I haven't done much in the past few days. We had guests from China over for the past few days so I've been mainly helping my mom entertain them. Otherwise, I've been reading Khrushchev's Memoirs, reading Chinese, and learning Chinese. I've gotten into a habit of stalking the sunshine in my house. Wherever the sun seems to shine the most, usually downstairs, I take my book and follow it. So day I spent an hour sitting on the staircase and then moved later to the floor right in front of the television in order to stay in the sun. I really love the feeling of the sun on my skin. I never appreciated it before.

I saw "Slumdog Millionaire" with my mom the other night. She's gotten into a habit of holding me hostage with guilt trips lately in order to get me to spend time with her. Sigh. But yes, excellent film! The only problem was.. I saw it with my mom, who spent the entire time prodding me every five seconds and saying, "Oh my goodness! HOW many people are there in India?" or "Oh my god! There's SO many people in India!" Thank goodness there were other five other people in the theatre since it was a Monday night, but seriously, someone who comes from the most populated country in the earth should really not be making comments about how another seriously overpopulated country should use birth control, especially during a movie that I was enjoying. And then, at the climactic moment, when Jamal and Latika finally reunite and are about to kiss, right when I was overwhelmed by emotion and wanted to cry out of joy and was experiencing my catharsis, my mom hit me and asked, "DID HE WIN THE MONEY?!?!!""

OY! So typical of my mother. Only cares about money.

My dad and I had Subway tonight. Right after we ordered our sandwiches, the line got really long and went by really slowly because the guy immediately after us ordered four foot-long sandwiches. As we sat there in line, all the people in the line, from the pregnant, middle-aged Filipino lady with heavy-set lines across her face, to the blonde woman in her mid-40s, they were all really agitated and impatient, hurrying to get to their next destination. Yet the last two in line, a young Filipino couple who, deducing from their lanyard, went to Cal State Fullerton, were completely oblivious to any impatience and were completely content to while away their time in line. Yet this was only the case because they were together. The girl was about a foot and a half shorter than the guy, so every time they kissed, and there were many of these times, the guy had to duck down a lot. They were either hugging or kissing the entire time, and they started dancing to the song on the radio. At one point, they were waltzing and giggling, and the guy said, "I can't dance!" and the girl slapped him on the stomach. His reaction was to pull her arm up as if about to twirl her, but instead lean down to kiss her. It was both adorable and disgusting.

Continuing with the love theme... I just saw on Facebook that Keith got engaged!! YAY!! Keith is a guy who lives upstairs at Amherst. Pretty nice guy from Missouri that Shannon and I talk to from time to time. We were talking to her a couple months ago in Val one day and we asked him how his girlfriend (from back home) was doing and he was telling us about her. Shannon asked, "Where do you see the relationship going? Like how far?"
And he said, "Let's put it this way. If it weren't for me coming here, I would have already asked her to marry me."
And apparently he just did!!
Cute as it is, Shannon and I were shocked. I mean, good for them that they are already so certain that they want to be together for the rest of their lives, but even if I had decided that, I wouldn't want to get married at 18 no matter what. I just wouldn't feel ready or even be able to grasp the concept of it. So many things still seem foreign and far away to me, jars stocked up in the highest shelves labeled "adult" that I am still too young to reach and open. I wonder when I'll stop feeling like a child and begin feeling like an adult. I don't doubt my maturity level or my ability to deal with things, but it's just that feeling that I still have of being a child, of still being allowed to be irresponsible, of being protected, and of being under a parent's authority.