Steve deserved a break from all the hospital food, so I decided to
cook him breakfast. It always takes him a while to get up, so I walked
to Dominion and bought bacon and eggs. Trent let me into their suite
and showed me where to get all the things I needed. I discovered the
joys of having a proper crepe pan. =)
I fried bacon, prepared eggs, and toasted bread. Steve was touched
that I had prepared both sunny-side-up and scrambled eggs for him, and
kept praising my cooking. We had chai latte (well, just milk for me)
with Trent and Keri. Apparently, Trent’s quite the chai latte master.
=)
It was fun chatting with Trent and Keri as well, although some aspects
of that were just a little bit odd, like that singing in the shower
thing… <laugh> It was good having breakfast with friends,
though – it gave me something for which I should wake up early. Might
do it again sometime. Heck, might even do it tomorrow…
On Technorati: cookordie, cooking, friends
Random Japanese sentence: テーブルã«猫ã®足跡ãŒ付ã„ã¦ã„る。 There are footprints of a cat on the table. Teiboru ni neko no sokuseki tsuite iru.
That was tons of fun, and very much worth it. =) I blocked off all
evening starting from 4:30 for Brian’s birthday party, and I really
enjoyed hanging out with him and his other friends.
We ate at a fancy steakhouse. I didn’t go for a full steak, opting
instead for a delicious chicken dish that made a light dinner. (Wise
choice, as I’d been eating all afternoon!) After dinner, we had
another party in Brian’s suite. We played Apples to Apples, a
hilarious party game of strange comparisons. I got to meet a few new
people, too. I took plenty of pictures which I promise I’ll edit and
upload by Wednesday, after my next major requirement is done.
Spending $20 on a single dinner is quite odd for me because I
sometimes think in terms of my starving-grad-student budget, but I
felt it was very much worth it. They’re a great bunch of people. If
it’s all right with my parents, I try to think of it as making the
most of the opportunities I have here to get to know people well. I
feel somewhat guilty about the fact that I’m not scrimping and trying
to stick to a strict budget. I hope it’s like taking the first circus.
I won’t be extravagant – eating out all the time or buying expensive
things – but I _do_ like the company of friends, and I’ll spend for
that and for experiences. =)
A lot of fun was had by all, and a lot of good conversation too.
On Technorati: friends
Random Japanese sentence: ç§Âã¯ã“ã®猫ã®世話をã—ãªã‘れã°ãªらãªã„。 I have to look after this cat. Watashi wa kono neko no sewa o shinakereba naranai.
Come to think of it, my social life really is very different from,
say, what I’d gotten used to in high school. I used to be part of one
or two clearly identifiable groups, but now I’m a part of all these
different groups and dyads. I’m a lot better at introducing myself
based on something completely random, too.
And yes, I’ve actually said that talking to people is fun. I love
establishing some kind of common ground with people, appreciating
their differences and the insight I gain from their perspective. I
look forward to cooking for friends, meeting people for lunch or
dinner, running into random strangers in the piano room, and chatting
with people over billiards or table tennis. I also love keeping in
touch with my friends and family back home. I miss them, too! =)
As long as I don’t forget to pay attention to my own life, it should
be fine. <laugh>
On Technorati: personality
Random Japanese sentence: ã“ã®種ã®猫ã«ã¯ã—ã£ã½ãÂ΋ªã„。 The tail is absent in this type of cat. Kono shu no neko wa ni wa shippo ga nai.
Anthony and I went to a Korean restaurant. We had slices of beef
cooked at the table. It was a great dinner. We had a lot of fun
chatting about Japan and other places. I’m really glad that my parents
took us on trips and that I had all these opportunities to travel.
Those stories make it much easier for me to connect with people. =)
I can explain my research to other academics easily. All I have to do
is talk about collaborative bibliographies and they immediately
understand why social computing is just _so_ cool. Talking about my
research made me understand it a bit more, too.
At coffee time, I ended up talking about Toastmasters with Brian, the
pilot taking up biblical archaeology. Yeow Tong, Brian and I chatted
about teaching, presentations, and other things about academic life.
I’ve figured something out. If I’m going to eat out, I might as well
eat out somewhere nice, having something I can’t easily prepare
myself. It doesn’t have to be extravagant, but a little bit of
atmosphere and style would be good. Dinner today was much more of an
experience than grabbing pizza somewhere. =)
That said, I’m still looking forward to learning how to prepare
fancier meals…
Random Japanese sentence: テーブルã«猫ã®足跡ãŒ付ã„ã¦ã„る。 There are footprints of a cat on the table.