Home Is Where Your Stomach Rests

The first thing that happens when I arrive at home in the Tri-Cities at 3 pm in the afternoon is not a round of hugs or unpacking of suitcases or hearing about my brother's latest adventures at the DMV. It's being plumped down at the dining room table and getting food shoved in my face.

Before I have even arrived home, our next door neighbor has already brought by a huge bowl of brown sticky rice. My mom has a bowl of fried rice waiting on the table and is busy throwing fruit into the blender. My dad is ladling a bowl of soup for me and my brother is asked to re-heat all the left-overs from lunch. A grandma from church stops by with some home-made red-bean pastries. Within about 5 minutes of my setting foot into the house, I am sitting at a table covered with an assortment of mismatched dishes.

Maybe it's a Chinese thing, or maybe it's because everyone back at home thinks I work too hard (har har) and am malnourished because of it. Whatever it is, their idea of a nice welcome is to stuff you silly. And I'm not complaining...

Summer Love

Um, wow. Last post = how my AI final went? I had no idea that my poor blog had been trapped in the nooks and crannies of abandoned cyberspace for this long. Guess I'm here to rescue it (again).

Notable stuff that has happened since last post:

• Somehow passed complexity/theory class.
• Submitted a paper for the first time!
• (4 months later) Got a paper rejected for the first time... :(
• Summer.

Ah, the glorious days of summer. In sunny San Diego. As a grad student. I'm honestly not sure if one can achieve a more superior combination. (Um, okay, I take it back. Anything involving the notion of "grad students" can't possibly be optimal). But a good three months of 9-hour-a-night sleep, undistracted research, and playing in the sun is pretty much paradise for me. Here are some highlights/recommendations/discoveries of the summer:

• Casual Food: Extraordinary Desserts, Yogurt World, and Sushi Deli.

• Really BIG (and good) food: Hash House a go go.

• Annual "four musketeers" reunion. Cyndi, Steeni, and Ophers came to visit [me|San Diego]; we've been best friends since elementary school and I always like to show then and now pictures (though I can't seem to find them at the moment...)

• Organ concert at Balboa Park. Really, really pretty + great musicians, though be forewarned that you will be surrounded by old people and their dogs.

• Surfing at La Jolla Shores! Though, only twice. Maybe more, once I get over my fear of either drowning or breaking my back.

• Reading. For fun. What?

• THE BEACH. Coronado, Ocean Beach, Shores. Good for: reading papers, bonfires, s'mores, and making your swim suit feel loved (especially those that never got to see the light of day in Seattle).

• Walking around Mt. Soledad, with a gorgeous view of all of La Jolla. It's twice as good if you bring a book, blanket, and sack lunch :)

• Cute coffee shops: The Living Room, Influx, and Rebecca's Coffee House.

• Camping at Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, an hour east of San Diego. Pros: Beautiful scenery, nice hiking trails, great company. Cons: HUGE, FURRY MOTHS IN THE BATHROOM THAT WANTED TO EAT ME. And having my car towed.

• Karaoke at Min Sok Chon. You get to sing your favorite 90's hits while watching dramatic korean teens agonize over their undying (and often, tragic) love. Under a disco ball. While sipping Soju.

• Shout House! Piano Bar. Only place where you will ever witness "I Like Big Butts" played (skillfully) on the piano.

• Pacific Bar & Grill in PB. Bar in the front, good sized club in the back. No gross, creepy boys on the dance floor either (yay).

• Onyx in downtown. Really awesome live, jazz music, with no cover! Jamming begins at 10 pm. The room is small though, so if you don't get there on time, you will probably be standing...

Only two more weeks left of this summer love affair. Sadness :(