I've been converted into a Decemberists lover. Yay for Jaclyn, Brian, Camille, and Ethan! They gave me their newest album, which was written to be a musical, and it was love at first.. hearing. So you all should listen to "Hazards of Love" by the Decemberists too!

I have an econ midterm tonight at 7:30. Boo! The past two days have been absolutely gorgeous.. full of sunshine and almost in the 60s!! We all just went outside, laid down and read (and dozed off) for the whole afternoon. Friday was a great day. My French lit professor took us to Schwemm's (our on-campus cafe) and treated us before having the class in the informal atmosphere of the cafe. It was pretty awesome, especially since it was already my favourite class. I then received a hilarious birthday card from Elsa, which just made everything more lovely. At lunch, I sat with Shannon until everyone else came and then departed for Spanish Table (something they all decided to shun me for). Blanca poked me the whole time, and then every time I tried to poke her back, she would wag her finger at me and say, "Respect your elders!" in Spanish. Grr. I will get her back.

After lunch, we all just laid outside. I had my copy of "The Beast Within" by Zola and read it feverishly, needing to know what happens next yet despairing of the certain doom that was to come. Ethan, Brian, Greg, and Camille were also all lounging by lazily, and Blanca dropped by around 4, an hour before her bus for Boston left. She took Brian's place in playing catch with Simon and Ethan, and she was really excited to be playing catch for the first time, but I felt really bad because the ball ended up hitting her in the face and her lip bled all over the place. Luckily, Shannon got back from the gym right in time and we all walked back and got ice for her so it didn't swell.

That night, we all went to go see Jaclyn in "Evita." It wasn't the best production I've ever seen, but it was still good. They had serious microphone problems though, which was saddening because the girl playing Evita was so good, but hard to hear at times. I really liked the guy who played Che, and seeing Jaclyn was awesome, of course.

Yesterday was... SHANNON'S BIRTHDAY!!! YAYY!! She spent it in Boston though with Andrew Kelly and Ben Lin, watching the Villanova-Pitt NCAA game. In celebration without her last night, Camille, Brian, Keith, and I went to Starbucks for free coffee during Earth hour, and then Brian and Camille decided to do instrument swap, where Camille taught Brian how to play flute, and Brian taught her how to play guitar. My poor ears... Haha actually Brian wasn't so bad. We also figured out the notes for one of the Decemberists songs and I sang while Camille accompanied on flute, which was fun.

Around 1:30 am though, Trevor texted me and asked me if I could go give him a hug. Naturally, I went up to the third floor, only to find an extremely drunk Rose and then further down the hallway, Trevor laying on the couch covered with blankets. I thought he was sick at first, which might have been better. It was so sad though... he was in tears and kept shaking. Apparently, Rose had gotten really drunk in the woods and then cussed at him the whole way back while he was trying to help her back. :( It was really saddening... I ended up making him ramen and then sitting with him until he fell asleep. I hope he's okay...

Shannon came back earlier today and I finally gave her her birthday present! I got her a framed picture of her and me dressed up as Pepper and Salt, respectively, a stuffed animal penguin (because she hates Danny) whom Camille and I named Plato, a card that sings "Bet On It," a cute magnet of "Salt and Pepper," and I drew her a vampire (another inside joke). :D Camille also got her a pin that said, "The penguin made me do it." Plato is now wearing it. :D

I'm currently up playing Scrabble when I really should be in bed. Spring break has flown by, though I really haven't done anything spectacular, which isn't necessarily a problem.. just quiet days relaxing with friends. It's mostly been me, Brian, and Jaclyn, with Keith and Jorge sprinkled intermittently between. Simon got back yesterday, which has injected testosterone back into Brian's life... i.e. they've been playing video games and hallway baseball again... sigh.

But basically, our days are spent cooking in Newport, which has been really awesome, actually. I've managed to cook several meals without hurting myself or anyone else, or even burning anything!! (This has been due to help from Brian.. who wants to be Chef Extraordinaire..) but yes! It was AWESOME making my favourite Chinese food from home, even though it wasn't as good as what my mom makes. Brian has also been cooking lots.. and has shown that he knows a lot more about it than I do. I also had my first Dunkin Donuts excursion, which has led to an unhealthy addiction to donuts. (Their iced coffee is also amazing, by the way.) We also have been spending way too much money eating around town since the College has decided not to feed us. We went to have pho the other day because Jaclyn was feeling homesick, and I don't know if it's because I've missed Asian food or the restaurant really is that amazing, but it was so great! I'm not opposed to pho once in a while, but I certainly don't crave it, but their pho was great! We also found this sketchy little diner that was actually really good and REALLY CHEAP (two dollars for eggs and toast.. their most expensive thing on the menu is fish and chips at $6.50!). I also played tennis for the first time yesterday, which was an interesting experience. Jaclyn used to take tennis lessons but is extremely un-athletic these days, and Brian just likes to hit it really high. At one point, he hit it so high it flew over the fence and almost hit the police car driving by. :)

I'm too tired to blog more. So I am going to do an inane survey to pass the time while waiting for these people to figure out what they're putting down for Scrabble. I'm actually stealing one from earlier in my blog... one that I did over three years ago. It's fascinating to see how different my answers are and how much I've changed.

1. ONE OF YOUR SCARS, HOW DID YOU GET IT?
There's a faint scar on my face that I swear only my dad can see (and I think he imagines it) that happened when I ran into a wall... yeah.. only I would do that.

2. WHAT IS ON THE WALLS IN YOUR ROOM?
In my dorm room...
Wall 1: a beautiful poster of Paris, my Liverpool scarf
Wall 2: Liverpool jersey, Germany jersey, "Water Lilies," postcards of Paris
Wall 3: Rent poster, Broadway display/picture thing
Next to my bed, I also have a postcard of Cambridge, Paris, and the photo of Wall-E Connie gave me
Above my desk, I have all the postcards Kathleen and Andy have sent me, and also some other pretty postcards from Paris and England.

3. WHAT DOES YOUR CELL PHONE LOOK LIKE?
My beautiful, tiny red Juke that everyone thinks is a switchblade!

4. WHAT MUSIC DO YOU LISTEN TO?
Current song is "With a Little Help From My Friends" from "Across the Universe." But the music lately is mostly Gregory Lemarchal, Dashboard Confessional/other alternative songs, musicals, particularly "Spring Awakening," and other French music.

5. DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME YOU WERE BORN?
3:07 AM

6. WHAT DO YOU WANT MORE THAN ANYTHING RIGHT NOW?
Sleep. Haha and to be in Europe.

7. WHO DO YOU MISS?
Lots of people actually. I was just thinking about how much I miss Troy. I definitely miss Shayne a lot, as well as Kathleen and Matthew. And of course, Jen, Vicki, Alison, Kristina, and all the rest. I miss my friends.

8. WHAT IS YOUR MOST PRIZED POSSESSION/S?
Umm... most expensive would be this MacBook, but I'm very attached to photos and other very memorable gifts from people, such as the Imladris drawing Kathleen made me, the Gerrard jersey, etc.

9. WHAT IS YOUR ZODIAC SIGN?
Aries

10. DO YOU GET CLAUSTROPHOBIC?
Not particularly...

11. DO YOU GET SCARED IN THE DARK?
Yes. Especially after watching "No Country for Old Men." I'm not always scared of the dark, but my imagination sometimes gets the best of me.

12. THE LAST PERSON TO MAKE YOU CRY?
Probably Brian, but not like... directly. It was probably I was feeling sad and he made me tell him about it.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOGNE / PERFUME?
I prefer lotion, and that would be black raspberry vanilla.

14. WHAT KIND OF HAIR/EYE COLOR DO YOU LIKE ON THE OPPOSITE SEX?
Dark hair and hazel eyes, if we must ask this question.

15. WHERE CAN YOU SEE YOURSELF BEING PROPOSED TO?
Hahaha... umm... Europe? I don't know.

16. COFFEE OR ENERGY DRINK?
Coffee!! Energy drinks are gross!

17. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PIZZA TOPPING?
Pepperoni and nothing else!

18. IF YOU CAN EAT ANYTHING RIGHT NOW, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
I actually really want a java chip frappuchino right now. Yumm...

19. WHO IS THE LAST PERSON YOU MADE MAD?
I'm not sure actually.

21. WHAT WAS THE FIRST GIFT SOMEONE EVER GAVE YOU?
Dotty, the world's BEST TEDDY BEAR! (I'm going to keep this answer from two years ago.)

22. DO YOU LIKE ANYBODY?
All of you!! And Brian, especially. <3

23. ARE YOU DOUBLE JOINTED?
I don't think so.. because I think that would entail flexibility, and that is the opposite of me.

24. FAVORITE CLOTHING BRAND?
Umm... I don't really have one??

25. DO YOU SMOKE?
Non!

26. DO YOU HAVE A PET RIGHT NOW?
No, though I am a babysitting six fish currently!

27. WHAT KIND IS IT?
See above.

28. WOULD YOU FALL IN LOVE KNOWING THAT THE PERSON IS LEAVING?
Yes. It would probably make it even more romantic in my misguided mind, like something out of a tragic novel.

29. WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO TELL SOMEONE HOW MUCH THEY MEAN TO YOU?
Going out of your way to do something for them.

30. SAY A NUMBER FROM ONE TO A HUNDRED:
14.

31. BLONDES OR BRUNETTES?
Brunettes

32. WHAT IS THE ONE NUMBER YOU CALL OFTEN?
Haha my daddy! :)

33. WHAT ANNOYS YOU MOST?
Rude people.

34. HAVE YOU BEEN OUT OF THE USA?
Yup. China, England, Ireland, Wales, France, Canada, Japan. :D And more, hopefully!

35. YOUR WEAKNESSES:
Many. I seek attention.

37. FIRST JOB?
None yet. Hopefully this summer?

38. EVER DONE A PRANK CALL?
Haha not since the 7th grade or something.

40. IF YOU COULD GET PLASTIC SURGERY WHAT WOULD IT BE?
NEVER!! I am fundamentally opposed to plastic surgery for superficial purposes.

41. WHY DID YOU FILL OUT THIS SURVEY?
To pass the time while playing Scrabble

42. WHAT DO YOU GET COMPLIMENTED ABOUT MOST?
Umm... probably my work ethic.

43. WHAT WOULD YOU DO/SAY IF ALCOHOL BECAME ILLEGAL?
I would start a rant about the history of Prohibition. :)

44. WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY?
"Milk" and "Miss Congeniality"

45. HOW MANY KIDS DO YOU WANT?
0 or 2.. I might be talked into three.

46. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
My great-grandmother (my Chinese name)

47. DO YOU WISH ON STARS?
Yup, yup, yup!

48. WHAT DID YOU DO THIS MORNING?
Helped Brian cook at Newport.

49. WHAT DID YOU EAT LAST?
A chocolate donut!

50. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
Yes. A lot, actually.

51. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Ham.

52. ANY BAD HABITS?
A lot. I'm too tired to think of them right now.

53. WHAT IS YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING CD ON THE SHELF?
I am very proud of my Backstreet Boys collection, thank you very much. Probably Aaron Carter and Dream Street. :D

54. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
I don't think I'm that bad of a friend!

55. HAVE YOU EVER TOLD A SECRET YOU SWORE NOT TO TELL?
Who hasn't?

56. DO LOOKS MATTER?
Yes, unfortunately.

57. HOW DO YOU RELEASE ANGER?
Talking about it to someone really helps me.

58. WHERE IS YOUR SECOND HOME?
Amherst? Haha other than that, Kathleen's house!

59. WTF?
Um.. I'm sorry?

60. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TOY AS A CHILD?
I played with little miniature wood ornaments. I made a village, talked to them, and plotted out their lives. I then wrote my Amherst admissions essay about it, and look where I am now! :)

61. HOW MANY NUMBERS ARE IN YOUR CELL PHONE?
I actually have no idea.

63. DO YOU USE SARCASM?
Of course not! :P

64. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN A MOSH PIT?
No!

65. WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A GUY/GIRL?
Sense of humour, sincerity, other things that I can't think of at 2 am.

66. WHAT ARE YOUR NICKNAMES?
Isilme, Lainey, Slimey, Creeper (NOT TRUE!!), Friday,

70. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR?
Pistachio almond, chocolate, and mint chip.

72. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE COLOR(S)?
Light blue, white, red.

73. WHO/WHAT DO YOU MISS MOST RIGHT NOW?
Shayne.

74. HOW MANY WISDOM TEETH DO YOU HAVE?
I don't actually know what's going on with my wisdom teeth... as in, if they're supposed to come in, if I'm supposed to have them removed, etc...

75. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS?
No! Don't waste your life like me!

76.WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO?
Now... "Mon Ange"--Gregory Lemarchal <3

77. LAST THING YOU DRANK?
Milk (with my chocolate donut!)

78. LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
My daddy!

79. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE IN THE OPPOSITE SEX?
Smile

81. FAVORITE THING TO HATE?
Stupid boys

82. FAVORITE DRINK(S)?
Java chip frappuchino! Canada Dry! Orange juice.

83. FAVORITE ZODIAC SIGN(S):
Umm... why is this even a question..

84. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SPORT?
FOOTBALL!!!! (The real kind, of course) and ice dancing and gymnastics and basketball :D

85. WHAT IS YOUR HAIR COLOR?
Black.

86. EYE COLOR?
Dark brown.

87. HEIGHT?
5"8

88. FAVORITE ANIMAL?
Penguins!!

89. FAVORITE MONTH(s)?
March, December

90. YOU LIKE SUSHI?
YES! I WANT SUSHI SO BADLY!! *sniff*

91. LAST THING YOU WATCHED?
"Madame Bovary" for my French Lit class.

92. FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR?
March 22! :)

93. ARE YOU TOO SHY TO ASK SOMEONE OUT?
Probably...

94. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Summer.

95. KISSES OR HUGS?
Both. probably hugs.

96. RELATIONSHIPS OR ONE NIGHT STANDS?
Relationships!

97. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU BOUGHT?
Pizza for dinner.

98. WHO IS THE LEAST LIKELY TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS?
...

99.WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING?
I just finished "Madame Bovary," which I absolutely adored. I'm also reading "Tiempo de Silencio" for class and I'm reading "The Hobbit." :D

100. ANYONE IN LOVE WITH YOU?
I hope so. <3

Good night!

It's spring break!!!! The first day went by really well. I was kind of afraid we would end up with absolutely nothing to do and I would waste my life in boredom, but first day was great! We woke up early, around 8:30 (ew) to see Camille off. Going to Florida to celebrate grandma's birthday... fun! Jaclyn, Brian, and I then walked for about 20 minutes in the brisk morning air to the closest grocery store to stock up for this week of fending for ourselves without Val. We have yet to see how that's going to go. It's amazing how much time in the day you have when you actually GET UP early in the morning.. as in.. not at 12. I almost feel like I want to do it more often!
When we finally got to the grocery store, Big Y (I have no idea that existed), it took us forever to go up and down all the aisles and make up our minds what was not out of our price range. Yay for cheap, Asian college students!! I'm excited. We're planning on using the kitchen in Newport (where I'm living next year!) to cook, so if all turns out well and I don't destroy the college with my flames, I'll one, have accomplished something by cooking, and two, by EATING HOMEMADE CHINESE FOOD!!

We then walked with all our groceries to Route 9 diner, where I also went to with Tim, Greg, and Shannon Thursday night. I was planning on showering and changing into my PJs around 10:30 when Shannon came out into the nook with my phone, telling me I had a strange phone call. Half expecting my mother, I hear this rather demonic sounding voice telling me that I was supposed to come out to Route 9 Diner with them. Shannon and I walked out to this car blasting rather sketchy music outside South... we were very confused... why were all the windows down? Why was this sketchy music playing? Where was anyone?

But yay!! Greg and Tim showed up!! Greg drove us all to Route 9 Diner, which was really weird because I haven't ridden in a car in months. It was so much fine, and so nice to be able to spend time with them again. It reminded me of the beginning of the year when the four of us would hang out. So much fun. We gorged ourselves on breakfast foods and then cake (which they FORCED me into finishing... I was about to puke. Shannon basically told me that if I didn't finish, I couldn't be her roommate anymore.) We were talking and laughing and then we noticed that on the TV, the NCAA game between UConn and Syracuse was on. Apparently, Greg's parents are both UConn graduates (where they met) and they're insane fans of the sports. It was a really close game that was supposedly coming to an end, so we were casually watching while eating and talking. With 1.1 seconds left, the game was tied and at the very last millisecond, made a three. We all started yelling and screaming and being sports fans, and Greg called his parents to commiserate. However, they had not been watching it because Greg's dad fell asleep by the TV, came upstairs to bed and told his mom that they'd won just so she wouldn't bother. However, the three pointer was ruled out because the ball didn't leave his hand in time. So the game went into overtime. And then another overtime. and another. and another.. SIX OVERTIMES!!! We just couldn't leave!!! And then Syracuse won. But it was so much fun. We all got huge slices of different types of cake and tried each other's and were forced to finish them. :D I had one bite left for about two overtimes.. I just couldn't do it. When I finally did and then subsequently went to the bathroom, Shannon and Greg mixed the jelly and the marmalade together and called it the rest of my "cake." EWW!!!

But back to my story about Northampton today... we basically wandered around the Faces store and then the streets of Northampton looking for somewhere to eat. We finally settled down at a pizza place (where we incidentally watched USC beat Arizona State in basketball.. YAY!! I thought of Andy even though I'm sure he doesn't care about basketball). We then went to Herrell's, which is a really famous, AMAZING ice cream place that really did live up to its reputation. YUM!!!

All in all, lots of fun. In between grocery shopping and Northampton, we took a two-hour nap. Break is so wonderful. :)

Last weekend was a very artsy one. I went to see "Almost, Maine," which is a play written by an Amherst alum performed here by the theatre department. It was basically eight simple vignettes all somehow related to love. It was beautiful. I went with Blanca, who is the Spanish TA from Barcelona. The next night, we went to go watch "Carmina Burana," which featured Jaclyn, Ethan, and Robert!! It was spine-tingling!! I also went with everyone and Blanca. Yay for Blanca! :) They started singing "O Fortuna" and I had goosebumps up and down my arms! Craziness!! And then Sunday night we went to watch "Milk" which was showing at the College. I really liked it. It was so inspiring. It was so unfathomable to me that just 30 years ago, California was so filled with bigotry and hate, with senators making statements that I can't believe anyone could possibly think of. I cried twice, once when they succeeded and then again when he died. It made me want to go be an activist and made me even more ashamed of my state for Prop 8. Gah. I had a shame moment in the middle of the movie when Harvey Milk went to the "conservative bastion" of the state, which was Fullerton, CA. But I'm glad it doesn't seem to be as insane nowadays. Ethan and I were talking after the movie and I was saying how the environment of the Castro doesn't really exist anymore. Though we ended up surmising that it was probably a good thing because it means that there is tolerance now so gays don't have to have a street that is "theirs." Anywhere that they want to be can be "theirs," for the most part, I hope.

Blanca and Elodie came in last night and delivered their fish. I am now the official fishsitter. I'm babysitting Shannon's ex-fish (She gave them away because she was sick of taking care of them but now they're back for babysitting), Blanca's fish, Tal, Benjamin's monster fish, and Elodie's fish Dupont and Dupond. So basically I'm babysitting Iowan fish, Spanish fish, and French fish. Whee!!