A Simple Story

GO BIG RED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

0 comments Posted by D. at 3/25/2010

It's not often that people care about Cornell sports teams in anything other than hockey (which itself isn't that big outside the northeast in the first place), Ivy League schools not exactly known for their athletic prowess. Cornell the university doesn't get much media exposure either, people go flocking to Harvard for quotes and expert opinions. So it's been a little strange seeing a different article on the basketball team on the NY Times every day this week. A former starter for Kentucky now on the Cornell bench (here). The "old, ramshackle" house that a bunch of the guys on the team live in (here) (and I know exactly how ramshackle houses in Ithaca get). A reporter signed off "From Ithaca, New York ...", words I honestly don't think I've ever heard spoken in that context before (here). It's also on ESPN, Business Week, Washington Post, numerous blogs, countless local newspapers ... and I'm not talking about recycled AP or Reuters articles either.

Needless to say, I'm covered head to toe in multiple layers of Cornell gear (yes, I am wearing three pairs of pants). Hope they win tonight's game, but either way they've come very far and have already won everyone's respect.

March Update

0 comments Posted by D. at 3/22/2010

I recently got back from Portugal, where I went for spring break. We spent a couple of days in Lisbon then rented a car and visited some smaller towns (Sintra, Cascais, Setúbal, Tomar, Coimbra), and were in Porto the rest of the time.

Porto (view from Vila Nova de Gaia across the river)

Palácio da Pena in Sintra

Some of the architecture and the Moorish-inspired mosaic walls were very pretty. Unfortunately the non-historical parts of country seem to be in some state of disrepair. There was graffiti everywhere in the cities and apparently no effort to clean it up.

As for the food, Portuguese cuisine is known for bacalhau = salted cod. I was salted cod-ed out by the second day. I also learned the hard way to not order the açorda = mushy bread.

Bacalhau à Brás

On a brighter note, we went on a hike in Peneda-Gerês National Park which was beautiful. The person at the tourism office recommended that we go on this "moderate" 10km (6mi) trail, the Trilho dos Currais. It turned out to also have a 3000ft elevation gain on rugged terrain. Got to the top and rewarded myself with a pack of Haribo gummy bears, canceling out whatever number of calories I might have burned.

the view from the top

Before Portugal, I unexpectedly had to go to Hong Kong for a week. I had to fly back from Hong Kong to Vancouver to New York to Boston then to Madrid to Lisbon all in 40 hours. The tally of airports that I have flown/will fly to/from/through in 2010, up until September:

HKG-JFK-BOS-JFK-HKG-YVR-JFK-BOS-MAD-LIS-LHR-BOS-JFK-YVR-JFK-BOS-JFK-YVR-JFK-BOS-JFK-YYZ-GLA-OSL-BER-HKG

A lot for me, considering what I do doesn't involve much (or any) traveling. The lesson from this list clearly is to live in a major city with direct flights going to it.

On the knitting front, I'm currently working on a pair of socks (pattern: Rockyview Socks) for my grandma. She wanted something green so I got BMFA sock yarn in a colorway called County Clare (which I would love to visit one day). The yarn is self-striping, and this particular skein curiously is giving me radioactive green stripes.

Also finally blocked a shawl (pattern: Dane Shaw) that I had finished weeks ago. I knitted this in Malabrigo Sock in the Archangel colorway, the yarn is soft and the colors are gorgeous.

Quatchi watching the shawl block

For now I'm back at school in Boston, with only a month to go before my final set of exams (ever! not counting the bar exam) so must buckle down. I'll be going on a hike in Mount Monadnock State Park in New Hampshire next week, maybe after that I'll be able to post some Quatchi-in-the-woods pics :)

Work Life Balance

0 comments Posted by S. at 3/10/2010

I almost feel like that's non existent. Last night was the second time I missed dinner with the same friend within a span of one week because I just couldn't leave work.

It's so frustrating that you have no control over your life because of something that doesn't really benefit human kind in any way.

I hate that I've been conditioned to think that at our age, we need to work like a slave to get as much experience as you can so that in the "future" you can benefit from it and be successful, rich, or what not. But when does that "future" actually start? When do you start not working like a slave just for the sake of learning and actually work because you want to make as much money with as little effort possible and not having to take into account what "great learning experiences" you're getting from it. I'd like to know when that future starts so that I can start kicking myself for getting home at 1am from work instead of trying to think "how great it is that I get staffed on so many projects that sleep isn't even an option"

Sorry this one is a little bit negative. I'll try to write about something upbeat soon. Hopefully this weekend when the weather finally turns warm and the sun is out to play.

First there was Moose In A Can ...

0 comments Posted by D. at 3/01/2010

Now there's Quatch In A Box! :)

Sasquatchis

0 comments Posted by D. at 2/22/2010

My newest obsession: Quatchi the sasquatch, Vancouver 2010 Olympics mascot. For one reason or another, I'm going to have a small, medium, and large Quatchi, plus a pair of Quatchi slippers, coming in the mail (yes, excessive).

the official Quatchi

my brother's and mine

So there seems to be something a little off about each Quatchi, even tho they're mass produced. My brother doesn't like how his Quatchi's nose is higher than his eyes, which I admit does look a little weird. He says mine has a strangely long left leg.

I did a search on flickr and apparently there are many ppl who bring him around town and pose him in pictures. Can't wait til the small one arrives (he's more portable), there just might be a litany of Quatchi travel pics appearing here soon after.