot of walking and subwaying to be done. sigh.
5. textbooks are expensive. you know how in college back home, you can either photostat an entire textbook for something like RM 20 or buy a used copy for RM 50? here, used and new copies are between USD 160 – 250. no, i’m not joking. a college student here could feed a small third world country with the amount of money spent buying books in one semester. case in point: my Italian textbook cost me USD 230. that’s RM 782 for ONE. TEXTBOOK. please shoot me – i feel like i have done myself an incredible injustice. luckily, Beaver introduced me to Half.com, so i will never again have to buy overpriced textbooks from my market-monopolizing college bookstore. now i just have to starve a couple of months to make up for that exorbitant RM 782 textbook.
6. that the stupid Benjamin Franklin statue in UPenn that i sat on (pictured in below post) is a common peeing spot for the drunken. nice, very nice. (and just for the record, i dont go to UPenn!)
7. that you have to run early to the floor lounge if you want to watch a certain tv show. Monday nights for Gossip Girl are fine because almost EVERYONE on my floor watches Gossip Girl. yes, even the guys, but actually i think they just sit there to mock us girls screaming when GG starts. we’re so excited for Gossip Girl that night that we even bring cushions and popcorn and stuff. but Wednesday nights for America’s Next Top Model, not so lucky, because there are a couple of people here who watch Project Runway that airs at the same time, and if this week was any indication, they are ruthless when it comes to not budging or sharing the remote. but i swear to God if anyone stops me from watching Grey’s Anatomy when it comes on in late September, i will kill that person. NOTHING comes between me and McDreamy. /fierce stare
8. tipping (and tipping well) is the explicitly stated #1 rule in NYC’s moral code. Waiter Rant wasnt kidding.
9. that New York City is not safe. i’ve been getting a lot of emails from friends who live or used to live here, and most of them tell me to be careful, especially at night in the subway stations where girls often get mugged. i’ve always kinda had their warnings at the back of my head, but never really believed them… but yesterday night Martian and i were followed from the back by this homeless nutter on a bicycle. it was so scary because it was at 1 in the morning, there was nobody around, and he’d trailed us all the way from a 24/7 eatery that we’d just left. he started circling around us on his bike, muttering stuff and at one point said to us, “i’m gonna get you motherfuckers!” WTF O_O we started walking really quickly to a brighter street because we were all alone in this dark street, but he still kept following us. then someone came out from a nearby store to take out the trash, and he quickly turned around and cycled away. so scary T___T i was so glad that Martian was there with me. i dont think i’m EVER going to walk around NYC by myself after this :(
10. people here walk around campus in their pajamas. i shall too.
and some random updates:
i got my first package in the mail!! i got the email notification in my inbox, and i was so excited to go over to the mail center to collect the package. it was from Chew Fui :D
she sent me some American snacks from her kitchen, along with some post-its (yay, i am a total post-its user and i havent bought any yet) and a lovely picture of her and her family in Virginia. thank you chew fui!!! i loved the animal crackers.. :D
ooh and i just found out the other day that my college sells bubble tea. i saw this girl happily slurping a cup of very asian-looking tea and tapioca pearls, and i just about jumped on her to ask her where she got it. Cafe East at the lobby of Lerner Hall, said she, slightly frightened. and with this information, i am now happily aslurping too! milk tea with pearls two days ago, mango with pearls yesterday, honey jasmine with pearls today. and it’s even better than the stuff back home! unbelievable, i know.
my classes this semester : Literature Humanities (we’re reading The Iliad right now), Frontiers of Science – a compulsory class which i thought would be lame but my professor is this really awesome guy so i think this class may just be fun, Elementary Italian, Calculus I and Principles of Economics. i could have placed out of the latter two classes because i did those in college, but then i decided not to because the syllabi may be different. but seeing how expensive textbooks are here, i just may place out.
i’m trying to finish up The Iliad but Martian is here in my room disturbing me. how to study like this? is this why all those church groups used to warn us against BGR?
September 5th, 2008
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