Last day of 2011

2012 New Year Resolution:
- Graduate

Other goals:
- Take dance classes (contemporary)
- Meet some great people
- Make it back to Denmark
- Get at least 2 A's each semester
- Come up with entirely new water aerobic routines
- Get into killer shape and stay that way (up the cardio)

I live for myself, but I'm not selfish.

What I do with my life is entirely my own decision.

Christmas vacation

Sorry for the lull in posting.  I swear I have great excuses.  I'll just bring the blog up to speed on the past few weeks.

Finals Week:
Nightmarish.  Seriously the worst finals week I've ever had, in the sense that it was so stressful and demanding.  In addition, I was still trying to get 30+ hours of work in (unsuccessful), because I was going to be spending the next week and a half NOT working, and probably spending 100s of dollars.
My Chinese exam tortured me all of Dead Week, and I even managed to prolong the agony by taking it with a later section, giving myself more time to study.  In the end, I think I pulled off a C, but it wasn't pretty.  I always give up during the last sections of the Chinese exams, because it is a free-write, where you create your own dialogue using specific grammar structures and vocabulary words.  Not horrible, right? The frustrating part is that the vocabulary words you're required to use don't tie together at all.  For example, "apartment," "internship," "neighborhood," "sports game," "plane ticket," "dangerous," and at least 6-7 others.  How am I supposed to create a brief dialogue involving all of these things, especially with only 3 (oh wait, technically 2 because I skipped a class) semesters of Chinese under my belt?
I know I barely slept that entire week.  No, that's not true - I actually slept through one of my water aerobics classes, which Karen was fortunately able to substitute in on at the last minute.  I drove up anyway and apologized to everyone, explaining how late I'd been up finishing a research paper, and I brought Karen an enormous coffee.  My place of work is awesome, so everyone was more concerned for me, than they were about the fact that I overslept for my shift.  That's what 2.5 years of relationship-building within a community gets you.


Weekend in Seattle:
After some hubbub and musical chairs, so to speak, with our ride situation, Laura and Marie (the Danes) eventually made it to Seattle Friday evening.  It ended up being perfect, because Lukas (with whom I was staying) lives right in Belltown, and the girls' hostel was literally 1 block away from his apartment.  I had envisioned us having to take a bus to get together every day or something, so this was a very pleasant surprise.  Enjoying the downtown location, we walked all over the city.  Experiencing Seattle this way gave me a much better impression of it than I've ever had before.  In the past, I've always felt terribly rushed or stressed while attempting to navigate the downtown.  This time, it was simple and lovely.  I got all of my Christmas shopping done, and then some.

 Only one bit of disappointment was when we went out on Capitol Hill (which is more or less the gay part of town.. not to suggest that the rest of Seattle isn't gay).  I had been looking forward to this for a while, but when we got there, the bars were packed with straight people.  I don't like to discriminate, but hello! If I wanted to go to an expensive bar and dance with straight people, I could've stayed in Pullman.  I hardly ever get the opportunity to get out amongst the gays (especially away from the close-knit Moscow-Pullman nest) and here all of these straight people are taking over the gay bars.  Feeling 3 sheets to the wind, I confronted some girls about it.

Ky: "Are you guys straight? What is with all of the heteros here? There are no gay people!"
Girl 1: "You're just in the wrong area."
Ky: "Wait, I'm in the wrong area?! We're in a gay bar."
Girl 2: "Look, there's a gay guy over there!"
Ky: "...That guy is definitely on ecstacy."

Oh well, I needed to stop being so whiny.  I had an incredible weekend with friends there.  The Danes all flew out before me, and it was so hard to let them go.  We became so close, and it is difficult to find real best friends, so I'm going to miss them a lot spring semester.  Plus, it was super convenient to be able to discuss things in Danish without other people knowing.  It's like a private language.

Palm Springs/La Quinta:
Landed in Palm Springs to my bonita mamasita waiting for me.  I had not seen her since July.  I think I may have developed allergies to the desert, because I've been having cold-like symptoms, but they literally began the moment I stepped off the plane, and they worsen when I'm outdoors.  After how much of my life I've spent living in the desert, I'm not sure how this could be possible, but it is the only explanation I can muster.
Anyway, it's been a nice time down here so far.  Pictures to come, hopefully, but I won't promise anything, since I still haven't updated with the farmhouse ones I took.  My parents' house is gorgeous! I had high expectations from the pictures I'd seen, and they were vastly exceeded.  Been to a number of cocktail parties since arrival, explored the mountains behind the house with Mom & Grace, and looking forward to hot tubbing under the stars tonight.

The Earth without Art is just Eh

Kunst.  L'art.  

Looking around us, and recognizing the extensive intricacies of our environment, as well as the infinite forms of beauty we, as living creatures, are able to create.  Dance, music, painting, drawing, photography, quilting, writing, architecture, and so on.  Even in nature (or should I say, especially in nature), this occurs.  I have been taking advantage of this idea more and more recently, and thinking of ways I can contribute to the world of art, myself.

About a month ago, I was asked to model for a fine arts student's final project.  I was paired with two girls, and we were to appear naked in the photos.  The girls were topless, covering their breasts, and in several of the shots, I was covering their breasts, but we all kept our underwear on.  We simply hid the underwear by cutting it out of the shot or concealing it with props.  The theme was supposed to be about temptation and lusting after something you cannot have.

Here is the final product:

Honestly, I am pretty disappointed with how it turned out, even though that is rude to say about the student's work.  She didn't use the most substantial shots we took, as I described, where I was on the ground with one of the girls with our eyes locked, or covering their breasts and making a real emotional connection.  Secondly, why did she change it all to black & white? It makes it seem drab and sullen, not about temptation or lust at all.  Third, what is with this arrangement of the photos? It doesn't have any apparent logic to it.  I feel like this project could've really gone places with the original theme and models, but sadly failed to deliver.

I think my personal talents would best be put to use in the areas of writing, at which I am particularly adept, as well as language.  Language is one of the most beautiful art forms of all.  The fact that all of these different cultures and people on our planet have their own way of expressing the same ideas.  In many cases, the ideas are unique to one language - a word that embodies many feelings into one concept, which does not translate into any other tongue.  That is beautiful.

My mom was selected to present as Artist of the Year at a quilting exhibition (to my understanding) in Seattle.  I am so proud of her; she has such marvelous talents and an eye for details.  I think this may lead to bigger things for her, as she gets more involved in showing her work to the masses.

End of this semester

At last this semester is coming to an end.  I have three finals next week: Chinese, Geology, and Foreign Film.  I don't think it'll be too brutal, but it's not like the only thing I have to do right now is lie around and study.  I'm working nearly full-time, keeping my body in shape, and juggling this absurd course load.  Why was the concept of "study leave" lost upon the USA? Most western countries get at least a couple of weeks of no class, just studying.  In Denmark, it's called læseferie, or "reading break." I know they practice it in Mother England as well, so why the Mayflower left it behind, I cannot understand.  Anyway, I could certainly use a study leave right now.

I'm so looking forward to next week, where I'll be heading to Seattle for 4-5 days, and then flying down to Palm Springs to visit my lovely parents and grandmother.  I'll be staying in Seattle with my good friend, Luke, and will really be able to take advantage of the city life during my time there.  It will be good to see old friends, and some partying on Capitol Hill is certainly in order.

This will be my first time visiting my parents' new house in La Quinta, Calif.  From the pictures, I can see they've made it up so beautifully, as they always do.  I'm sad I scarcely get to see the pair of them, particularly with my mother being my very best friend.  I actually haven't seen my grandmother in... Shoot, I can't remember the last time I saw her.  It's been far too long, though.  She's the only one I have!

Happy Holidays, everyone.  May yours be warm and full of love.

Dead Week & the gays

This week is definitely living up to its name.  I don't know why the university calls it "Dead Week," because we still have classes, homework, term papers, etc.  I do know why I call it Dead Week, and that's because the students are dead.  I'm not one to pull "all-nighters" on homework, but last night I was writing a research paper, creating a presentation for my geology project, and I had to teach water aerobics at 6 AM anyway.  Basically I slept for 25 minutes.  Does that count?

Over the weekend, the last drag show of 2011 was a total success.  I kept my own drinking to a minimum (for once), which was nice because I didn't do anything stupid and I felt brilliant the next day.  It was so great, because I went with some of my co-workers, as well as Marie (from Denmark), and my darling roommate Ann! It was Ann's first time, so I was really pleased she came along.  It was Marie's 3rd time with me by then, so we are old veterans together. The drag shows are really the only fun place to dance around here, they aren't crawling with disgusting  sorority girls, and the men are all well-kept.  Sadly, they only occur once per month, so that's the bleak extent of gay culture the Palouse has to offer.

At the show, it was sort of uncomfortable how big of a hit I was with everyone.  I don't really mingle with the Pullman-Moscow gays, mainly because it is such an elaborately networked scene that everyone knows everyone, and there is an excess of petty drama.  Anyway, when I do get out among them, I receive copious amounts of flattery, which, although refreshing, can get a little awkward.  One group kept calling me Prince Harry.

I did meet one guy I really liked, who turned out to only be in town for the weekend, because he is a dancer on tour with the Eugene Ballet! So now I have kissed a ballet dancer, and not the kind with a tutu either ; ) Ann, Marie and I went to watch him in the Nutcracker the next day.  Totally magnificent.  I love it when there is some semblance of art over here.  I wish I could move to a more metropolitan area sooner than later, but I really think a career needs to come first.  Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to afford the big city amenities I went there for in the first place.

Anyway, Dead Week trudges onward.  Tomorrow is (finally) my last day of teaching group swim lessons.  I love the kids, but I am also relieved.  I'll get an entire month off of swim lessons.  Too bad I still have to teach water aerobics 4-5 days/week.  I'm close with my students, absolutely, but I haven't had time to come up with any vastly new work out routines, so a lot of it gets repetitive, and I sense they're beginning to feel that too.  Charmingly, students, both adult and child, have given me either adorable or delicious Christmas presents this week, thanking me for being their teacher.  So nice to feel appreciated, it makes my heart melt.

I took a lot of photos of the old farmhouse I house sat on Thanksgiving, so I still need to do an entry about that.  Please stay tuned.

Not much break in this break

Uff da, the past two days were brutal.  Two special events at the pool, and two 12-13 hour days for Ky.  Somebody's gotta do it.  Tomorrow (Thanksgiving) is my only day off for the week, and I cannot tell you how I am looking forward to sleeping after 3 days in a row of being up at 4 am.

All of the snow has melted since my last post.  You can only imagine my displeasure.  However, I will not let that get me down.  I'm compensating with a New Belgium winter brew I had never tried before, Snow Day.  I always loved their 2˚ Below, but I don't think they made it this year : /  Snow Day is quite good, however.

It's very dark, as winter ales tend to be, so slightly bitter at first, but it makes me feel warm inside.  The description reads:

"With 3 feet of powder closing the roads, a brewery is not a bad place to get snowed in.  Given the unanticipated hall pass of a snow day, our brewers decided to experiment.  Hmm...what about this dark caramel roasted Midnight Wheat braced with a serious load of Styrian Goldings, Centennial and Cascade hops? Shovel it in.  What a deliciously unexpected way to spend a SNOW DAY!"

I finally got to go ice skating this week (after many failed attempts last weekend) with Kate.  It was a little crowded and the ice was in dire need of a zamboni, but I say any time spent on the ice is time well-spent indeed.  I finally bought some guards for my skates, so now I can carry them around more easily and at least feel like I'm taking good care of the blades.

While in that area, I also stopped at a used bookstore.  These are dangerous places, because everything seems appealing, particularly when the store is having a 40% off retirement sale! I originally went in with the intention of buying some Charles Dickens, which I did, but also came across a few other treasures.  I bought some cute Danish books, and found a Chinese language instruction book from 1943.

I think this is something really special.  It still uses Giles Wade romanization, which is very old-fashioned and no longer the norm (for example, spelling 北京 "Peking" instead of "Beijing," 南京 "Nanking" instead of "Nanjing," 喜欢 "hsihuan" instead of "xihuan," and so forth).  It even reads the Chinese texts up-to-down, right-to-left, which is also quite old-fashioned.  Aside from the novelty of this book, it gives detailed explanations of grammar, and will certainly provide some useful practice.

Tomorrow night, I am house-sitting at a beautiful 100-year-old farm house out in the country, with a great dog to boot.  I'm glad it's only for one night, because I don't generally like sleeping at other people's places anymore, but I am looking forward to the quaint solitude in the time I do have there.

Thanksgiving break

Oh, it's finally time for a real holiday.  A holiday it may be, but I am staying in town and working throughout the week.  It is such a relief, though, to have this time to catch up on schoolwork, as well as work a full 40 hours before December (Christmas present time!)

I really am a lucky person.  I bought a plane ticket from Seattle to Palm Springs (via Portland, woo!) and back for the Christmas holiday, basically contingent on Andrew being able to drive me thither and whence.  However, since we are now broken up, that created a number of complications for me, vis-à-vis my travels.  Fortunately, I secured a ride to Seattle the weekend before and have a friend willing to put me up downtown until the day of my flight.  That will be a fun vacation in itself, as I will have the chance to connect with a bunch of friends and party on Capitol Hill.  Then my parents kindly bought me a plane ticket from Seattle to Pullman (which is generally inexpensive one-way), so I have a safe ride back, regardless of the weather.  Merry Christmas to me : )

I'm so over Thanksgiving.  I think I need to live in a country where it doesn't exist.  I had plans to dine with my Danish friend, Hannah, and her boyfriend & co.  The plans fell through, however, because her boyfriend needs to work, and I have to petsit that night anyway.  Now it is just going to be another meaningless day, as usual.  At least my dear friend Kate has decided to hold a delicious-sounding Thanksgiving brunch earlier in the day.

It snowed so much last week, and has been wonderfully brisk, freezing, invigorating temperatures lately. It looked so magical outside.  I'll post a picture of my yard.  Unfortunately, temperatures are rising a lot the rest of this week, so all of the beauty is going to melt away and it's just going to be wet grossness.  That is seriously the worst.  I would way rather it were 10-30˚ the next 4 months straight than anything in the gross, wet 40's.

Paradise, just a few days ago

In the know

I need to develop a better system where I can't miss class.  Oh, there's always a reason.  Of course there is always a reason.
• I was stuck at work
• I haven't eaten all day
• I fell asleep from studying all night & working since 5am
• I am more worried about homework for this other class, so I better skip and work on that instead
• and so on.
This might be understandable a couple of times, but not when it goes on at least once or twice a week.  I will admit work is taking precedent over school a lot, because I need to go to work and I need to be making more money.  But moreover, I am simply not utilizing the free time I do have effectively.  For example, instead of getting caught up on last week's Chinese homework, I am updating my blog.
However, as frustrated as I get with myself, I simply can't force myself to sit down and hammer through everything at once.  What can I do to solve this? Well, I really am going to work on Chinese after this post, so it's a start.  The funny thing is that in high school, I would have loved to have the opportunity to study Chinese and practice character writing, translating, reading, listening comprehension, etc.  Why not now, when that is a reality? I was never good with online homework though, regardless of the language or subject.  I can't keep track of what I've done and what I haven't done, because clicking some buttons on the computer is not as memorable as turning in a sheet of paper.  To clarify, the class is not online, just 90% of the homework is.

In other news, work is going very well.  The weekend before last, I got one of many e-mails from Karen (the Aquatics Director), chastising me about something I did wrong, due to a communication failure between the two of us.  It was the last straw.  I replied with some apology and explanation, but the more I thought about it, something snapped.  I put my coat on, got in my Jeep, and drove over to the Aquatic Center, where I knew she would be just finishing up a class.  I closed the office door, sat down, and said, "We need to talk."
Essentially, I explained to her how she was making me feel, always berating me with criticism and cutting me down in front of the other staff and managers.  I said it needed to stop.  She did not realize the extent to which she had been doing this.  I kept it calm, reassuring her I was not attacking her nor trying to make her feel indignant.  We explained our recent frustrations with one another and came to the conclusion that most of it could have been avoided if we had a better relationship and communicated with each other more.  It was also apparent that she is having a very difficult home life right now for reasons she could not disclose, which makes sense why the added stress and irritation I had been contributing were responded to so harshly.  I still think she was behaving inappropriately and making me feel disrespected and unhappy in the workplace, but I also see now ways in which I had also acted inappropriately.
In the end, I am so very grateful I got up the guts to confront her, and I think she is too.  It really dispelled the tensions and hard feelings we'd harbored against one another, and now I am more conscious of the repercussions of my own actions.  As a result, we have a lot better relationship and communication.
Don't tell anybody, but I kind of like my job.

Sleigh bells ring

Yesterday was the first real snow.  It was a bit snowy the night before, simply because the cold was so intense, but nothing stuck.  Yesterday we got fluffy blankets : )

Sadly, the temperatures are too high, so it's already gone today.  More is expected later in the week, but I have a feeling it's going to be too wet & warm for anything real.  Maybe by Friday.  I just need to move to Canada or Minnesota (although they are not having that cold of weather now either).

I also wanted to share a sweet comic from Calvin & Hobbes that I fell in love with last year, so I have it saved on my computer.

This is what I want : )

Reflection

When I was 11:
I was dating Gina Bertuzzi.
I wanted to be a writer.
I loved Pokémon and reading books.
My best friends were John Folstrom and Brian Perri.
I was afraid of one day turning 18 and having to take care of myself, because I wanted to be a kid forever.
I lived in Bonsall, California.

When I was 15:
I was dating Heather Andersen.
I wanted to be an actor.
I loved languages, culture, Asia, and Japan in particular.
My best friends were Randi Andersen and Jessica Low.
I was afraid of being ordinary.
I lived in Pagosa Springs, Colorado.

When I was 17:
I was single.
I wanted to be a Foreign Service Officer.
I loved languages, culture, Europe, clothes, and being popular.
My best friends (at different points) were Alexander Mose, Sarah Schauer, Marki Dinsmore, and Natasha Fisher.
I was afraid of not being loved.
I lived in Gig Harbor, Washington.

Now that I am 22:
I am single (for the first time in forever).
I want to be an FBI Language Specialist.
I love languages, culture, winter sports, my parents, and traveling.
My best friends are Cheryl Kamolz, Alexander Mose, and Ann Hoag.
I am afraid of not having enough money to get to where I need to be.
I live in Pullman, Washington.

Things that make me happy

- hot chai tea lattés
- cozy winter coats that make me feel like I'm from Copenhagen
- scarves that keep my neck warm
- pumpkin pie
- National Public Radio (NPR)
- classical music
- when I can sit and just read with no obligations
- really foggy days
- speaking Danish
- warm-scented candles
- getting the best score in class
- when classes are canceled
- when everything at work goes just right
- having an entire day off
- waking up fresh on an early morning
- swimming
- talking to my mom
- imagining people's reaction upon receiving mail from me
- receiving mail myself
- Audrey Hepburn
- Ann Hoag
- Baker
- learning to bake
- ice skating!
- when Andrew speaks Danish (and well, I might add)
- the smell of bonfires in the distance
- Scandinavian culture

the buds of winter

It's easy to tell that winter will be upon us soon, here in the Northwest.  To my understanding, parts of the country, such as Colorado and the Northeast, have already received a fair deal of snowstorms.  It's forecasted to snow here as well, though I would be tremendously surprised if anything stuck.  High today is 48˚ though, which is pretty chilly.  I'm totally welcoming to it, except that my house just becomes so cold inside, particularly the downstairs where my bedroom is.  I intend to buy a space heater so that I can control my own temperature this winter.  I keep saying that and not actually doing it.  Hopefully it is not too expensive.

Well, I did not succumb to any form of food poisoning after eating my delicious pumpkin bread, nor did any of the number of people with whom I shared it.  I shall probably make some more this weekend.  It goes so quickly when you're generous! I usually take a few slices to work to share with co-workers or water aerobics students, and then that's one loaf down already.  The next gets dealt up among myself and visiting friends or roommates.  Anyway, my mom's recipe ended up being 10x better than the original I tried, as was reflected on everyone's face after their first bite.  That's a nice feeling : )

Things are going a bit better at work lately.  Mary and I are going to work together on created the next swim session, so it will get done twice as quickly.  Karen was also very nice today.  A few things happened where I had done everything totally correctly and she was the one who fudged things up, so it was nice not to be at all to blame.
During my first two years of working at the Aquatic Center, I never wanted to teach swim lessons.  The hours are too inflexible and I've never been particularly big on children.  As I am now the Swim Lessons Coordinator, I have been teaching lessons this entire semester.  Sometimes it's very frustrating and I find myself getting aggravated when kids can't perform one of my drills correctly because they did not listen to directions or when one of them is arguing with me that they can't do something, when I saw them do it the week before.  I'm not especially fond of my Tuesday/Thursday evening group (although next week is my last week with them, so that's ok) but I have taught the same group of kids 2 sessions in a row now on Monday/Wednesday mornings.  I've watched them grow and helped them develop to that next step.  I know each of their strengths and weaknesses.  There are kids in this world who are excellent backstrokers or can swim front crawl with perfect bilateral side-breathing because I taught it to them.  Ultimately, the feeling is very gratifying.

All Hallows Eve

So comes October to its end.  It was a fantastic month, ushering in the long-awaited fall season at last.  Soon, winter will be upon us as well.
This has been a most eventful week, indeed.  I'll begin by airing my work-related grievances, so that I can conclude with all of the nice things.
I did not have enough swim lesson instructors for Tuesday/Thursday evenings when I made the schedule for the new swim session last week, ergo I ended up putting myself as one of the instructors, at least for the next 3 weeks until one of the high school swim team girls can take my place.  This inclusion of Tues/Thurs evening lessons has me in the pool about 14 hours/week now, with my Monday/Wednesday morning lessons and my 5 water fitness classes per week..  That is so much chlorine, my skin and my sanity are barely surviving.
When I brought this up today at our manager meeting, I mentioned how we need to hire some new employees who can teach in the evenings, because none of the 3 who were hired have evening availability.. how that happened is unknown to me, as I specifically asked for people of that description.  Karen, the Aquatics Director (i.e. my boss), felt that I was being too whiny and was not justified in my complaint, and, as usual, made it into a big "Ky is an incompetent idiot" scenario.  I am not entirely certain as to how I became the one to be her punching bag, especially since I have kissed more butt than a baboon during mating season.  I do my best to avoid giving her any fodder to use against me, but some people can make anyone feel small if they condescend with enough effort.  I just recognize that she needs to do it in order to feel better about herself.
Having said all of that, between working with Karen and being immersed in chlorine 5-6 days out of the week, I have all the incentive I need to graduate as soon as possible so that I do not have to keep living and working here in Pullman.  No more swimming pools, please.
Oh, I have to mention another fun tidbit.  At the end of our meeting today, she remarked that I need to buy skinnier jeans because my ass is too flat (to be clear, this is very insulting for gays).  I just bought these pants yesterday and they were the skinniest ones I could find in my size... I thought they looked really good.  Now I want to cry a little bit.

On a lighter note, I have gotten to spend a lot of time with my Danish babes this week.  Laura, Marie, Trine, Andrew, Andrew's friend Gabe, and I all carved pumpkins together on Wednesday.  It was the Danes' first time pumpkin carving.  I thought it would be nice to give them a lot of great Halloween memories so they don't return home having only seen all of the stupid, commercialized, slutty costumes all of the university students wear out in the 35˚ weather.  Can I just say how irritating that is to me, by the way? This is an ancient harvest festival, introducing the beginning of winter and recognizing a time when the spirit world and our world have the greatest instance of overlap.  Now it is about wearing lingerie and animal ears or guys dressing up in giant condom wrappers.  Someone should tell them that they don't really need to go to all of that effort to get laid.

Andrew & I carving our pumpkins in my dining room

The end result! Mine is the evil one on the left.  I'm a big believer in keeping Halloween scary, but I think Andrew's is adorable.  Mine can scare the spirits away so that his can keep on smiling.

I seem to be on a spree of learning to make new things.  I baked pumpkin bread again tonight, this time using my mom's recipe.  I won't share the details this time, because I think that her sharing it with me now constitutes it as a family recipe.   The final product still doesn't look like hers.  I baked them for an hour, the outsides got kind of crunchy, and my testers came out clean, but the inside just looked.. not quite done.  Very moist in comparison to the last batch, which is what I was going for.  Well, I've had a slice and it tasted fantastic, so if I get food poisoning, we'll know the truth.
The other new thing I made this weekend was eggs benedict.  It is my favorite breakfast food, but rather arduous to make oneself.  They ended up being especially scrumptious, however, so Andrew and I were very pleased.  We also used SPAM instead of ham, which was really an added bonus.

The eggs benedict

Andrew enjoying his extravagant breakfast

Yesterday evening I assembled about half of the aquatic center staff, as well as Andrew & the Danes, and we all went to Haunted Palouse together.  Palouse is a precious little town about 20 minutes from Pullman.  Every October, the entire town is transformed into a sort of Halloween Town - everyone is dressed in scary outfits and they have two terrifying haunted houses, fortune tellers, and a spooky hayride.  Last year it was the most fun time I could've had, so I was a huge advocate to get everyone together for it this year.  One of our co-workers, Natalie, lives out in Palouse, so we met up at her house first.  She had prepared pumpkin and apple pies, as well as hot spiced cider for us all.  Her little home was the epitome of hyggeligt.  The warm colors, the cozy atmosphere, the pies & cider, the comfy chairs, etc.  It was just delightful.

From Natalie's, we embarked into Haunted Palouse.  It wasn't quite as thrilling as it was for me last year, but I attribute that to the fact that it was the last day they were putting it on and they may have been tired or short on volunteers.  All the same, I think we were all adequately frightened.  Marie wouldn't unbury her face from my back while we trudged through the haunted houses.  I kept saying, "Marie, you have to look! You have to look!"

"No! I'm too scared!!" she screamed.  I think this made it a memorable Halloween for the girls to take back to Denmark, so I'm happy for that.

Andrew is in Seattle now, interviewing with some major accounting firms, and will likely find out whether or not he has a job this week.  How exciting! Let's send him positive feelings for his future.

Happy Halloween everyone.  Welcome, Winter.

pumpkin magic

This is an introduction to Ky's adventures in baking.  A more daunting art, at times, than one may realize.  Here we have a detailed account of my yesterday evening's attempt at making delicious pumpkin bread.  I don't think I'm ready to tackle pumpkin pie yet (or rather, I might be now, but was not yesterday).  Commence:

The ingredients I used:

• 3 1/2 cups flour

• 1/4 tsp. baking powder

• 2 tsp. baking soda

• 1 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1 tsp nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, pumpkin spice

• 1 1/2 granulated sugar and brown sugar

• 1 cup oil

• 2 cups canned pumpkin

• 4 eggs

The result after thoroughly mixing all of the ingredients

After placing mixture into my two new loaf pans

Baked in 350˚ oven for 52 minutes

Fresh out of the oven, risen and rich with pumpkin

Cooling and waiting to be eaten, adequately filling my house with delicious smells

The end result makes for a good snack, albeit a little dryer and less flavorful than I was hoping for

I have since distributed the majority of my two loaves to friends and co-workers, much to their delight.  I left them all with the caveat that it was not the greatest pumpkin bread, as it was too dry, but the next batch would be better.  Everyone insisted they tasted fantastic all the same, so that felt nice.  Maybe they just don't know really great pumpkin bread.  Soon they will.  Now that I've bought two loaf pans, I have to use them in order to justify myself.

Still loving being in the throws of fall.  I can't get over the magnificent colors.  Here is the view outside of my dining room window:

Everyone seems to be out of town this weekend.  Even Ann has deserted Baker and me in favor of hunting.  Having so much time to myself, I find myself being infinitely more productive and creative.  This is perhaps why I endeavored to learn to bake this weekend.  A friend and I went ice skating over in Moscow, which was our first visit of the season.  I was glad to get to try out my new skates, which I bought last year but only used twice.  They're hockey skates, so too wide for my long feet, but with double-layered wool socks, the fit was nice and snug.  A woman at the rink was figure skating so beautiful, inclining me to ask her about her ice skating background.  She said she grew up in Colorado and had simply done it her entire life.  She then proceeded to offer us some pointers, should we desire them.  My friend and I were ecstatic and received a brief lesson in improving our skating form.  The locals here certainly are charming.  I now count myself among them and always do my best to uphold the image of outgoing friendliness and helpfulness.

North Korea

Diane Sawyer produced a documentary in 2009 (I believe) of a restricted visit she was allowed, as a journalist, into North Korea.  Her visit was limited to 12 days, but what I saw in the documentary truly shook how I formerly perceived North Korea.
Diane's observations opened a door of new insight into a country that has shrouded itself from the rest of the world for decades.  Contemporary North Korean society depicts an extreme, albeit draconian in its enforcement, Confucian social world.  This is observable from the amount of weight put on traditional Confucian values, such as obedience, adherence, loyalty, and being content with one's place in society.  While the current North Korean government appears to use eccentric measures to maintain their Confucian utopia, so to speak, this way of life is not unlike how many East Asian countries functioned during periods of closed trade or martial law, less than a century ago.  Examples of this would be the People's Republic of China, Taiwan, and the Korean peninsula as a whole (prior to the Japanese occupation).

It may appear to us, as Westerners or Americans in particular, that the North Koreans are being brainwashed through pro-nationalistic and anti-foreign propaganda.  I cannot find grounds to dispute to the contrary, as the government diligently controls their entire perspectives.  On the other hand, the ideas of propaganda and brainwashing are completely relative.  Certainly to the North Koreans, we would be considered brainwashed.  We grow up trained to firmly believe that democracy and capitalism are the best forms of government, and anything to the contrary is borderline heresy.  I do not see how, then, that differs from the apparent oddities in North Korean thinking: anti-foreign interaction, no curiosity about the outside world, unrelenting loyalty and faith in their country, and so forth.  They grow up believing that their way is the best and there is no need to venture further.

Gettin' back in the swing

I am loving having these Danish girls as friends here this semester.  It's too bad they won't be able to stick around any longer.  It helps me realize how important my personal history is, in the sense that Denmark and Danish are actually a huge part of me and always will be.
On the note of Scandinavia and personal history, I found these two children's books on Amazon for cheap, which were my favorites as a kid in Minnesota.  "Trouble With Trolls" and "Christmas Trolls." The illustrations are very Norwegian-based, particularly the clothing & buildings in the stories, and the trolls themselves are a large part of Scandinavian folklore.  I bought them because I always think of them when winter comes around, and I haven't seen them in stores ever.  It's important to remember our childlike joys and innocence; I think it allows us to keep our own lives in perspective.

I cannot believe we're already halfway into October.  It's a good thing there's an entire winter ahead of us, because I haven't even made it to the ice rink nor to a Chiefs game, and those were the two things I've been looking forward to the most about the coming cold.  Last week I was laid out on my back with the flu or cold (I can never be sure; I always thought influenza meant nausea and vomiting too, but apparently not always), and this week I had horrible, horrible Chinese exams.  No time for fun.  I'm going to try and head with Andrew to Seattle next weekend.  I think that would be a great time.  I have a number of close friends there, and Andrew is really wanting me to come along.

Der er en fodboldskamp her imod Stanford Universitet, så bestemte Jake, en af mine værelseskammerater, at han skulle holde en stor fest herhjemme... Så nu ser hele huset ud som en dårlig frat party.  Jeg skal have nogle venner over at hygge i aften inden vi tager ud i byen sammen, så bliver jeg nok nødt til at gøre rent til huset, selvom jeg var slet ikke med til Jakes fest tidligere i dagen.  Hvor ærgeligt.  Tak for lort, man.

What a week

Contrary to all of my previous gloating about keeping healthy, I have been hellishly ill for the past 4 days.  Nothing really upper respiratory or congestion (maybe a little), but just a monster of a fever that I cannot shake.  I've broken it a couple of times now, waking up in a pool of sweat, but it's only a matter of hours before it returns with a vengeance.  I went to the university's Urgent Care, but because it's just a fever, they couldn't give anything other than a pamphlet about how to take 2400mg of Ibuprofen everyday.
I am lying in bed, underneath 6 layers of blankets, and baby Baker sleeping between my legs.  He wants to make sure I recover.  An alternative method, in addition to the Ibuprofen, I have been trying is traditional Chinese medicinal herbs.  I went to the Moscow Food Co-op yesterday and bought some honeysuckle flower extract, as well as licorice and ginger teas.  So far, I think I am pleased with the results.

In other news, Autumn has finally arrived! It's a shame that I am too sick to enjoy it right this moment, but it's been a beautiful week.  Pumpkins are only $4 each at WalMart right now - I'm contemplating snagging a couple just to have around the house.

Minnesota

Minnesota, hail to thee!
Hail to thee, our state so dear,
Thy light shall ever be
A beacon bright and clear.
Thy son and daughters true
Will proclaim thee near and far,
They shall guard thy fame and adore thy name;
Thou shalt be their Northern Star.

Like the stream that bends to sea,
Like the pine that seeks the blue;
Minnesota, still for thee
Thy sons are strong and true.
From the woods and waters fair;
From the prairies waving far,
At thy call they throng with their shout and song;
Hailing thee their Northern Star.

October

Fall, please come! In a few months' time, I will probably be shooting myself for whining about the 70˚ days we're having (ok, to be fair, it was 85˚ the past three days, which is pretty hot when you're not in the mood for that).  I am just so geared up for autumn; I've already picked out all the neighborhoods I'm going to meander to see their beautiful trees turn orange and yellow.
A sure fall favorite is the seasonal beers.  I've had my eye on the Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale and the Leinenkugel Octoberfest.

Last night, we had a little farvelfest (goodbye party) for Nate, who has been living with us here on Lower Drive for the past two months, finishing his thesis.  Jeg er så ked af at han skal fra os.  Han er et rigtig godt menneske, og har været en god roommate.  Der var to danske piger her til festen også, som jeg inviterede - Marie og Laura.  Det er altid så dejligt at møde danskere, snakke dansk, og hygge sig.  Jeg var lidt overrasket over hvor god mit dansk egentlig var, fordi jeg får aldrig chancen til at faktisk tale det (selvom jeg skriver tit på dansk).

So there were two Danish girls who came to the party last night too, whom I'd invited - Marie and Laura.  They were both really awesome to talk to; I love meeting Danes and speaking Danish together.  I think it just reinforced what I wrote in my previous post about continuing my study of Danish and pursuing further fluency with that.  I think it is important, not only because of the ground I've already lain with the language, but because of the connection I certainly have with the people and Scandinavia.  It's really a special thing.
Anyway, the girls were so very sweet, and it was a joy talking with them.  It was probably also cool to have my friends and loved ones hearing me converse with the girls in relatively fluid Danish, because everybody knows about my connection with Denmark and the history there, yet have never witnessed it themselves, I don't think.  I'm excited to have made two new friends in Marie & Laura, so I look forward to our next meeting (forhåbentligt næste weekend).  Jeg har også sagt til Marie, at hun skulle rette mig hvis jeg laver fejl når jeg snakker dansk.  Det hjælper meget, synes jeg.

Well, today is October 2nd, and I am so very in the mood for fall festivities.  If my fridge wasn't full of beer, I could try my hand at making pumpkin pie.  Any other suggestions?

dansk

Jeg kan 5 forskellige sprog: engelsk, dansk, fransk, tysk, og nu lærer jeg kinesisk.  Men jeg er desværre ikke rigtig flydende med enhver af dem (nå ja, engelsk kan jeg godt).  Sååååå tænker jeg på hvordan jeg kan øve mig og blive bedre til dem alle (eller i det mindste til et eller to af dem).  Jeg har valgt dansk, fordi jeg kender allerede en masse ord og kan følge med meget mere end de andre.

I weekenden kommer Andrews mor og hendes kæreste.  Dem har jeg aldrig mødt før, så det glæder jeg mig til.  Jeg synes det er vigtigt at få Andrew bedre til at kende og begynde at være mere og mere tæt på ham.  Vi er kommet sammen et par måneder siden nu, og jeg har stadig noget i mit hjerne som stopper mig fra at elske fuldstændigt.  Jeg tror nok, jeg beskytter mig, især efter mit sidste forholdt (som endnu ikke var så længe siden).

Jamen, jeg skal forsætte at opdatere på dansk en gang imellem, bare at holde sproget frisk i hjernen og prøve at lære nye ord og regler.  Den bedste måde at gøre dét er, at se film og høre musik på sproget man vil lære.  Jeg har også nogle danske bøger, så de kunne også være nyttigt.

ich werde nie krank!

I am now a proud owner of an up-to-date U.S. passport! The new design is really neat, although I'm sad to no longer have my Danish student visa stamped in it.  Ich bin ein Mann der Welt! This will be a big stepping stone for my study abroad applications for both China and Taiwan.
Everyone here in Pullman is really sick right now... Everyone but me. *Knocks on wood*
I don't understand what is wrong with everyone.  The flu has hit probably half of my staff at the pool.  Everyone in my classes are hacking and sniffling.  Yet here I stand, healthy as a lamb.  I don't feel that I do anything in particular to have accrued this high tolerance to illnesses around me other than drinking tea, exercising, and the occasional shot of vitamin C.  Sådan er det bare, nogle folk er bedre end andre : /

The weather outside has been just lovely, lately.  My favorite is when it is cool enough to comfortably wear jeans, yet warm enough to still just wear a t-shirt.  Soon it will be October! I'm devising a few costume ideas for the Halloween season coming up.  At work, we have a special event every year called Spooky Splash, where all of the staff are dressed up, and we put on Halloween-oriented games and activities for kids to come participate in.  Some of us had talked about dressing up with the theme Washington Zombie University (WZU), so wearing WSU gear, dressed as athletes or cheerleaders, etc, but all zombied up.  My other idea is to go as Dr. Frankenfurter, because that was a ton of fun when I dressed up for Rocky Horror last November.

There are just a lot of cool fall events in the area.  Haunted Palouse is my favorite : ) Off to class.

Ferie

I could definitely use a ferie as soon as possible! Work is giving me such a headache.  I wish I could take a week off and just get caught up on all of my school stuff instead.  Pulling over 30 hrs managing the pool this week on top of a full class schedule, homework, and two exams this Friday.  I'm not trying to whine, I'm just putting everything into perspective so it's easier to look at.

As if I had any free time, I have also been delving into the Lord of the Rings books.  Andrew and I found a copy of all three books in one for $8.00 at a used books store downtown called Brused Books.  $8.00 for all three books! I'm exclusively shopping at used book stores from now on.  Anyway, The Lord of the Rings is proving quite addictive, so pursue them at your own risk.  By the way, thank you Jon Hamm for recommending the other LOTR (did I really just type that?) soundtracks.  I ended up downloading the Two Towers, and I'm really fond of it now.

I'm not sure whether I've mentioned this, but I'm teaching swim lessons at work now.  I really can't be certain as to whether or not I'm doing a good job of it, but somehow it all works out in the end.  It's not rocket science.  Although, if it were rocket science, that would be really awesome.  In any case, I feel very fortunate to have relatively good children in all of my lessons, and they're pretty cute.  The moms seem to have really taken to me, as well.  This morning, one of them was sharing her secrets to finding the best knitting wool (okay??) and another asked why I wasn't wearing my earrings today, haha!

Another stroke of good luck: I met a Danish girl here at WSU via my roommate, Jake.  She said there are 3 Danes here, which is exciting, and we're all going to meet up for a kop kaffe next week.  Det bliver sikkert godt for mig at tale dansk igen.

On a closing note, I think I may be finally leaving The Facebook behind for good this time.  It's been consuming more and more of my time lately, which is completely nonsensical, and it is the epitome of counter-productivity.  On top of that, all most people post is either boring, crude, or absurd.  Furthermore, they established a new layout, which reformatted the entire site to the point that I cannot even begin to parse what's happening or how to view things normally.  Is it worth taking the time to figure it out? Not likely.  I think that was just the push I needed.

Regnvejr

I never posted anything about 中秋節, nor did I really do anything to celebrate it.  The moon looked pretty awesome for it though.  I figure I'll have a handful of really great ones to tell about in the future when I'm actually in Asia.

Life is so very, very strange and loaded with irony.  Today is the first day of nearly the entire summer where it's been rainy weather.  The irony comes into play because we are all delighted that the sun has taken a break and the cooler weather has come.  I've been trying to appreciate the sweltering heat while it lasted (it may come back later, too, so I won't speak too soon), but I tend to get really geared up for autumn by this time.  I have my pumpkin spice candles, hot tea, ice skates, jeans & longsleeves all busting to get out and watch the world change to hues of orange, yellow, and brown.  Warm, sunny weather is terrific if you're an outdoor athlete (particularly rowing, where the quality of your row frequently depends on how calm the river is that day), but for me, it's been too hot to run during the day, yet it's getting darker sooner so I can't go at night either.  Altogether, I'm enjoying this deliciously cooler day and the delectable smell of rain wafting about outside.

Nerd story:
Going through my things, which I retrieved from my parents' storage units upon my most recent encounter with them (when they helped me move back to Pullman), I rediscovered a lot of my old CD's from high school.  Among them is the "Fellowship of the Ring" soundtrack.  At first I didn't think much of it, but I put it onto my iTunes.  It could be said that I have scarcely listened to anything else since.  I'm finding it so enchanting to the point of being addicted.  The images and feelings it conjures are fantastic; I can't stop.  It reminds me of high school when Timothy would rock out to the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack everyday at school.

好的週末

I regret not updating more this week, as there are a lot of things I have wanted to write about, however my schedule has simply not been very permitting.
I ended up not going to 中秋節 simply because I didn't have anyone available to go with me, it was $10, and it would've set us back even further in time to leave for the rodeo.  That's okay though - the actual "Mid-Autumn Festival" is this Monday, because that is when the moon is full.  I promise I will actually update on it tomorrow.
Instead of 中秋, I went to the Palouse Empire Fair Rodeo with my friends.  For those of you who do not know, I have, in recent months, developed an affinity for indulging my inner hick.  I love country music, and I bought a sweet felt cowboy hat last week (at last!) at a feed store in Moscow, Idaho.  You can see some pictures of us at the rodeo and me with my new hat here:

Me with my darling roommate (2nd consecutive year now) and best friend, Ann

Andrew, myself, and Mary (my fellow manager at the city pool)

And here is one of us with some rower friends in my gorgeous kitchen.  I wore the hat out that night and actually got tons of compliments! It's shocking enough to warrant a drunken remark, yet it looks so good that you can't really insult it - ergo several compliments.

Anyway, the rodeo was a great time.  Definitely a small-time fair, but it was only $5 and a great way to spend time with friends.  It's located out among the rolling wheat fields, so all very picturesque.  There was bronco and bull-riding, a horse trick show, and calf roping.  I'd totally go again.

The Palouse, on our way to the fairgrounds

In other news, a plan I have devised for the future is to go into the Peace Corps after I graduate.  This is not the first time I've toyed with the idea of the Peace Corps, but I do think it's my most serious and focused attempt at it.  The idea is that, after having studied Chinese here, spent a year of intensive Mandarin courses in either China or Taiwan next year, and then spending the next two years in the Peace Corps, living in China and teaching English to university students, I should be pretty dang fluent in the language.  

On top of my degree of fluency in Mandarin, the Peace Corps totally hooks its returned volunteers up with federal government jobs.  Essentially, you are a shoe-in, and a lot of people end up with jobs in the Foreign Service.  If you have known me for a long time, you will know that working as a Foreign Service Officer has been a huge dream of mine since I was about 17.  I met a few officers while I was in Denmark, as they were with the American ambassador to Denmark when he came to visit my school (so I also met him, of course).  Even disregarding the Foreign Service, the Peace Corps opens so many doors as it is so competitive and prestigious with invaluable experience.

Anyway, it's going to be a long and arduous road, but it is just one more example of how fluency in Chinese will really take me places.

Religious & Historical Misconceptions

I have been learning a lot lately about how misguided our "common knowledge" of the world is.  I will try to restrict this remark to Americans of the United States, as this is the society for which I can most accurately attest.  I think I shall make multiple and sporadic segments of postings on this subject.  Our so-called familiarity with matters of both historical and religious significance are so ubiquitous, we have a difficult time viewing them objectively.  For example, I can readily cite several instances throughout the Bible where Moses incites mass genocide, condoned by God.

"Now when Moses saw that the people were out of control (Ky's note: does this mean that they were all drunk?) - for Aaron had let them get out of control to be a derision among their enemies - then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, "Whoever is for the LORD, come to me!" And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him.  He said to them, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Every man of you put his sword upon his thigh, and go back and forth from gate to gate in the camp, and kill every man his brother, and every man his friend, and every man his neighbor.'" So the sons of Levi did as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day.  Then Moses said, "Dedicate yourselves today to the LORD - for every man has been against his son and against his brother - in order that He may bestow a blessing upon you today." (Exodus 32:25-29)

Another, much more brutal example is the slaughter of the Midianites in Numbers 31.  I won't type out the whole story (you can easily look it up for yourself; the Bible is by far the world's most sold book), but will provide an excerpt where Moses is pissed that his soldiers left the women and children alive:

"'Have you allowed all the women to live?" he asked them.  "They were the ones who followed Balaam's advice and were the means of turning the Israelites away from the LORD in what happened at Peor, so that a plague struck the LORD's people.  Now kill all the boys.  And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man." (Numbers 31:15-18)

As an objective reader, one would see that this is horrific and clearly religious genocide and ethnic cleansing at its worst, written into a book from which we are culturally meant to derive our sense of morality.  Yet, knowing it is Moses and from the Bible, we tend to be wary of condemning scripture and assure ourselves there must be some other way to interpret the text or that it is simply taken out of context for the sake of propaganda.

Here we not only have Moses advocating that his soldiers slay the innocent and rape the virgins, but also one of the earliest examples of religious (Biblical) zealots attributing a plague to the fact that some people (in this case, a whole nation of temptresses) did something displeasing in the eyes of God.  Today we have a lot of contemporary incidents of people blaming Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Irene (Michelle Bachmann), the tsunami in Southeast Asia, the earthquake in Haïti, etc, (the commonality of all of these being that they are apparently regularly occurring natural disasters) on the fact that the LORD is taking out His holy vengeance upon the sinners.  If you think I'm blaspheming here, you are not thinking objectively.  Simply read the scripture and tell me what it says to you.

It is then funny to me that Americans frequently perceive of Islam and Muslims as violent, warped religious extremists.  Have you read the Old Testament??! I find it deplorable that the Taliban in Afghanistan blew up the 150-foot tall Bamiyan Buddhas in their country.  They must be destructive, intolerant people.  Yet, the Christian God says Himself:

"Watch yourself that you make no convenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a snare in your midst.  But rather, you are to tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and cut down their Asherim - for you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God." (Exodus 34:12-14)

If you were to actually follow this Good Book and adhere to the Word of God, you would be compelled to do the same as the Taliban.  The most common argument I would probably hear upon highlighting these passages (which are far from being isolated incidents in the Bible) is, "Well, not everything in the Bible is meant to be taken literally."
My response:
1) What is the figurative meaning behind the alleged slaughter of thousands of people in the name of religion?
2) Well then someone needs to go through the Bible with me and help decide which parts we're going to take literally and which parts are metaphoric.  It's religion a la carte.


Don't get me wrong; I like reading the Bible, as it is a major icon within the West's Judeo-Christian culture.  However, I do so as objectively as possible.  I get very confused by comparing what I know of the Christian religion (having grown up with it and through media) and the content of the book upon which the Christian faith is based.  They don't particularly match up.  In fact, I find much of the Bible quite disturbing.  I am wont to share with my friends the passages of the Bible I've found depicting zombie invasions.  Does no one else see this stuff? Am I the only one actually reading the book? Frickin' zombies everywhere!

In any case, my ultimate frustration is with people who think they are good, devout Christians (meaning, they know a lot about their religion, have a relationship with Jesus, have intimate knowledge of the Bible, etc), and they are denouncing Muslims as violent, misguided barbarians.  From my experience with the two, compared to the Qur'an, the Bible is much more gruesome and rampant with divine retribution carried out through its followers.  Do some reading and see for yourselves.

Also, God is always telling people about His loving-kindness, but simply as an objective reader of a book, I find Him extremely vindictive and temperamental.

Summer's over, sports begin

Sooo I'm a fool and got the dates wrong.  Yesterday I brought my Taiwanese friend, Tony, to Ensminger Pavillion for the Taiwanese student dinner, and it's actually next Friday.  Kind of embarrassing, and really just an overall letdown.  I had been looking forward to it all day.  Oh well, next week! And next weekend is the Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋節).  I'll do a separate update next week explaining that celebration.


Today is the first Cougar football game of the year, so everyone is getting crazy, the streets are filling up, and there is a lot of excitement over that.  I'm not trying to seem like a downer, but personally it's way too crowded, too long, and I'm not a big football fan in general.  Not to mention, I didn't buy a sports pass (partially so that I don't feel obligated to go and get my money's worth).  I don't know what to say - it's not that I don't love WSU, I just don't see why football has to be the defining factor.  What if you like other sports? I go to a handful of Cougar basketball, volleyball, and tennis games every year.  Most people don't even know when the latter two teams are playing.  Who's got school spirit now?


Watching hockey trumps all of these sports anyway.  Who's idea was it to make football the USA's main national sport? I may have to move to Canada, where hockey is fully appreciated.  Or Minnesota.  Same concept.  I don't have TV this year, though, so I'm going to have to find an NHL-friendly sports bar... or make friends with someone who likes the same teams? I'm not picky.


New word I'm trying to incorporate into my vocabulary - ubiquitous.  It's such a useful word.  It's an adjective meaning that something appears or is found everywhere.  For example, in Pullman, Cougar fans are ubiquitous.  In both Canada and Minnesota, hockey memorabilia is ubiquitous.

台灣學生

My parents have been having the time of their lives over in Minnesota, living life to the fullest on the lakeshore and, today, relishing the Minnesota State Fair, arguably one of the biggest (except for maybe Texas) and greatest state fairs in the entire country.  I hope those guys enjoyed their Leinenkugel, mosquitos, and fried food on a stick while it lasted.  I might be just kind of jealous, an avid Midwestern boy myself.

Things are lovely here in Pullman too though, most certainly.  The weather cooled off a lot the past couple of days.  You might even say it's been rather chilly, though after complaining about the heat, I refuse to complain about the cold as well.  I figure the sooner autumn comes, the sooner I can put my ice skates back on & hockey season starts up.

Still juggling life from managing the pool (particularly busy now that it's September because everyone is buying memberships at discounted rates, and now swim lessons are starting up again), getting all of my homework done AND staying on top of my Chinese vocabulary, as well as getting things in order for studying abroad next year.  I have to go and renew my passport at the post office (hopefully tomorrow, if they stay open past 3).

In an attempt at being proactive toward boosting my resumé, meeting new people, learning about Taiwan, practicing Mandarin, and taking that extra step, I have officially become a member of Washington State University's Taiwanese Student Association.

My membership card, totally sweet!

When I went up to their booth telling them I wanted to join the Taiwanese Student club, I think they might've thought I was making fun of them.  I wonder if other white people are involved with it at all.  Might as well get used to being one of the only 外國人 in the crowd : P  There is a huge welcome dinner party tomorrow night for the students, so I'm really looking forward to it.  I recruited a friend to come with, whom I know from high school, who had just immigrated to the U.S. from Taiwan while we were in high school together, so at least I'll have a familiar face with me.

一個新星期

Have I mentioned recently about how it's been swelteringly hot outside for about two weeks straight? Maybe even longer... Typically high 80s, low 90s.  I have turned into such a whiny Northwesterner now, it's embarrassing.  I'm just sick of getting into an oven every time I need to drive somewhere, as well as showing up to every class sweaty as a pig.  We had a fantastic lightning/wind storm last night, so we all figured it would help it cool down outside.  All it really did was start some fires and make everyone's cars really dirty.

Andrew is back in town, so that is nice for me : ) We have been hanging out a lot this past month.  Last night he made me some delicious stir fry as we caught up after having spent a long weekend apart.  Overall a very refreshing guy to be with, AND he knows a lot about China.

I am loving my living situation here in Pullman.  I have three roommates in a large house a stone's throw from campus, so four of us altogether.  However, we are a bit of a youth hostel.  We currently have a 5th guy living with us for another few weeks, while he's finishing up his thesis for grad school, and we've had varying numbers of other guests come and go.  There is always a couch or two to bunk on, and the house is spacious enough that none of this has ever been a problem.  I feel like every time I come home, it's like hanging out with a group of friends.


一天快乐!

First week of classes

Here I am at the end of a long week of work/classes.  I definitely am going to enjoy this semester a lot.  It's like what I was saying in one of my earlier posts about how now when I'm older (well, 22), I'm able to appreciate and get a lot more out of school.  Interesting how that works.

I'm loving being in charge of employee scheduling, because I consequently get to write my own schedule too.  The downside to that is I have no one to blame but myself when I have a scheduling conflict with work, haha! One aspect of being a manager really gives me a kick.  My employees will call my cell phone at really odd times, in a panic, about a situation that really shouldn't be a big deal.

For example:
Concerned employee: "Ky! I added a new class, so I need to change my work availability! I'm so sorry, what do I do??"
Me: "Umm.. fill out a new availability form and put it in my box?" (Why are you calling me??)

I also hear a lot of "I'm sorry!" and "I promise it won't happen again," like I've got a suitcase full of wrath I'm waiting to open up around them or something.

Anyway, in other news, I've been extremely proactive with meeting professors and starting applications to study abroad programs, as well as (and more importantly) scholarships to send me abroad.  So far so good, although I'm concerned that my meager 2.83 GPA will set me back with being selected for a lot of things.  It will go up by the end of this semester (straight A's baby!), but I hope that doesn't offset my apps with the timing.  I'm still nursing my GPA back to health after the two years I spent on the crew team NOT really being a student.  You don't want to know how low it was.

Aside from that, Prof. Lupke, who is an extremely accomplished and high-esteemed Chinese professor, is one of the people I'm trying to get on my side for scholarships.  He used to be on the national board for the Boren Awards, which is one I'm applying for from the National Security Education Program.  Extremely competitive though.  Prof. Lupke was really impressed with me, however, for testing out of Chinese 102 and into 203 almost purely through self-study.  He said he couldn't remember the last time that had happened and it would be very much to my advantage when being reviewed.  That was very encouraging, and reminds me of why I am pursuing this area of study in the first place - playing to my strengths and utilizing my gift.

He also suggested that I look into the International Chinese Language Program in Taipei, Taiwan.  That is what he did during his undergrad, and it's a really spectacular immersion program.  I was a little skeptical at first, as most people probably are with Taiwan, because despite the Mandarin and similarities in culture.. it's not China.

For those of you who do not know, Taiwan used to be part of China, but seceded from mainland China after the Communist Party took over during the Chinese Civil War in 1949.  Since then, it has developed into a major economic and technological hub of Asia, and the entire island boasts some pretty beautiful scenery (from what I've seen).  Ergo, it is Chinese, but it's not China.

One major difference is that the Taiwanese don't use simplified Chinese characters like the mainland does, only traditional.  This wouldn't be a problem for me necessarily, as I've really only learned the traditional forms this far anyway, other than the differences I've picked up on my own.  For my name, for example, 孔凯, I always use the simplified characters because I think it looks cooler than the traditional 孔凱.  Hopefully that makes sense.

Upon further contemplation, Taiwan would totally be a cool choice.  I am going to study in China on my own after college regardless of whether I get to go to Harbin or Taipei or wherever for study abroad, so spending next year in Taiwan instead doesn't really change anything.  The program is a lot cheaper (I think), the climate is tropical, and I'd still be learning Mandarin.

I have more to say, but might save some for another time.  School is good, life is great.