A New Beginning
A Night of Luxury
So, I recently had the pleasure of staying in a hotel as a result of my parents coming to visit me in college. The reason for their visit is lunar new year; I know that doesn’t occur until next Sunday, but on the weekend of new year, the family spends time together. Since I am in college now, a fair number of hours away, I cannot partake of the celebration with my younger cousins at our grandparents’ house this year; however, my parents still will be. (I really will miss the food they’re going to have! I know it’ll be absolutely delicious.)
It has been so long since I’ve stayed in a hotel. The responsibility of choosing one and booking a reservation was solely mine. Where I live currently, it seems that one of the cheaper hotels is the Doubletree hotel. (Or maybe I just didn’t look hard enough.) In my opinion, it was a pretty good deal. The fanciness of the hotel was apparent from the second I stepped into the lobby. Of course, they had the standard high ceiling, marble floors, potted palm trees and indoor fountain. The fountain was what caught my attention the most; it was pretty large, taking up so much space that it served as a sort of partition, with a little waiting area in front, and a lounge area behind it. Maybe it’s just me, but the fountain was mesmerizing. I could stand there for quite a while, watching how the water ran over the textured stone in rivulets, how one would flow into another, especially as they reached the bottom of the fountain.
And the lounge area behind:
The fountain itself has this kind of water action going on:
Pretty cool. (Amirite?)
Somehow, I had completely missed the fact that they give out “free” cookies while checking in (since it’s mentioned on their website). This was a pretty pleasant surprise; and they were warm! (Warm, soft chocolate chip cookies? This hotel really knows how to please their customers.)
For the room itself, I was pretty happy with that, also. The comforter the used was nice and fluffy (I love fluffy blankets), as were the pillows (four per bed? Nice!). Not only that, the bed itself was also a sleep number bed; that was pretty fun to play around with for a while.
What’s funny is that I had already tried the bed out and gotten under the covers by the time I took this picture. So I had to remake it in order for it to appear as if this was taken when I first got into the room. Looks good, right? D:
Even though we didn’t use it, I noticed they also had a nice clock in the room, to which you could connect your iPod or mp3 player (the headphone jack is hidden behind it).
In the bathroom, they made everything look cool by folding the towels *and* the toilet paper in a fancy way.
(May I attract your attention to what appears to be cabinets at the bottom of the photo? Now see that gap in the top left corner of the center “cabinet”? I thought it was broken at first, until I found that I couldn’t open any of them at all. There’s also a gap in the bottom right corner, due to the way it’s angled. After more curious fiddling with the middle panel, I found that I could at least move it to where it was vertical; however, I still couldn’t slide it to where it appears to be a closed cabinet. In the vertical position, there’s an opening along the right side of the “door.”
What? You don’t care?
Well, I thought it was cool! D:
Unfortunately, even with the fancy sleep number bed, I failed to get a good night’s rest. Perhaps it was because my legs don’t like to be restrained? (I failed to pull the edges of the covers from beneath the mattress before going to bed).
That’s not all I did this weekend, though! I’m not such a boring person that the most exciting thing I can blog about is how amazing I think this one hotel is. A hotel so amazing that even their trash bags smell good. And before you think I should be sent to an insane asylum or wonder why you’re reading my blog in the first place (which I think is a pretty good question, in any case), I only know because I forgot my pillow in the hotel room after we had already checked out, and when I went to pick it up later, the receptionist at the front desk wanted to put it in a bag to protect it (I guess) and could only find a trash bag. While running back to the car, I mashed the bag + pillow against my body to make it less cumbersome, and in doing so, got a wiff of the bag itself(because I know my pillow doesn’t smell like that). I know, I know. Forgetting my pillow was pretty fail.
Like I mentioned earlier in this post, my parents came to visit me. Of course, like every other time they’ve come to visit (which hasn’t been that many, truthfully), they treat me out to some good Vietnamese food. Really, it’s the only thing I’ve eaten this whole weekend, and boy, was it delicious!
After lunch yesterday, we went to the little Asian market nearby (and later along the way, Saigon Mall) and bought some food. After actually looking at the things I picked out (and they bought for me), I’ve noticed that I seem to really like lychee flavored things.
(But look, look! There’s a bottle of passionfruit green tea on the right side. That counts for something, right?) The lychee flavored water comes in a clear plastic can! (Isn’t that cooollll? Like transparent aluminum!)
The lychee jelly really brings back some memories (well, sorta). I haven’t had these things in such a long time!
Anyway, after this trip, my parents took me to the mall. They’ve been wanting me to get new jeans ever since they saw the skinny jeans pair I bought during Christmas break. My mom said because they look to be warmer, but my sister told me what they said to her, and apparently, it’s because the jeans I have now (which are somewhat baggy, since I intended them to be rather roomy in the legs) look unflattering on me. Gee, thanks, Mom.
I was never one to really enjoy clothes shopping for long amounts of time, and this time was no differ ent. It’s always troublesome to find pants especially, since I have to look for petite/short ones that are also in my size. My thighs are also somewhat big (for my stature), so when I do find pants that fit comfortably over my thighs, I know they’ll be loose around the waist. I don’t know if my calves are also bigger than normal for someone my size, or if it was just because I was previously athletic, but sometimes the most problematic part of the pants when trying on jeans are getting my calves to fit into the corresponding portion of jeans (of course, this only goes for skinny jeans).
For something so troublesome, it’s only understandable that I don’t do this frequently, either. The last time I went shopping for jeans was maybe sophomore year? Those jeans have lasted me pretty long, also. They’re still in good condition, aside from the fact that they’re frayed on the bottom (from being too long for my legs). I purposely bought those to be loose around my legs; after all, I don’t want to have to wrestle my clothes on and off every time I change. Yeah, I know, I’m pretty lazy with my wardrobe. I didn’t really start caring about what I wore until maybe junior or senior year of high school, and I wasn’t much more inclined to worrying about whether this matched that. And since I shop so infrequently, it’s good that I find a brand I know I will fit good (and what size fits well) that also lasts long, right? So, Levi’s, thank you for making such dependable jeans.
Anyway, I eventually found two pairs of jeans that fit rather well and weren’t too expensive (Levi’s, huzzah!). My mom had originally wanted me to buy two pairs of jeans that were differently colored than the pair I bought during Christmas holiday (for more versatility with the rest of my wardrobe), but the black pair that I found looked somewhat awkward in particular area. Afterwards, we went to check in and relax a bit at the previously mentioned hotel-of-awesomeness before heading to church.
This morning, we went to eat again (moar Vietnamese food, heck yessss), and then my parents left (after going back to the hotel to pick up my pillow in the nicely fragranced trash bag). Earlier today, I took my jeans out of the Macy’s bag so that I could take the tags off and whatnot and put them away. To my dismay, I found that the cashier failed to take off those magnetic buttons they put on clothes to (I suppose) deter thievery.
But I already paid for these jeans! Well, okay, my parents paid for them, but that’s beside the point!
I suppose this means I have to go back to Macy’s (or some clothing store, at least) to have it taken off. How troublesome. D;
I know it’s not until next Sunday, but happy lunar new year!
For the Vietnamese people:
Chuc Mung Nam Moi!
Wow, I think this is the first time I’ve ever had photos in a blog entry.
It has been so long since I’ve stayed in a hotel. The responsibility of choosing one and booking a reservation was solely mine. Where I live currently, it seems that one of the cheaper hotels is the Doubletree hotel. (Or maybe I just didn’t look hard enough.) In my opinion, it was a pretty good deal. The fanciness of the hotel was apparent from the second I stepped into the lobby. Of course, they had the standard high ceiling, marble floors, potted palm trees and indoor fountain. The fountain was what caught my attention the most; it was pretty large, taking up so much space that it served as a sort of partition, with a little waiting area in front, and a lounge area behind it. Maybe it’s just me, but the fountain was mesmerizing. I could stand there for quite a while, watching how the water ran over the textured stone in rivulets, how one would flow into another, especially as they reached the bottom of the fountain.
And the lounge area behind:
The fountain itself has this kind of water action going on:
Pretty cool. (Amirite?)
Somehow, I had completely missed the fact that they give out “free” cookies while checking in (since it’s mentioned on their website). This was a pretty pleasant surprise; and they were warm! (Warm, soft chocolate chip cookies? This hotel really knows how to please their customers.)
For the room itself, I was pretty happy with that, also. The comforter the used was nice and fluffy (I love fluffy blankets), as were the pillows (four per bed? Nice!). Not only that, the bed itself was also a sleep number bed; that was pretty fun to play around with for a while.
What’s funny is that I had already tried the bed out and gotten under the covers by the time I took this picture. So I had to remake it in order for it to appear as if this was taken when I first got into the room. Looks good, right? D:
Even though we didn’t use it, I noticed they also had a nice clock in the room, to which you could connect your iPod or mp3 player (the headphone jack is hidden behind it).
In the bathroom, they made everything look cool by folding the towels *and* the toilet paper in a fancy way.
(May I attract your attention to what appears to be cabinets at the bottom of the photo? Now see that gap in the top left corner of the center “cabinet”? I thought it was broken at first, until I found that I couldn’t open any of them at all. There’s also a gap in the bottom right corner, due to the way it’s angled. After more curious fiddling with the middle panel, I found that I could at least move it to where it was vertical; however, I still couldn’t slide it to where it appears to be a closed cabinet. In the vertical position, there’s an opening along the right side of the “door.”
What? You don’t care?
Well, I thought it was cool! D:
Unfortunately, even with the fancy sleep number bed, I failed to get a good night’s rest. Perhaps it was because my legs don’t like to be restrained? (I failed to pull the edges of the covers from beneath the mattress before going to bed).
That’s not all I did this weekend, though! I’m not such a boring person that the most exciting thing I can blog about is how amazing I think this one hotel is. A hotel so amazing that even their trash bags smell good. And before you think I should be sent to an insane asylum or wonder why you’re reading my blog in the first place (which I think is a pretty good question, in any case), I only know because I forgot my pillow in the hotel room after we had already checked out, and when I went to pick it up later, the receptionist at the front desk wanted to put it in a bag to protect it (I guess) and could only find a trash bag. While running back to the car, I mashed the bag + pillow against my body to make it less cumbersome, and in doing so, got a wiff of the bag itself(because I know my pillow doesn’t smell like that). I know, I know. Forgetting my pillow was pretty fail.
Like I mentioned earlier in this post, my parents came to visit me. Of course, like every other time they’ve come to visit (which hasn’t been that many, truthfully), they treat me out to some good Vietnamese food. Really, it’s the only thing I’ve eaten this whole weekend, and boy, was it delicious!
After lunch yesterday, we went to the little Asian market nearby (and later along the way, Saigon Mall) and bought some food. After actually looking at the things I picked out (and they bought for me), I’ve noticed that I seem to really like lychee flavored things.
(But look, look! There’s a bottle of passionfruit green tea on the right side. That counts for something, right?) The lychee flavored water comes in a clear plastic can! (Isn’t that cooollll? Like transparent aluminum!)
The lychee jelly really brings back some memories (well, sorta). I haven’t had these things in such a long time!
Anyway, after this trip, my parents took me to the mall. They’ve been wanting me to get new jeans ever since they saw the skinny jeans pair I bought during Christmas break. My mom said because they look to be warmer, but my sister told me what they said to her, and apparently, it’s because the jeans I have now (which are somewhat baggy, since I intended them to be rather roomy in the legs) look unflattering on me. Gee, thanks, Mom.
I was never one to really enjoy clothes shopping for long amounts of time, and this time was no differ ent. It’s always troublesome to find pants especially, since I have to look for petite/short ones that are also in my size. My thighs are also somewhat big (for my stature), so when I do find pants that fit comfortably over my thighs, I know they’ll be loose around the waist. I don’t know if my calves are also bigger than normal for someone my size, or if it was just because I was previously athletic, but sometimes the most problematic part of the pants when trying on jeans are getting my calves to fit into the corresponding portion of jeans (of course, this only goes for skinny jeans).
For something so troublesome, it’s only understandable that I don’t do this frequently, either. The last time I went shopping for jeans was maybe sophomore year? Those jeans have lasted me pretty long, also. They’re still in good condition, aside from the fact that they’re frayed on the bottom (from being too long for my legs). I purposely bought those to be loose around my legs; after all, I don’t want to have to wrestle my clothes on and off every time I change. Yeah, I know, I’m pretty lazy with my wardrobe. I didn’t really start caring about what I wore until maybe junior or senior year of high school, and I wasn’t much more inclined to worrying about whether this matched that. And since I shop so infrequently, it’s good that I find a brand I know I will fit good (and what size fits well) that also lasts long, right? So, Levi’s, thank you for making such dependable jeans.
Anyway, I eventually found two pairs of jeans that fit rather well and weren’t too expensive (Levi’s, huzzah!). My mom had originally wanted me to buy two pairs of jeans that were differently colored than the pair I bought during Christmas holiday (for more versatility with the rest of my wardrobe), but the black pair that I found looked somewhat awkward in particular area. Afterwards, we went to check in and relax a bit at the previously mentioned hotel-of-awesomeness before heading to church.
This morning, we went to eat again (moar Vietnamese food, heck yessss), and then my parents left (after going back to the hotel to pick up my pillow in the nicely fragranced trash bag). Earlier today, I took my jeans out of the Macy’s bag so that I could take the tags off and whatnot and put them away. To my dismay, I found that the cashier failed to take off those magnetic buttons they put on clothes to (I suppose) deter thievery.
But I already paid for these jeans! Well, okay, my parents paid for them, but that’s beside the point!
I suppose this means I have to go back to Macy’s (or some clothing store, at least) to have it taken off. How troublesome. D;
I know it’s not until next Sunday, but happy lunar new year!
For the Vietnamese people:
Chuc Mung Nam Moi!
Wow, I think this is the first time I’ve ever had photos in a blog entry.
[For You] I’d Do Anything
This is why I regard my friends so highly. Never having had a wealth of friends, and not wanting to be the kind of person that had tons of “friends” whom I would more consider acquaintances in that case, I treasure the ones I find. I try hard to maintain contact with them. I try hard to make the people I call friends (which, I suppose, might equate to the term “best friend” for others) happy and do things that please them. I feel that, for the people who already make me laugh so easily, care when I’m upset, are willing to help me when I need it, and do many other things which I cannot think of at the moment, the fact that I can make them happy automatically makes me happy. I do not like it when y’all are upset or stressed, especially if there’s nothing I can do about it. It makes me feel useless.
I don’t like not being able to see you guys much outside of classes because I feel like I might be forgotten about. That’s why, that one time at the end of last semester, I hit Cameron when I saw him. Having not seen or really heard from him in a while, I was afraid that he might not consider me much of a friend anymore, and I was upset with both him and myself. Shouldn’t I have put more effort into at least trying to talk to him regularly, as he should have? I realize that logic seems kind of stupid and perhaps paranoid. When I compare the friendships I have with all of you to what I see of the friendships you have with each other, I feel somewhat left out. And therefore, when I get to spend time with all of you, I feel privileged. Just being with you guys and watching you interact can make me happy because of that reason.
I suppose, in a way, when I find someone I call a friend, I become clingy and dependent upon them. At least, to me it seems this way. I restrain myself, though, or try, so that I don’t become overbearing or annoying. If I have something to say that’s important to me, but y’all don’t have the time to talk anymore, I won’t say it and keep you further. There’s probably a good chance that I won’t bring it up the next time we talk because I don’t want to bother you with it. The only problem is that I then keep it pent up inside of me, and it might affect my behavior later on. I don’t want to upset y’all, though, so if something’s bothering me, I try not to let it show. I just want for you all to be happy and spend some time with me. And for that, I would do almost anything.
I have a hard time finding people I can talk to about such deep things easily. Even among my friends, there are only a few whom I am comfortable talking about serious matters with. But if you don’t have the time, or the topic bothers you, even if it’s rather important to me, I’ll stop. I’m happy when I can find people whom I can confide in, and even happier when the people I trust can trust me enough to confide in me.
If, in the end, for some reason, I can’t be friends with any of you anymore, I think I’ll be able to handle being alone again.
Anything to make you happy.
Summer Lovin’ Fun
Tuesday, 22 December 2009
12:00 AM
It’s been a long while since I last posted something here. Much has happened in the past year. This summer, I had the chance to visit Colorado again. We stayed for a week, and although I didn’t enjoy it as much as I would have if it had been during the winter (so I could’ve gone snowboarding), the vacation turned out to be really fun. For one, I bought myself a snowboard! (Unfortunately, I won’t be going to Colorado this winter; it’s going to be all lonely in the vacation house there.) Hopefully I, along with some of my older cousins and my sister, will be able to go to Colorado for vacation next winter.
Anyway, this summer, I went to Colorado. Two of my younger cousins, their parents, one of my older cousins and his parents, my mom, and myself all went to a vacation house in Winter Park, Colorado. The older cousin’s parents own the house, but everyone in the family is allowed to use it for vacationing. My family really enjoys snowboarding and skiing. I’m not exactly sure why we decided to visit during the summer, but it wasn’t so bad. We opted to drive; of course, me being myself, I slept most of the time.
We did a variety of things while in Winter Park. The first day, one of the first things we did was just drive around, sightseeing. Of course, while we had all already been to Winter Park, Colorado before, it’s so obviously different in the summer. It was odd not seeing snow everywhere. I believe the next thing we did was go to the Base (the snowboarding/skiing park). In the summer they still have attractions there for visitors, but there wasn’t all that much. We only stayed for a little while that day; the adults planned to take us back later in the week to spend the whole day there.
The next day (Tuesday?), I think we went into the city and just browsed the shops. My younger cousins and I painted some pottery again for souvenirs (again, we had done this in the past during winter vacations), and this was also the day I bought a snowboard. I have the mindset that since I spent money buying a snowboard, I’ll be more inclined to return to Colorado so that I can put it to actual use and get my money’s worth out of it.
One day in the week, we drove farther up into the mountains and did some sightseeing in the national park there. In spite of the cold, I really enjoyed the day. I found that being in such fresh air, running around, and hiking up some trails we stopped at really energized me. I also had fun taking pictures of the scenery. I think the pictures I took where rather good for a point-and-shoot camera. According to a sign, at one point we were 12,000 something feet above sea level. I don’t like the picture I have with the sign because the wind was being rather gusty, and kept blowing my hair everywhere. Naturally, it was all in my face as well.
Thursday’s next, right? This is the day we went back to the base. The cousins were allowed to roam about as we pleased; likewise, the adults did want they wanted. They have this one attraction called the Alpine Slide. As hinted to by its name, the ride is a trough-like slide embedded into the mountain side. Since it would be unwise to have it on a slope used during the winter, they placed the ride under a ski lift, winding narrowly back and forth. One sits on a scooter-like device and controls their speed using a lever. Forward to reduce friction and go faster, pulling back engages the break-device. They had two slides – one “fast” lane, and one “slow” lane. The slow lane is probably more family oriented, intended for small kids and their parents riding together; however, sometimes the people in this lane went faster than the people in the “fast” lane. I, of course, tried to go faster with every subsequent ride, leaning forward as far as I could go to make myself more streamlined, leaning into the curves. My cousins and I determined an order to go in. The oldest cousin, Tommy, always went fast, and would go first. I would go next, and not have to worry about having to slow down unless someone in front of Tommy was going extremely slow. After me was my younger cousin, Nguyen. Last of all was his younger sister, Thao. We believe that she couldn’t go above a certain speed because she wasn’t heavy enough. (Her first ride resulted in four or five people trailing along behind her when she reached the bottom.) Other than the slide, we also played putt putt; I really don’t know what to say about this. Tommy was the best (probably more experienced than the rest of us as well), and I suppose it just depended on certain circumstances for the rest of us. Haha, the first time we went through the course, we accidentally skipped a hole.
We also went on the rock-climbing wall. Mmmm, the strenuous activity was invigorating. I enjoyed the physical challenge so much. It was only a small wall, probably only somewhere between twenty and thirty feet tall. It had three sides: easy, medium, and hard. I chose to do the hard one first, then went to the easy one. The medium was the one I did last, and the only one neither I nor Tommy could do. I believe Thao was the only one to reach the top. The main reason was due to the smaller handholds on that side that we older cousins couldn’t get good grips on. My muscles were rather sore the next day; I was so pleased. XD
There was also a maze. Not one a really memorable part of the day, and I won’t elaborate too much on it. The goal of the maze was to find all the letters of a word, hidden throughout the maze, and use the hole punch below each letter to punch out that letter on the card given to us at the beginning of the maze. If we found all the letters and made our way out under a certain time limit, then we would get a small prize. Nguyen was the only one to get a prize.
The last thing we did at the base was ride a lift to the top of the mountain and hike down a trail. Nguyen did not accompany us at this time as he was feeling rather tired and somewhat ill. Tommy and I wanted to go so that we could take pictures of scenery, and Thao just wanted to tag along because it was something to do. Whereas I only have a point-and-shoot, Tommy actually has a professional camera, since photography is a hobby of his. (I believe I’m still waiting for him to upload the photos so that I can see them again.) It’s rather difficult to actually understand how big these mountains really are, especially when traversing them on snowboards and skiis. Hiking down this trail took a good two or three hours, especially with our frequent stops to snap pictures. I really enjoy physical activity, and this was particularly fun. Some parts were rather steep, and somewhat worrisome, even moreso with the loose pebbles and the fact that our shoes were unsuited for hiking.
Friday! Friday, the last day. This day was most exciting; we went rafting down a river. The water was cold, and our guide was very entertaining. We shoved off with two other rafts (the other two rafts occupied by the members of one family), and it was funny to hear the friendly competitive banter between the guides. Tommy and I sat in the front and were the lead rowers; we also got wet the most, probably. The water was cold, but the physical activity kept us warm enough. At one point, the guides offer everyone an opportunity to dive off of this one cliff. Of course, how could I resist? Except, apparently, I pushed off too hard, and the momentum put my body into a nearly horizontal position when I hit the water; needless to say, it was rather painful. Since everyone was required to wear lifejackets at all times, no one sunk too far into the water, and my back was protected from the impact; unfortunately, my bottom wasn’t. I only wish I could’ve gotten a picture of it, since someone on the cliff opposite was stationed to take pictures of people as they dived (all pencil dives). I probably would have had my eyes shut, anyway. Haha, I can still remember hearing everyone go, “Ooohhhh,” in sympathy as they watched me hit the water in my less-than-ideal body position. When we stopped for lunch later, one of the other guides even asked me if I was okay! (I’m a tough girl; I can handle it!)
Over time, we had water sitting in the bottom of the raft from all the times it splashed in as we went through some of the rougher rapids. I wore flip flops, so my feet went numb rather quickly. The guides took good care of us, and no one fell out of the raft at any time. The guides had their own massive oars with them in the back of the raft, and sometimes, they took over completely, allowing us to rest and enjoy the view.
Unfortunately, all the sun exposure caused my lips, the least protected part of my body (my chapstick didn’t have UV protection in it), to become sunburned. The next couple of days was rather painful, especially during mealtimes. Well, at least I know to make sure my chapstick has UV protection whenever I need more.
That takes care of what we did during the days, does it not? As for how we occupied ourselves at night while we were back at the house, we did a variety of things. Sometimes, my cousins and I would play two-on-two foosball (unfortunately, they had already sold the ping-pong table from when there house was up for sale). We also played Cranium a few times, although the teams were almost often unmatched (Tommy and I against Nguyen and Thao – older against younger). I had fun, of course, but I was always on the winning team. When it was close to time to go to sleep, Tommy always retired to his bedroom a little early, and did who knows what. Nguyen, Thao, and I slept in the media room. The most watched channel? The FOOD channel, of course! I particularly enjoyed watching the competitive shows, and shows such as Cake Boss, where they often had elaborate and creative-looking dishes.
Wuhh, looks like this entire entry was about only one week of my summer. So much to write about concerning my past year! If I keep blogging like this, I’ll wind up with a book.
(I apologize for any grammatical/spelling mistakes in this blog. Suck it up, though; I’m too lazy right now to edit it all.) I hope my snowboard doesn’t miss me.
Anyway, this summer, I went to Colorado. Two of my younger cousins, their parents, one of my older cousins and his parents, my mom, and myself all went to a vacation house in Winter Park, Colorado. The older cousin’s parents own the house, but everyone in the family is allowed to use it for vacationing. My family really enjoys snowboarding and skiing. I’m not exactly sure why we decided to visit during the summer, but it wasn’t so bad. We opted to drive; of course, me being myself, I slept most of the time.
We did a variety of things while in Winter Park. The first day, one of the first things we did was just drive around, sightseeing. Of course, while we had all already been to Winter Park, Colorado before, it’s so obviously different in the summer. It was odd not seeing snow everywhere. I believe the next thing we did was go to the Base (the snowboarding/skiing park). In the summer they still have attractions there for visitors, but there wasn’t all that much. We only stayed for a little while that day; the adults planned to take us back later in the week to spend the whole day there.
The next day (Tuesday?), I think we went into the city and just browsed the shops. My younger cousins and I painted some pottery again for souvenirs (again, we had done this in the past during winter vacations), and this was also the day I bought a snowboard. I have the mindset that since I spent money buying a snowboard, I’ll be more inclined to return to Colorado so that I can put it to actual use and get my money’s worth out of it.
One day in the week, we drove farther up into the mountains and did some sightseeing in the national park there. In spite of the cold, I really enjoyed the day. I found that being in such fresh air, running around, and hiking up some trails we stopped at really energized me. I also had fun taking pictures of the scenery. I think the pictures I took where rather good for a point-and-shoot camera. According to a sign, at one point we were 12,000 something feet above sea level. I don’t like the picture I have with the sign because the wind was being rather gusty, and kept blowing my hair everywhere. Naturally, it was all in my face as well.
Thursday’s next, right? This is the day we went back to the base. The cousins were allowed to roam about as we pleased; likewise, the adults did want they wanted. They have this one attraction called the Alpine Slide. As hinted to by its name, the ride is a trough-like slide embedded into the mountain side. Since it would be unwise to have it on a slope used during the winter, they placed the ride under a ski lift, winding narrowly back and forth. One sits on a scooter-like device and controls their speed using a lever. Forward to reduce friction and go faster, pulling back engages the break-device. They had two slides – one “fast” lane, and one “slow” lane. The slow lane is probably more family oriented, intended for small kids and their parents riding together; however, sometimes the people in this lane went faster than the people in the “fast” lane. I, of course, tried to go faster with every subsequent ride, leaning forward as far as I could go to make myself more streamlined, leaning into the curves. My cousins and I determined an order to go in. The oldest cousin, Tommy, always went fast, and would go first. I would go next, and not have to worry about having to slow down unless someone in front of Tommy was going extremely slow. After me was my younger cousin, Nguyen. Last of all was his younger sister, Thao. We believe that she couldn’t go above a certain speed because she wasn’t heavy enough. (Her first ride resulted in four or five people trailing along behind her when she reached the bottom.) Other than the slide, we also played putt putt; I really don’t know what to say about this. Tommy was the best (probably more experienced than the rest of us as well), and I suppose it just depended on certain circumstances for the rest of us. Haha, the first time we went through the course, we accidentally skipped a hole.
We also went on the rock-climbing wall. Mmmm, the strenuous activity was invigorating. I enjoyed the physical challenge so much. It was only a small wall, probably only somewhere between twenty and thirty feet tall. It had three sides: easy, medium, and hard. I chose to do the hard one first, then went to the easy one. The medium was the one I did last, and the only one neither I nor Tommy could do. I believe Thao was the only one to reach the top. The main reason was due to the smaller handholds on that side that we older cousins couldn’t get good grips on. My muscles were rather sore the next day; I was so pleased. XD
There was also a maze. Not one a really memorable part of the day, and I won’t elaborate too much on it. The goal of the maze was to find all the letters of a word, hidden throughout the maze, and use the hole punch below each letter to punch out that letter on the card given to us at the beginning of the maze. If we found all the letters and made our way out under a certain time limit, then we would get a small prize. Nguyen was the only one to get a prize.
The last thing we did at the base was ride a lift to the top of the mountain and hike down a trail. Nguyen did not accompany us at this time as he was feeling rather tired and somewhat ill. Tommy and I wanted to go so that we could take pictures of scenery, and Thao just wanted to tag along because it was something to do. Whereas I only have a point-and-shoot, Tommy actually has a professional camera, since photography is a hobby of his. (I believe I’m still waiting for him to upload the photos so that I can see them again.) It’s rather difficult to actually understand how big these mountains really are, especially when traversing them on snowboards and skiis. Hiking down this trail took a good two or three hours, especially with our frequent stops to snap pictures. I really enjoy physical activity, and this was particularly fun. Some parts were rather steep, and somewhat worrisome, even moreso with the loose pebbles and the fact that our shoes were unsuited for hiking.
Friday! Friday, the last day. This day was most exciting; we went rafting down a river. The water was cold, and our guide was very entertaining. We shoved off with two other rafts (the other two rafts occupied by the members of one family), and it was funny to hear the friendly competitive banter between the guides. Tommy and I sat in the front and were the lead rowers; we also got wet the most, probably. The water was cold, but the physical activity kept us warm enough. At one point, the guides offer everyone an opportunity to dive off of this one cliff. Of course, how could I resist? Except, apparently, I pushed off too hard, and the momentum put my body into a nearly horizontal position when I hit the water; needless to say, it was rather painful. Since everyone was required to wear lifejackets at all times, no one sunk too far into the water, and my back was protected from the impact; unfortunately, my bottom wasn’t. I only wish I could’ve gotten a picture of it, since someone on the cliff opposite was stationed to take pictures of people as they dived (all pencil dives). I probably would have had my eyes shut, anyway. Haha, I can still remember hearing everyone go, “Ooohhhh,” in sympathy as they watched me hit the water in my less-than-ideal body position. When we stopped for lunch later, one of the other guides even asked me if I was okay! (I’m a tough girl; I can handle it!)
Over time, we had water sitting in the bottom of the raft from all the times it splashed in as we went through some of the rougher rapids. I wore flip flops, so my feet went numb rather quickly. The guides took good care of us, and no one fell out of the raft at any time. The guides had their own massive oars with them in the back of the raft, and sometimes, they took over completely, allowing us to rest and enjoy the view.
Unfortunately, all the sun exposure caused my lips, the least protected part of my body (my chapstick didn’t have UV protection in it), to become sunburned. The next couple of days was rather painful, especially during mealtimes. Well, at least I know to make sure my chapstick has UV protection whenever I need more.
That takes care of what we did during the days, does it not? As for how we occupied ourselves at night while we were back at the house, we did a variety of things. Sometimes, my cousins and I would play two-on-two foosball (unfortunately, they had already sold the ping-pong table from when there house was up for sale). We also played Cranium a few times, although the teams were almost often unmatched (Tommy and I against Nguyen and Thao – older against younger). I had fun, of course, but I was always on the winning team. When it was close to time to go to sleep, Tommy always retired to his bedroom a little early, and did who knows what. Nguyen, Thao, and I slept in the media room. The most watched channel? The FOOD channel, of course! I particularly enjoyed watching the competitive shows, and shows such as Cake Boss, where they often had elaborate and creative-looking dishes.
Wuhh, looks like this entire entry was about only one week of my summer. So much to write about concerning my past year! If I keep blogging like this, I’ll wind up with a book.
(I apologize for any grammatical/spelling mistakes in this blog. Suck it up, though; I’m too lazy right now to edit it all.) I hope my snowboard doesn’t miss me.
Entering the Mature Dating World
Featured Question: At what age do you think a kid should be able to start dating?
My Answer:
For whenever I have children, preferrably when they become eighteen. Which would basically be time for when they go to college and finally escape from my constant overprotective watching.
However, I don’t think one could put an exact age for when the time would be right for a person to begin dating. As most people say, it depends on the maturity of the person/kid/child/teenager in question. True, s/he should be mature enough to be able to handle the emotional stress that will come along with dating, be able to juggle relationship and all other aspects of life equally well, and be mature enough not to curse the opposite gender when things go wrong. (When thinking about dating in that last aspect, from the lies I’ve seen on television shows, quite a few adults shouldn’t be allowed to date.) However, fulfilling these few requirements isn’t enough for me. The person should also understand that dating isn’t just a status, nor is the act of dating solely for fun and games. And if it’s just a way to “get some,” that person should most certainly NOT be allowed to date.
When the epiphany that dating is a course taken to find someone whom one would want to spend the rest of his or her life with, and s/he is ready to make that commitment, then perhaps that person can be deemed ready to begin dating. The purpose of dating isn’t just so one won’t be alone. The purpose of dating isn’t because you “need” someone to make you feel whole. When one realizes that the act of dating is to find someone to love, forever, then the person will be that much closer to dating. S/he also must have already figured out that the reason for being in a relationship, in any relationship, romantic or unromantic, should be for the other person. Self gain will come with it, but that shouldn’t be the reason to be in the relationship. But if the reasons for dating is solely that the person is “hot” or is rich, or something else superficial, then some more mental growth needs to occur.
There’s probably many more things I think are important on this subject but don’t remember at the moment. Revision will probably ensue…sometime.
My Answer:
For whenever I have children, preferrably when they become eighteen. Which would basically be time for when they go to college and finally escape from my constant overprotective watching.
However, I don’t think one could put an exact age for when the time would be right for a person to begin dating. As most people say, it depends on the maturity of the person/kid/child/teenager in question. True, s/he should be mature enough to be able to handle the emotional stress that will come along with dating, be able to juggle relationship and all other aspects of life equally well, and be mature enough not to curse the opposite gender when things go wrong. (When thinking about dating in that last aspect, from the lies I’ve seen on television shows, quite a few adults shouldn’t be allowed to date.) However, fulfilling these few requirements isn’t enough for me. The person should also understand that dating isn’t just a status, nor is the act of dating solely for fun and games. And if it’s just a way to “get some,” that person should most certainly NOT be allowed to date.
When the epiphany that dating is a course taken to find someone whom one would want to spend the rest of his or her life with, and s/he is ready to make that commitment, then perhaps that person can be deemed ready to begin dating. The purpose of dating isn’t just so one won’t be alone. The purpose of dating isn’t because you “need” someone to make you feel whole. When one realizes that the act of dating is to find someone to love, forever, then the person will be that much closer to dating. S/he also must have already figured out that the reason for being in a relationship, in any relationship, romantic or unromantic, should be for the other person. Self gain will come with it, but that shouldn’t be the reason to be in the relationship. But if the reasons for dating is solely that the person is “hot” or is rich, or something else superficial, then some more mental growth needs to occur.
There’s probably many more things I think are important on this subject but don’t remember at the moment. Revision will probably ensue…sometime.
I just answered this Featured Question, you can answer it too!
Overview of Events from July to the Present–Part II
Is it just me, or does anyone else think my new profile is uberly awesome?
The simplicity, coupled with the humorous drawings that reflect major characteristics of myself (love of food and dislike for dressing up).
Of course, I’m probably just building up my ego right about now. So, on with the summary!
Last thing I talked about was the visit to Baylor Med, right? Right. I went out of chronological order there, because the medical school experiences were the day before the clinical experiences. The day after clinical experiences (which was on Thursday) was the day of the Medical Ethics Caucus (basically a debate). Well, this was one thing among other events of the day, but the caucus was the main event. I was lucky and had a good team (MED groups were split into teams, and competed against teams of other MED groups. MED group teams didn’t compete against the other teams of their own MED group at any time. There were only two rounds, and each MED group team judged one round and debated in the other.). Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t like I was lazy and did no work, it’s just that, came debating time, my mind just completely blanked out on me. I never was really good at public speaking. Unfortunately, we did not realize we had to ask for the one minute rebuttal time, and so all we were able to do was present our side without refuting the other team’s arguments. I believe I would have done better during the rebuttal, since I would have something to feed off of for my own argument, but speculating all of this now won’t be doing any good, so I’ll be moving on now.
>.>
The next day was Saturday, which would bring us to the trip to Moody Gardens in Galveston. The weekend was designated for relaxation time, I guess. Before I forget, I should say that I’m pretty sure MED groups stuck with people in their own groups, for the most part. My MED group certainly did. We all started out at the . . . I want to say seafood pyramid, but I just know that’s not right. Aquatic? Marine? Well, we started out in the pyramid with all the sea animals in it. It was okay . . . I can be socially inept at times, and this was one of those times. I basically tagged along with the group of people from my MED group that I usually hung out with, or walked ahead of them at times . . . After we toured through that pyramid, the others decided to eat (since that we were supposed to eat dinner there because we’d be getting back too late for dinner at the hotel). After everyone ate, the group I was with divided again. Next place we went to was (I’m having trouble with my memory as of late. -_-; ) near the rainforest pyramid. Only thing we did there was go on this ride that sat us on this moving platform with a huge screen in front of us.
I’m doing a horrible job at explaining this ride, and it was very boring, so I’m going to give up trying. After this I ended up in a group of three from the original quarter-group from my MED group (Me, David, and Jonathan). David wanted to go swimming, so Jonathan and I accompanied him to wherever the pool was. He ended up only going in the water for about a minute because it was the kiddie pool, and we couldn’t really find anywhere else to swim, ahaha. We then traipsed over to the rainforest pyramid, decided not to watch whatever cinema they had showing because we had heard it wasn’t worth while, and instead perused the gift shop. Now, I hadn’t planned to get anything, but I always like to look at the music in gift shops.
David and Jonathan are so awesome.
They bought me a CD, in spite of my many declines and attempts to place the CD back in its proper place on the shelf. Each time I put it back, one of them would get another CD with the music I had been looking at. I gave up trying to put it back when they were next in line at the cash register. -_- After that, we basically hung out in the food court of the pyramid, playing with their purchases (spinner ring and bracelet, mainly. Haha, Jonathan’s bracelet went all the way up to my upper arm). A few minutes later, Jonathan’s room mate saw him and joined us at our table, and we commenced to playing cards. Oh geez, I love speed. ^-^ I’m also competitive, and one game, when I had only one card left and was about to put it down, out of my peripheral vision, I saw Jonathan’s room mate move to put his card down. I didn’t know which pile he was going for, but with my left hand, I pushed away his hand while placing my card on one of the piles with my right hand. “SPEED!” Highlight of the day, I have to admit. I hadn’t even realized I had done that until right after I finished the game; it was a reflex. o.O Don’t worry, I apologized for it. x3 Sunday we were supposed to go to Kemah Boardwalk, but the rain prevented us from going there, and instead we went to Katy Mills Mall. I walked around with David and Garrett (who was from another MED group) there. First we visited Books a Million. I’m sure we spent at least fifteen minutes in there. Started walking elsewhere after David made his purchase. I think we went to look at music next, and I immediately headed for the anime. I’m so anime deprived, I couldn’t help it!
OH, two guys walked past me while I was looking at the anime, and one muttered some stereotypical/racist comment. Basically, he assumed I was Japanese because I was looking at anime. Ignorant idiot. GAH. D< This didn’t have much importance, but it stuck out in my mind, and I had to type it out.
Next stop was the Asian store, to look around; and then after that, the bubble tea place around that area because I persuaded David to get a drink. (He ended up not liking the boba/tapioca in his coffee, so I got to drink it; and, it was pretty much still full. SCORE! I <3 boba drinks.) After this, we just walked around the mall, and eventually met up with the other people of our quarter-group. They had already bought tickets to watch Transformers, so that was where they were headed. We had nothing else in mind to do, so we decided to join them. Mind you, this was only about five minutes after we had left the bubble tea place; Garrett, David, and I are fast-paced walkers, and we know how to weave through people. By this time, I had only about a quarter of the drink left. I paid for my ticket, and David’s, because I was adamant about buying something for him since he and Jonathan bought me the CD the day before; unfortunately, Jonathan had already bought his ticket. We found seats in the theater with our other friends and got ourselves comfortable, and I finished off the boba drink before the movie even started.
Darn David and his coffee addiction, and the fact that coffee’s a natural laxative. Not even halfway through Transformers, I had to go to the restroom. Of course, I’m stubborn, and didn’t want to miss any part of the movie, so I sat there and endured the pressure on my bladder while shaking my legs to keep myself preoccupied.
I have to say, Transformers is a very good movie; I certainly enjoyed it, even in my distraction. x] Well, the movie ended at around the same time we were supposed to be at our buses to go back to the hotel, so I left about ten minutes before the movie ended, took my restroom break, and came back out (surprised to see that David was waiting for me). The rest of the group had already headed to the entrance we were dropped off at, but we caught up with them pretty quickly. This basically ends the Katy Mills Mall summary, and now we’re on Monday. Monday, the main event for the day was public health competition. Each MED group team (split into only two separate teams this time) chose a problem to do their presentation on that would raise public health awareness for that problem. Students judged everyones’ presentations based on verbal presentation and information presented on the tri-fold board. I admit, I basically BSed the second half of the paper. The students judged during lunch, and not much time was allotted for us. I think the FAs were telling us that we should only be taking about thirty seconds at each presentation. I missed lunch that day, but oh well.
Next was the public health symposium, which was a competition of the top presentations from each category. These were judged by some guests, I think (guests with a medical field background). Tuesday was the last day, so the only thing planned that day was a MED session and a closing ceremony. I’ll explain about MED sessions next entry, and also tell about the social events of the nights. Fun fun. (Aren’t I boring you yet?)
I’m doing a horrible job at explaining this ride, and it was very boring, so I’m going to give up trying. After this I ended up in a group of three from the original quarter-group from my MED group (Me, David, and Jonathan). David wanted to go swimming, so Jonathan and I accompanied him to wherever the pool was. He ended up only going in the water for about a minute because it was the kiddie pool, and we couldn’t really find anywhere else to swim, ahaha. We then traipsed over to the rainforest pyramid, decided not to watch whatever cinema they had showing because we had heard it wasn’t worth while, and instead perused the gift shop. Now, I hadn’t planned to get anything, but I always like to look at the music in gift shops.
David and Jonathan are so awesome.
They bought me a CD, in spite of my many declines and attempts to place the CD back in its proper place on the shelf. Each time I put it back, one of them would get another CD with the music I had been looking at. I gave up trying to put it back when they were next in line at the cash register. -_- After that, we basically hung out in the food court of the pyramid, playing with their purchases (spinner ring and bracelet, mainly. Haha, Jonathan’s bracelet went all the way up to my upper arm). A few minutes later, Jonathan’s room mate saw him and joined us at our table, and we commenced to playing cards. Oh geez, I love speed. ^-^ I’m also competitive, and one game, when I had only one card left and was about to put it down, out of my peripheral vision, I saw Jonathan’s room mate move to put his card down. I didn’t know which pile he was going for, but with my left hand, I pushed away his hand while placing my card on one of the piles with my right hand. “SPEED!” Highlight of the day, I have to admit. I hadn’t even realized I had done that until right after I finished the game; it was a reflex. o.O Don’t worry, I apologized for it. x3 Sunday we were supposed to go to Kemah Boardwalk, but the rain prevented us from going there, and instead we went to Katy Mills Mall. I walked around with David and Garrett (who was from another MED group) there. First we visited Books a Million. I’m sure we spent at least fifteen minutes in there. Started walking elsewhere after David made his purchase. I think we went to look at music next, and I immediately headed for the anime. I’m so anime deprived, I couldn’t help it!
OH, two guys walked past me while I was looking at the anime, and one muttered some stereotypical/racist comment. Basically, he assumed I was Japanese because I was looking at anime. Ignorant idiot. GAH. D< This didn’t have much importance, but it stuck out in my mind, and I had to type it out.
Next stop was the Asian store, to look around; and then after that, the bubble tea place around that area because I persuaded David to get a drink. (He ended up not liking the boba/tapioca in his coffee, so I got to drink it; and, it was pretty much still full. SCORE! I <3 boba drinks.) After this, we just walked around the mall, and eventually met up with the other people of our quarter-group. They had already bought tickets to watch Transformers, so that was where they were headed. We had nothing else in mind to do, so we decided to join them. Mind you, this was only about five minutes after we had left the bubble tea place; Garrett, David, and I are fast-paced walkers, and we know how to weave through people. By this time, I had only about a quarter of the drink left. I paid for my ticket, and David’s, because I was adamant about buying something for him since he and Jonathan bought me the CD the day before; unfortunately, Jonathan had already bought his ticket. We found seats in the theater with our other friends and got ourselves comfortable, and I finished off the boba drink before the movie even started.
Darn David and his coffee addiction, and the fact that coffee’s a natural laxative. Not even halfway through Transformers, I had to go to the restroom. Of course, I’m stubborn, and didn’t want to miss any part of the movie, so I sat there and endured the pressure on my bladder while shaking my legs to keep myself preoccupied.
I have to say, Transformers is a very good movie; I certainly enjoyed it, even in my distraction. x] Well, the movie ended at around the same time we were supposed to be at our buses to go back to the hotel, so I left about ten minutes before the movie ended, took my restroom break, and came back out (surprised to see that David was waiting for me). The rest of the group had already headed to the entrance we were dropped off at, but we caught up with them pretty quickly. This basically ends the Katy Mills Mall summary, and now we’re on Monday. Monday, the main event for the day was public health competition. Each MED group team (split into only two separate teams this time) chose a problem to do their presentation on that would raise public health awareness for that problem. Students judged everyones’ presentations based on verbal presentation and information presented on the tri-fold board. I admit, I basically BSed the second half of the paper. The students judged during lunch, and not much time was allotted for us. I think the FAs were telling us that we should only be taking about thirty seconds at each presentation. I missed lunch that day, but oh well.
Next was the public health symposium, which was a competition of the top presentations from each category. These were judged by some guests, I think (guests with a medical field background). Tuesday was the last day, so the only thing planned that day was a MED session and a closing ceremony. I’ll explain about MED sessions next entry, and also tell about the social events of the nights. Fun fun. (Aren’t I boring you yet?)
Overview of Events from July to the Present–Part I
So, I am officially sixteen (and five days) old, have my (provisional) license, as well as a car. And a new phone to match! I should be driving myself to school starting on Tuesday (since I do not have school on Monday, huzzah). I’m contemplating on whether to buy a parking permit because, apparently, the guy who checks all the cars for the permits is supah-lazy. I’ll probably end up getting one, anyway. But I am going out of order, and that should not be . . .
So, shall we start with NYLF? That would probably be the best thing to do, after all, that is where I a week after I finished the Blinn dual credit class (first semester). Luckily, I went to the one in Houston, so I didn’t have much traveling to do. All the NYLF students stayed in one a Renaissance hotel (Plaza 6?); I think we numbered at around four hundred juniors and seniors, although there was one sophomore. Just one. Yeah, I think one of the elevators broke or something, probably on account of us trying to fit as many people as we can on an elevator that should only be holding ten. The food at the hotel was mediocre, not like I ate much at the hotel, anyway. I’m sure if I had gotten room service, my attitude about the food would be better, but I’m stingy and don’t like buying things I don’t necessarily need. I cannot believe my stinginess can overcome my love of food. It’s amazing, I know.
Over the course of ten days, we took trips to various places of Houston. Some medical-related sites, hospitals, and med schools in the Houston area. The rest of the time, we were at the hotel, listening to speakers, doing activities in our MED groups (all the students were separated into, I think, ten or twelve groups with around 25 people in each; each MED group is named for someone famous who made a major contribution to medicine), or participating in the (basically) mandatory fun activities that had been planned for the night.
The first site I went to was the Ronald McDonald House of Houston, where the group I was with (since we didn’t travel with our MED groups for site visits) had a brief tour of the place, and then made lunches for the parents who were staying there at the time. For those of you who do not know, the Ronald McDonald House of Houston houses the families of children who have cancer. It’s close to the hospital where their child is most likely being treated so that the parents don’t have to travel far or pay ridiculous prices to stay close to their children.
The second site I went to was the Spring Branch Hospital (I think. Not too sure about this one.) The group I was with this time was separated into groups of four, and then, once in the hospital, we did hospital rounds. My small group went to the ER first, and since it was morning, there weren’t any patients at the time. Next we went to the OR. I was allowed to watch part of a knee replacement surgery, before we had to change rounds again. All we did the next round was sit in the waiting room, since everyone who was there was off for lunch. Our last round was the radiology department. I would say that round was the highlight of the day, for my group got to have MRI scans of our heads. Yes, I still have mine. Bwuhaha.
For the medical schools, everyone traveled with their MED groups, and I think maybe three or four MED groups went to each med school. My MED group went to Baylor. The first few hours were lectures from some professors, but I kept falling asleep. Dark rooms + tired teens = everyone asleep. Honestly, I tried to stay awake, but I couldn’t do much to keep myself from falling asleep. I remember resorting to making paper shuriken for the rest of the lectures to keep myself awake, haha. I gave those to various people in my MED group.
I believe the funniest part of the whole ten days was me taking the stairs up to the twentieth floor for my MED group. If you try to take the elevators ten to fifteen minutes before the MED sessions start, you’ll end up waiting for a while, because that’s when everyone else heads to theirs as well. The MED sessions were held in separate rooms on the Plaza (twentieth floor) and the Concourse level (level below lobby). My room was on the eighth floor. I’m surprised I never got sore from taking those stairs up all the time.
Sadly, I’ve grown tired of typing at the moment, so I have split this summary into two parts. Maybe you’ll get the other half of the entry in a couple of weeks, at the rate I’m going.
So, shall we start with NYLF? That would probably be the best thing to do, after all, that is where I a week after I finished the Blinn dual credit class (first semester). Luckily, I went to the one in Houston, so I didn’t have much traveling to do. All the NYLF students stayed in one a Renaissance hotel (Plaza 6?); I think we numbered at around four hundred juniors and seniors, although there was one sophomore. Just one. Yeah, I think one of the elevators broke or something, probably on account of us trying to fit as many people as we can on an elevator that should only be holding ten. The food at the hotel was mediocre, not like I ate much at the hotel, anyway. I’m sure if I had gotten room service, my attitude about the food would be better, but I’m stingy and don’t like buying things I don’t necessarily need. I cannot believe my stinginess can overcome my love of food. It’s amazing, I know.
Over the course of ten days, we took trips to various places of Houston. Some medical-related sites, hospitals, and med schools in the Houston area. The rest of the time, we were at the hotel, listening to speakers, doing activities in our MED groups (all the students were separated into, I think, ten or twelve groups with around 25 people in each; each MED group is named for someone famous who made a major contribution to medicine), or participating in the (basically) mandatory fun activities that had been planned for the night.
The first site I went to was the Ronald McDonald House of Houston, where the group I was with (since we didn’t travel with our MED groups for site visits) had a brief tour of the place, and then made lunches for the parents who were staying there at the time. For those of you who do not know, the Ronald McDonald House of Houston houses the families of children who have cancer. It’s close to the hospital where their child is most likely being treated so that the parents don’t have to travel far or pay ridiculous prices to stay close to their children.
The second site I went to was the Spring Branch Hospital (I think. Not too sure about this one.) The group I was with this time was separated into groups of four, and then, once in the hospital, we did hospital rounds. My small group went to the ER first, and since it was morning, there weren’t any patients at the time. Next we went to the OR. I was allowed to watch part of a knee replacement surgery, before we had to change rounds again. All we did the next round was sit in the waiting room, since everyone who was there was off for lunch. Our last round was the radiology department. I would say that round was the highlight of the day, for my group got to have MRI scans of our heads. Yes, I still have mine. Bwuhaha.
For the medical schools, everyone traveled with their MED groups, and I think maybe three or four MED groups went to each med school. My MED group went to Baylor. The first few hours were lectures from some professors, but I kept falling asleep. Dark rooms + tired teens = everyone asleep. Honestly, I tried to stay awake, but I couldn’t do much to keep myself from falling asleep. I remember resorting to making paper shuriken for the rest of the lectures to keep myself awake, haha. I gave those to various people in my MED group.
I believe the funniest part of the whole ten days was me taking the stairs up to the twentieth floor for my MED group. If you try to take the elevators ten to fifteen minutes before the MED sessions start, you’ll end up waiting for a while, because that’s when everyone else heads to theirs as well. The MED sessions were held in separate rooms on the Plaza (twentieth floor) and the Concourse level (level below lobby). My room was on the eighth floor. I’m surprised I never got sore from taking those stairs up all the time.
Sadly, I’ve grown tired of typing at the moment, so I have split this summary into two parts. Maybe you’ll get the other half of the entry in a couple of weeks, at the rate I’m going.
Outsiders in Society
Recently, in my AP Language and Composition class, my teacher assigned her classes a synthesis paper on outsiders in our society. We had read The Scarlet Letter and just finished watching The Crucible. We were to use three out of the five sources to quote from in our paper. Along with the two I have just named, two clips from Good Night and Good Luck (Or was the title the other way around?), and an article entitled “Just Walk By: Black Men and Public Space.” Of course, I know that my paper could be much better than it was, especially if I had started it sooner. For those of you who read my Xanga (if any), I hope you enjoy what I have written. Comments would be much appreciated, even though the paper has already been submitted for grading.
Philosophically, every person can be considered an outsider in another’s opinion. The basic standards that are considered when judging another to be an outsider remain the same for everyone, regardless of ethnicity, economic status, or intelligence. For example, a person born into wealth may regard him- or herself an outsider because they do not have to worry about financial problems. This person may also view one who is impoverished as an outsider because the latter is unable to provide for himself. Likewise, the impoverished views both himself and the one financially blessed to be outsiders for the same reasons. Although these two people are from different ends of a spectrum, the ways they consider people outsiders are the same. Therefore, people considered outsiders and those considered “insiders” both have a similar understanding of how this judgment system works. In today’s society, people of extremely high intelligence, people with a disability (physical, or mental), and people who are extremely outspoken are the main groups one thinks of as outsiders.
“Jealousy breeds contempt” lays the foundation for the ostracization of people whose levels of thought seem unfathomable for those of average intelligence. Society treats these people by three basic methods: mocking the intelligent, expecting superhuman accomplishments (exerting overwhelming stress upon the individual), or ignoring them entirely. Society has even created separate schools for people of such intelligence (although these institutions were established for the betterment of bright individuals). These actions cause exceedingly smart people to become extremely independent. An aversion to social settings may stem from this independence, resulting in social ineptness (even when with people of similar intelligence). A need to “fit in” may cause the person to not live at his full potential, wasting the gift he has been given. Society censors these people by not accepting them and implying that acting “normal” would gain them a more favorable treatment. Just as excessive surveillance causes Winston Smith in Orwell’s 1984 to subconsciously self-censor himself, stereotypical treatment of highly intelligent people will cause them to suppress their creative and cognitive abilities (source C paragraph 7).
Society treats people with physical or mental disabilities similarly to those with high intelligence. Some are mocked for their differences while others are ignored for their oddities; however, depending on the severity of the disabilities, little is expected from these people. For those with more debilitating disabilities, people trained specially to deal with mentally or physically challenged people are recruited to care for the latter. As with the intelligent outcasts, the government has established special institutions for these kinds of people. State schools undertake the task of teaching those with mental disabilities, at the pace the student needs, while insane asylums care for those who have experienced severe trauma that has rendered them incapable of caring for themselves. In a way, this is society’s attempt to distance itself from people who seem extremely different from the norm. Society has even coordinated Olympics especially for those physically or mentally challenged. Although, from this aspect, society (as a whole) cares for these people, many others act condescendingly. In the 1600s, people with physical and mental disabilities were sometimes believed to be connected with witchcraft and the devil (whether they be victims or witches themselves).
While society mainly ostracizes the highly intelligent and the physically or mentally disabled, it tends to suspect and censor the ones who blatantly express their opinions. In the past, everyone was expected to speak only in court when given permission. Expressing one’s opinion that disagreed with a majority of the people caused the person to be judged when they had otherwise been innocent. For example, when John Proctor questions the abilities of the girls to see the devil and his minions, suspicion falls on him (source B). One person would not disagree with the majority without a viable reason. Society has determined for itself what it likes and dislikes; when someone expressive crosses the imaginary line, certain people of the society become indignant and enraged, thinking that they have been wronged or misrepresented in some way. As Edward R. Murrow said, “[Societies] have a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information” (source E). Since society has a defaulted set of standards for the people within itself, such as political correctness, when an expressive person speaks his mind, society attempts to asphyxiate the individual, wanting to make him or her conform to its standards. Through this, people slowly lose their given right to freedom of speech and thought. Society should be more tolerant of such expressive people because their voiced opinions causes the rest of the people to think about the problems of today’s world. To silence and control them would be a mistake, even if their expressiveness becomes blatant and uncivilized.
In conclusion, everyone is considered an outsider in his life at some point, by someone. The world contains billions of opposites, and anything opposite something else can be considered unorthodox (or an outsider, in this case). One does not even have to be a polar opposite of someone else in order to consider the other an outcast. The slightest difference in personalities can trigger the stereotypes in one’s mind into classifying another as an outcast, although the term “outcast” may not be used. People view outsiders through the outlooks they have been raised with. Outsiders are only those whose personality and being causes one to differentiate himself from another, no matter how big or small the difference.