Finishing up

I finished my exams today. It is always an anti-climax I find, but it is good to finally be done.

Justine said something to me the other day which made me think, she was saying that when one has a significant other, as the relationship progresses, that person will eventually become more important than family. I wonder if this is true. I certainly hope not, because I have realized that family is everything!

Also, I find that I talk to much. I need to really hold my tongue, or it will get me into trouble one day.

The last revelation I have is that Chinese people have a lot of negative stereotypes to combat. It is quite unfortunate, but true. For example, did you know that in Kingston, Chinese people are known to be bad tippers and penny-pinchers? I went out for dinner yesterday and tipped 20% just to make sure I didn't perpetuate such a negative stereotype. The sad part however, is that I am not surprised by this stereotype, which makes me wonder how this came to be.

Any thoughts?

Jonathan is the coolest cousin ever!

...so that was really, really interesting. It is 12:33 am and I just got off the phone with my dear cousin Jonathan Chan in New York. We talked for a crazy 2 hours! It was awesome, I am not going to lie. He is so smart and was telling me about type I and type II diabetes. Just crazy! I wish he could write my exams for me.
And before I sign off, I would like to leave you all with some very wise words from the lips of Jonathan himself, and I quote [from our conversation]:

"Too much audacity isn't a good thing"

(Incredible! I didn't even know what audacity meant!)

Wanna see me dance?

I just learned that there is a video of our dance show on the web! So I would like to share it with all of you just in case you wanted to see exactly what this dance recital I speak of is all about.

Just go to the website http://www.monarchvideoproductions.ca/justdance.html
Then click "PLAY"
To watch individual dances, click scene selection. I am in two numbers. The first one is titled "Land of 1000 dances" and should be scene #10. In this dance, I am on the right wearing an orange belt. I am not too visible in this dance, although I am in the first two rows for most of it.

My second number is called, "Drum Roll please" and is dance #13. I am wearing a light blue jersey with the number 27 on it. I am in the front row, on the right for most of the first couple minutes of the dance. Can you spot me?

This link expires in a month, so make sure you watch it before then.

Enjoy...and try not to laugh!

Hummus is Yummus!

I made Hummus today! All it takes is a can of chickpeas, peanut butter, garlic and lemon juice. It is really a genius of a recipe: it tastes good and is nutritional too!

There is not much to report unfortunately. Right now I am basically studying for exams; I have three more to go. I guess the newest development is that I am working at the campus coffeehouse next year instead of the Publishing and Copy centre. It should be a good time because I will learn how to make slushies, sandwiches and specialty coffees!

Also, the China Synergy program is a go. I sent all my forms in yesterday. My summer seems to look like this: first two months in California followed by two weeks in China. Afterwards, I will then settle into Kingston to start my fourth year honour's thesis in Plant evolution. By mid-August I will be in Residence to start my Don training.

But alas...it looks like I will be missing the family reunion, which makes me very sad. Hopefully Justine and I will be able to make it down to Toronto just in time to see Auntie Edna before she goes and perhaps, if we are lucky, even Uncle Ming and his family!

PS you can post comments now- just mark yourself as an anonymous user and it should be good to go. Look forward to hearing from you:)

They liked it, they really liked it!

Wow...now there is a first! I went to my staff social tonight and it happened to be a potluck. As you all know, I am head of the Queen's Asian Cooking Club, however, this in no way implies that I can actually cook- I am trying to dabble a bit here and there, but I have had more mess-ups than successes. Anyway, I made a potato salad and it was a HUGE hit! ( special thanks go out to mom and dad who came up this weekend to take me out grocery shopping and to dinner)
I put pineapples, apples, eggs, potatoes, carrots and pears in it and it was fruit-tastic. As I was sitting at one end of the room, I could hear people say, "is that an apple? No it's a pear! wow, this thing is so full of surprises!" Now I know you are probably all thinking that this comment could be interpreted in many different ways, but for all you skeptics out there, they really said it in a good way; by the end of the night, I had given away the recipe to a couple people and all the salad was gone. Triumph!

Lesson #1: Procrastination is a bad thing

I may have two exams and a paper to write, but I thought to myself, what is the value of keeping my wonderful family informed? ...PRICELESS...
So although this may sadden my father, I am putting off work for the next couple minutes to let you know what is going on in my life.

Besides exams, I have found out more about my trip to California. It turns out that I may only be there for two months- which will enable me to go to CHINA for a program called "The China Synergy Program". It takes place every year, and Justine and I both got accepted to take part this summer:)
This may also mean that I can make it to the FAMILY REUNION!! (for at least a weekend I hope) When is it again?

Lastly, there is a biology formal this Saturday. It will be first time since my first year that I have gotten dressed up for a dinner. It promises to be a good time with dancing!