Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Christmas Eve dinner in the Chen household was done in true Asian fashion as we set up the table for a hot pot! There were two types of beef, two types of mushrooms, shrimp, lettuce, watercress, dumplings, meatballs, and noodles all dipped into a boiling pot of broth to be cooked to one's own preference. And each person made their own dipping sauce - mine was soy sauce, sesame oil, peanut butter and scallions. Delicious! Now I'm so full, sitting on the couch curled up in a warm blanket with my computer on my lap, watching National Treasure for the millionth time with the family. We know how to do Christmas Eve right.

Come On Eileen

Just chilling back at home after going to a pretty standard, non exciting Asian Christmas Party. It was the typical loud parents yelling and laughing in the living room, making plans for the next Asian Invasion summer trip to somewhere exotic and fun while the "kids" sat in the family room mostly bored out of their minds, chomping away at the plethora of food surrounding them. We paroosed YouTube, played cards, watched random TV shows, put up with parents' inquiries as to our studies and future plans, crowded around the one laptop someone smartly brought along, drank some (very) lightly alcoholic punch, and generally chit-chatted. Typical, boring, but filling. And thus begins the three day Asian Christmas Party delight. Somehow, Asians decided that Christmas is really about having large parties where it is much more fun for the parents than the kids and standard Chinese fare is served, but in festive snowman platters so it's holiday friendly. Sigh. In other news, I think I actually did fairly well this semester grades wise, so thank you Brandeis for that great Christmas present as grades are posted Christmas Eve.

How Far We've Come

It's an odd feeling to go from having everything to do to having absolutely nothing to do. Now that finals are finally over (thank god), I'm back at home lazing around, waking up as the sun goes down and having a plethora of TV shows, movies, and real TV to look forward too. Not to mention the yummy home cooked food and the amazing fluffiness of my own bed. It's a bit disoriented as I have no idea what to do anymore - the past few days have been so structured around my study schedule: get up at a certain time, study, maybe eat lunch, or if I'm behind just grab a snack on the way to the SCC and study for 6 more hours, then take a break for dinner, then studying until I can't function anymore. Now, I just have so much free time in front of me I hardly know what to do.

And the semester is actually over! Three semesters down, five to go. I'm almost halfway through my college career and everything is going entirely too fast. This past semester especially, I still remember...
- spending way too much awkward time on Wellington
- party hopping and walking up and down South Street
- bumping into old friends who became new friends
- finding the unexpected
- waking up on couches
- bootfacing it everywhere
- almost skinny dipping in the reservoir
- failed bonfires
- procrastinating suite charades
- playing Rock Band instead of going to the gym
- endless waiting for the BranVan
- avoiding douche #1, douche #2, and boring douche
- losing IDs all over the place
- watching the stars by the water and laughing on the playground,
- taking the pumpkin
- the unhealthiest days of my life as I struggled to write a midterm
- going on an adventure in the woods
- how I can't do bird calls for my life
- stalking pictures of sleeping people
- elaborate plans to hide from certain people
- PACHANGA (mostly...)
- ripping down posters all over the place
- teaching Snow White how to walk in heels
- practically living in Einstein's and off of Einstein's coffee
- the feeling of the ground being pulled from under me
- the way that Ziv looks like Legos
- late night studying insanity

And so much more! I've absolutely loved this semester, through the good and the bad times, the fun times and the not so fun times, the freebie weeks and the hell weeks, the late night partying and the late night studying, the laughing and the crying, the warm fall days and the frigid winter nights. My life was filled with so many good times with some of the best people. Now, I just get to reflect as I sit at home with my dog, watching an episode of the Sing Off (these people are crazy good!). I'm so glad to have this break from school, but I really can't wait for next semester!

In the meantime, to do over break:
- start/finish applications for research positions over the summer
- finish Mad Men season 2 (and maybe 3)
- learn how to play the saxophone again (it's been two years! major sadface)
- do something meaningful with DNA at the Weidaas lab
- figure out my schedule for next year
- SHOP!
- make sure Calcifer makes it to spring semester
- general shenanigans around Madtown

Rules & Regulations

Mer. Oh the tired, stressed, finals induced insanity I have acquired. My productivity is at an all time low, when I really need to focus and study the shit out of everything so I can tip those borderline grades in my favor. I haven't blogged in a while, and that's mostly due to the large amount of studying (or rather the large amount of procrastinating) I've done over the past couple of days. I thought I would have PLENTY of time to study for my exams as I've had an entire week since classes ended, but looking back, I've squandered most of my precious study days. Realizing that, I've been staying up until 5 am trying to cram in all the missed studying, causing me to wake up at 1 in the afternoon the following day, thus shortening my day and causing the cycle to repeat. I've lost the ability to think of anything witty, interesting, or of that nature to write about. All I can think about is the amount of work I have to do and the fact that there is still a surprising amount of people in the library at 5 am. My stress level has gotten to the point where almost everyone is annoying the hell out of me, but I remain calm in other aspects of life. Odd.

Accomplished:
- 4 chapters of biology reading = 11 hours
- 8 pages of bullshit for biomedical ethics final = 7.5 hours

Incomplete:
- making bio flash cards
- reviewing all of the biology notes from the semester
- actually understanding 5 chapters of physics
- making an orgo review sheet
- taking orgo practice exams and reviewing

At least I have the Great Caesar online concert to look forward to tomorrow night...rather tonight.

California Dreaming

My day in a nutshell:

12 hours of sleep. Bones. Grey's Anatomy. Top Gear. Figuring out what color Cinderella's dress was and then finding the appropriate crayon. Getting chased by the po'. Dinner. The Hangover. Our one shot over a nice conversation. Where are our waffle fries?! Hello drunk people. Nice scarf. Awkwardly listening to stories. Miserable walk back. Rant. Doubt. Blog. Sleep.