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: テーブルに猫の足跡が付いている。 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: 私はこの猫の世話をしなければならない。 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: この種の猫にはしっぽがない。 The tail is absent in this type of cat. Kono shu no neko wa ni wa shippo ga nai.

http://www.bubbleshare.com/album/23305.c632b93a729

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...

On Technorati: friends, gh

Random Japanese sentence: テーブルに猫の足跡が付いている。 There are footprints of a cat on the table.