The simple question, “what’s your favorite animal?” puts me in a dilemma. I should be answering “rabbit,” my spirit animal, but I adore dogs more than anything else.
D for Dogs: being a dogless dog lover
C for Cal: collegiate commentary from a recent Cal grad
It’s weird not being a student anymore. I’ve been attending one commencement reception or ceremony a day, trying to hold on to the nostalgia of being an undergrad.
Many people have asked how I feel about graduation, and I’ve managed to summarize most of my feelings in this farewell graduation column for the Daily Californian. While it’s ultimately a triumphant story, the 900-word limit forced me to condense my thoughts.
Here are some aspects of life at Cal that I want to explore further:
B for Books: my biggest weakness and strength
My mom likes to joke sometimes that books are bad for my health. For example, they ruin my eyesight because I can’t help reading them even in poor lighting. Or I stunted my growth because these bookish thoughts took up too much of my mental energy. Worst of all, I lose sleep at night when I become too engrossed in a book.
My mom also encourages me to check books out from the library before buying them. But as soon as I arrived at Berkeley and encountered cheap, second-hand bookstores, her advice went out the window. I bought every book that looked remotely interesting to me.
A for Airplanes: a foreign yet familiar world
This post is part of the Alphabet Project, where I write a post for each letter of the alphabet. It was inspired by Ash Huang’s Alphabet Meditations.
I have always loved traveling by airplane. I like seeing planes lined up in a row, decked out in their airline colors, with heads like bottlenose dolphins and massive wings like wandering albatrosses. Once I’m in the belly of one of those giant beasts, I gaze outside the window as it calmly glides over the tarmac, then whirs to life. It gathers speed. Suddenly, we’re flying above civilization.
There’s a unique culture associated with the airline industry. There’s nothing quite like packing everything you need into a small case, falling asleep in a metal container traveling at 500+ miles per hour at a dizzying altitude, and waking up to find yourself in a foreign part of the world. I’m so familiar with airports and airlines now that I’ve come to take for granted all that I learn in the process.
I wrote a program
Last semester, a question suddenly occurred to me: “what were my top five favorite classes at Berkeley?” At the time, I was learning about sorting algorithms through Josh Hug’s fascinating online lectures. For some reason, I was especially mesmerized by the shell sort.
Encounters with catcallers abroad
Visiting France and Italy as an Asian American woman was a frustrating experience, not just because I got my passport stolen mid-trip. As I walked through Paris and Florence with two other female Asian friends, we attracted comments from a slew of men.
For example, a man riding his bicycle behind us on a sidewalk in Paris called out, “ni hao!” A topless man across the street from us in Florence smugly shouted, “CHING CHONG CHING CHONG!” and bowed at us.
After living through two decades in the Bay Area and two peaceful months studying abroad in Ireland, I was jarred by this onslaught of street harassment. After I noticed that only men were yelling at us, I realized that their taunts were a variation of catcalling. My analysis made sense, given that catcalling is so prevalent in France and Italy.
Netflix and blogging: TV shows I’ve watched
Whether I’m meeting someone new or catching up with an old friend, one subject always comes up in the conversation: what TV shows have I watched? It’s been difficult for me to remember all of them, so here’s a list of shows I’ve enjoyed or are currently enjoying:
(Disclaimer: wow, it sure looks like I watch way too much TV. I promise I do work sometimes.)
𤠣年的禮物 Lessons from the Year of the Monkey
今年中國新年的前一天，我一整天在沙發上睡覺，看電視。我不應該在家偷懶的，因為有太多學校的事情要處理。但是我真的沒辦法做任何事，因為我那一天感冒發燒。
I spent this year’s Chinese New Year Eve sleeping and watching TV. With all the schoolwork I had to finish, I shouldn’t have been lounging at home. But I wasn’t able to do anything productive, thanks to my fever.
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Two viewings of Star Wars: The Force Awakens
I usually don’t write about movies, but I’ve been discussing Star Wars so much with family and friends that I might as well write down all my thoughts. A few days before I watched The Force Awakens, I re-watched the first six movies in machete order (which leaves out The Phantom Menace, so I really only watched the first five movies).
I watched The Force Awakens in theaters twice, so I’ll be placing my comments for each scene side by side.
I’m publishing this pretty late, but as a courtesy, there will be spoilers. Enjoy!
My chosen wall calendar 2016: Wicked
Every year, I carefully choose a new wall calendar that represents who I am or who I want to be. Here’s how I made my choice for 2016:
Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz was the first Broadway musical that I remember watching live, and even sitting in a seat with an obstructed view did nothing to dampen the thrill of the show. I got goosebumps every time Elphaba’s voice soared high, or whenever the whole cast sang together. I bought the overpriced soundtrack CD, memorized all the lyrics, and delighted in spotting all the clever wordplay. Later, I found the soundtrack score and played the songs on the piano. I was obsessed.
That was six years, a lifetime, ago. In the meantime, I’d forgotten about my passion for Wicked. The last time I remember singing “The Wizard and I” was freshman year in the dorm shower stall.
So when I saw the Wicked 2016 calendar sitting on the shelf at the Valley Fair Mall, I felt like I had neglected a long lost friend. It was guilt that prompted me to buy the calendar, even though it wasn’t the prettiest I’d ever seen.
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Oops, I'm a rabbit 