This Is A Salty Popcorn Zone
October 22nd, 2008
despite the imminent dawn of 4 more midterms and the tragically slow elevator in my residence hall, college is still all kinds of awesome. i’m going into my third month here, and i’m still as thrilled by the novelty of the university and the city - and i suppose the new life in general - as i was when i first arrived. i remember thinking as i got out of the car on that crisp August day, that i would never be able to familiarize myself with the maze-like neighborhood that encompassed the campus. but now, two full months later, i feel local already. i know all the nearby restaurant names by heart. i’ve learned the price difference in stationery between the three different bookstores in the vicinity. i’m also a regular recipient of routine emotional abuse from the cashiers at Morton Williams. now those girls have some ‘tude. but i forgive them, because they are the last barrier between me and a nice hot plastic plate of microwaveable tikka masala.
you guys, you all have to come study here. or at least, come visit. i dont quite know how to convey my excitement of just being here, and how much i think so many of you would love it here at Columbia or in New York. for instance, we discussed memes in Frontiers of Science class today, and i couldnt help but think of Waffle who wrote us an angsty email once because we kept referring to online personality quizzes as ‘memes’ when it really meant something scientific. i see cute white guys and i wish Skyler were here to feast her eyes. and yesterday, i bought some Keebler peanut butter cookies because KY says they’re really good. and i know Wai Min would love latin dance classes every Tuesday night as much as i do.
i’ve found some kind of comfort here that i cannot explain. yet, it is a fast-paced kind of comfort, because there’s always something to do or something new to explore. all the museums, art galleries, neighborhoods, dog parks, bookstores, shopping avenues, chinatown, avant garde boutiques… how does one not feel overwhelmed by the sheer expanse of this place? how does one know where to go first? i suddenly feel like 4 years here isn’t enough. i fear that New York will evolve before i get to experience it fully. and that it will keep evolving, and i will never be able to ever say, i know New York.
in a more micro sense, i love my room. i love the people at college - my floormates, my classmates, the people from Model UN, ballroom classes, the DDR club (oh yes), italian cinema nights and the random ones who strike up a conversation while waiting in line for bubble tea. they are all so smart and knowledgeable that it’s thrillingly challenging, yet fun. and i love my bottom drawer where i stash all my food. i love the fact that if i need anything, i can just walk down to the 24-hour supermarket across the street. and i love the cheesesteak at JJ’s…
in many ways, i feel like someone who’s been reborn, learning to speak, walk and talk all over again. i’m delighting in all the new discoveries - the apprehension in the pit of my stomach as i load my clothes in the dryer, room raiding drunkenly at 4 in the morning, learning how to play ping pong and getting hit in the nose by the ball, crowding in front of the television to laugh at Sarah Palin, salty microwaveable popcorn on Gossip Girl Mondays. then there’s also the stress of assignments and classroom expectations; i wish someone had warned me there would be this much work in college. i have my burn-out moments, but i think i’ve come to relish the stress of working hard. it feels so good to see a perfect score on my assignments even though i spent sleepless nights working on them. plus everyone here doesnt sleep at night, so there’s always company in the long horrid hours of churning out a 2000-word paper on the day it’s due.
it’s 7 in the morning as i write this; i’ve been up all night cramming for my Literature Humanities midterm tomorrow. i feel good about it, which is inane because i only started studying yesterday and have been Sparksnoting my way through the semester so far. which is why i have to go back to studying now :) but i leave you with an exclusive photograph of an original Martian masterpiece. this is the front of a card he left for me:
i love my boyfriend very much, but for the sake of modern art, i hope he never decides to take his artistry to professional levels :\
Entry Filed under: College Life, New York City
41 Comments Add your own
1. Kai Chi | October 22nd, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Looks like u 've familiarized urself wif Columbia..I really hope one day, i'd be able to go to the US..i hope u will find ur American dream there..All d best for ur life..(ur loyal visitor)=P
2. reallybites | October 22nd, 2008 at 7:47 pm
haih i must go to new york one day.
3. Jun | October 22nd, 2008 at 7:54 pm
i take my hats off to those who manage to cram everything the night before exams, flicking thru pages of notes stained with coffee and red bull, and still manage to score. i can never do without my slp. nor coffee, for that matter :P
hope ur lit hum went well :)
4. Calvin | October 22nd, 2008 at 7:58 pm
Mr Boyfriend can really draw xD
5. adelynyeoh | October 22nd, 2008 at 8:00 pm
the card is so cute!! :D
6. EVo | October 22nd, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Trying to figure out if the card is upside down or right side up.
7. EVo | October 22nd, 2008 at 8:25 pm
*slaps thighs* a hah. i got it. it's a trick card! shiok sendiri maximum
8. ap | October 22nd, 2008 at 8:55 pm
will u be there to show us around like the new yorker that u are!
9. Lisa | October 22nd, 2008 at 8:58 pm
at least ur bf's drawing is better than my bf's
lol
10. sheon | October 22nd, 2008 at 9:00 pm
New York sounds like your kinda place. :)
11. joiz3 | October 22nd, 2008 at 10:01 pm
it's wonderful to hear that you're enjoying the place so much. i can't wait for the excitement of the new life that awaits me in college! but spm first right now. haha. i find it encouraging too that you toil hours for papers. it encourages me to work hard. :)
12. nyrac | October 22nd, 2008 at 10:31 pm
hey pinkiepau. reading about new york from your perspective is kind of a preview of new york, before i get to go there myself someday… but then again probably i'll be there as a tourist, and still wouldn't be able to get to know new york like you do :( still, keep writing, and enjoy college years ;)
13. Jinny | October 22nd, 2008 at 11:07 pm
i so wanna be where you are right now -_- but yet i worry that when i get there i'll get stricken by homesickness. *thinking too far ahead* life there sounds so fun! envy sial.
14. Nada | October 22nd, 2008 at 11:17 pm
“i fear that New York will evolve before i get to experience it fully. and that it will keep evolving, and i will never be able to ever say, i know New York” –> this is sooo true. I missed every moment of NY and I would, if given the chance, go back someday and feel like “yes, I know NY” =)))
15. skyler | October 22nd, 2008 at 11:17 pm
wuwuwu why you remind me =(
I take three weeks to write a 1200 word paper wtf am I not intellectual material
16. linsey | October 22nd, 2008 at 11:25 pm
it does look like a pig what….. in a way hehe
17. chareli | October 22nd, 2008 at 11:58 pm
reading what you say about columbia and new york MAKES ME WANT TO GO THERE EVEN MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hahahaha i feel this terrible itch to go travel the world now! i seriously envy you man! but not those sleepless nights. i have my fair share and boy, are they “wonderful”. =D
haahaha nice pig, martian! start an art gallery on pigs by martian?
18. pinkyboo | October 23rd, 2008 at 1:07 am
they say it takes 7 full years to become a true New Yorker :) Not sure how true is that though. But looks like u're pretty americanized already from the way you spelt neighbourhood as neighborhood ;) Hehe. So glad you're enjoying nyc. You're right about how everyone should go there. At least once in their lifetime, IMHO. Its expensive no doubt, but its an experience that is priceless. Oh and Good luck for your midterms! :)
19. curryegg | October 23rd, 2008 at 1:08 am
All the best in your exam…
And.. hehe.. that pig looks so artistic to me… :D
20. carolyong | October 23rd, 2008 at 1:11 am
morton williams makes a mean chef's salad. and oversized pork chop meals for ridiculously cheap prices…
21. yizhen | October 23rd, 2008 at 2:22 am
good luck in all your midterms! :) have some red velvet cupcakes from magnolia cupcakes for me please!!!
22. Lynn | October 23rd, 2008 at 3:04 am
hey girl!
as usual im totally relating with your words haha. how freaky for you.
i pull all nighters for my exams too, no one understands why i dont spread it out.. but its incredibly rewarding! (okay im a crazy way i guess)
23. june | October 23rd, 2008 at 3:15 am
i cannot stand the salty popcorn here at all. man, i want the sweet ones that we have at the cinema (or the movie theatre that they call it)!
24. The Faux Fashionista | October 23rd, 2008 at 5:19 am
Congratulations and welcome to the world of college life! Though I must say, NY seems like soooo much fun compared to this ulu place I'm stuck in. Pffft.
I'm leaving the US for good 33 days from now and I'm relishing my final days of independence (from overbearing parents teehee) before I pack my bags and say goodbye to college life, and begin a new chapter in my life - the working world.
Enjoy it while it lasts Su Ann, especially since you've been blessed enough to have the opportunity to study at such a prestigous university and in such a majorly awesome city.
p.s. you really should listen to Frank Sinatra's 'New York, New York'. Trust me, you'll appreciate the lyrics so much more now that you're there. I always played it on my ipod when I went exploring!
25. MIchelle | October 23rd, 2008 at 9:53 am
Well, I guess being an international student is like that. Soon, the place you live in becomes some sort of home. :D
I've cook an amazing pork stew. My housemate adores it. And she say that among all the weeks she have been here, this was the start of a good week. :D
26. KY | October 23rd, 2008 at 10:06 am
it's awesome right, the cookies!!!
27. wenc | October 23rd, 2008 at 10:24 am
I really envy you that you don't have to sleep. How did you do that?
28. ap | October 23rd, 2008 at 11:20 am
omg im dying to get to nyc just because of
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2008/10/t...
http://www.papabubble.com/
etc etc too tempting
handmade candy all day all the time! how can anyone resist? do give us a taste of such wickedness sometime
29. kei | October 23rd, 2008 at 1:16 pm
ehhh the white guys really cute ah? HAHHAA
like CMM level cute?? :D yerrrr i want hot white guys tooo
30. May | October 23rd, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Hi Su Ann, I really like to read your blog. You wrote well. =)
31. kreazi | October 23rd, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Tell Martian that we always draw pigs with pointed ears :P
32. lishun | October 23rd, 2008 at 5:21 pm
jeles.
=(
33. cobbled | October 23rd, 2008 at 8:19 pm
Haha - I just came home from uni, and your post reminds me of all the things I'm going to miss about my old uni - the adventure, but I' sacrificed that for more calm and peace, but after reading what you've written so beautifully, I'm yearning to go an capture that sense of adventure and new experiences once more - hopefully this time without the “distraction” of studying
34. luxfare | October 23rd, 2008 at 9:49 pm
amen to that last sentence….im in da same boat as him though…drats…
35. WP | October 24th, 2008 at 4:18 am
I know that feeling…wanting someone to experience what you're experiencing…'cos telling them about it is just not the same thing!
36. jane doe | October 24th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
good luck for midterms (: i hope i will get to go overseas one day as well.
37. wenqi | October 24th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
i miss you. sigh..
38. Jeff from LA | October 25th, 2008 at 5:09 am
I knew you would enjoy life in America =). I'm happy that you're settling in well over here.
39. RebeccaChin | October 27th, 2008 at 3:07 am
O_O
I can so relate to:
Appreshension when loading clothes in dryer.
Salted pop-corns on movie monday/GG nights.
Salsa dancing nights.
Crowding in fron of the tv to watch Palin. ( We're a Christian uni-n we don't laugh at her, her words are words of wisdom to us)
Random conversations while in line.
Peanut butter cup everything.
Lynchburg, Virginia's awesome but I can't wait to go to NY!!
40. joy | October 29th, 2008 at 1:50 am
hello suann! loyal blog reader but this is my first comment!
i was in new york last december and it was freeeezing and the hot water in my hostel wouldn't work. i had to bathe in freezing water during winter AND YET i still have the best memories of new york ever.
i'm going to newyork again next june (cos i'm doing an exchange for a semester in jan) so i will definitely visit you and zomg i think we can eat a lot!! i am maniacal when it comes to food. last december i went with my friend and i made her eat so much that she seriously err puked a bit hahahah but i won't do that to you!!! don't worry!! i will bring you to the best pizza in brooklyn!! when i went there to eat last year (hot piping pizza in winter… can you imagine?) i just laughed aloud in the middle of the restaurant from sheer joy :D
i'm so glad you're having a good time in NYC :D and i hope i don't sound too insane in this first comment. NYC invokes the use of excessive !!
41. SamanthaPoh | November 4th, 2008 at 11:46 pm
hey!!! i like ur costume better ;)
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