─ The Opposite of Loneliness ─

{thirtyone/fifty}

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

One thing that I’ve taken away from this book is that the meaning of life is 42. Not that I didn’t know it before, but I finally found where it came from. I guess it just shows that sometimes we focus too much on the answers, and not the questions. So what if the answer is 42? It’s meaningless if we don’t know the question. All in all, I really enjoyed reading the novel (in the form of an extremely old, tattered copy that I borrowed from Tisch that had the words “Don’t Panic” written on the cover with a Sharpie pen). I also really liked how mice were the ones running the experiments on the humans with the guise of being the ones that were experimented on. That was a nice touch on Adams’ part.

Rating: 4.3/5.0

{thirty/fifty}

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

This had always been on my to-read list since senior year of high school, but I’m so glad I decided to read it after my first year in America. I loved how there were references to places in Boston & Massachusetts (I nearly laughed when I saw Davis Sq. mentioned) that I’ve gotten to know during the past year. Also, the short stories in this collection call out to me a lot more through the experiences of Asian immigrants as well as some of the flaws of the American educational system in terms of learning from a more international perspective, both of which I understand and relate to a lot more now that I’ve gotten through freshmen year. Lahiri’s prose is also sculptured beautifully, and I loved nearly, if not all, of the stories.

Rating: 4.7/5.0

─ 27 Things That Will Make Your Life Easier, Period ─

It’s the thought that counts.

For me, presents are never about whether or not I got what I really wanted. What really matters is the thought and effort that’s put into it. It’s about whether or not you thought very hard about what the person receiving will like or not, and it’s also about how much effort you put in the gift. 

So when I receive things like a lego spaceship, a plane, a little plate and one of the best drawings I have ever seen, I can’t help but smile. A 5 year old’s drawing of the two of you playing under a rainbow is seriously the best thing ever. And a lego spaceship when I know how much my little boy treasures his lego? I seriously feel so blessed to have been able to spend so much time with this little kid. 

It’s a little sad though, since today marks the last time I will see him this year at the Daycare Center (and perhaps for a long time since he’ll be going to school soon). It was so amazing being able to take a break from all the studying and just play freeze-tag and become a little kid all over again.

But the truth of the matter is that once those two hours of chilling at the daycare center are over, I become “old” again. Bills to pay, work to worry over. Now it’s time to go back to writing my paper on the Pathetique Sonata, and study study study for my Cognitive Science exam next week. 

ilovecharts:

Rhetological Fallacies

See many more here.

Watching the sun rise at Portland Head Light with friends = one unforgettable college trip.

Cape Elizabeth, ME - April 2012

{twentynine/fifty}

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Really loved this book…there’s not much else I can add. I loved the perspective that it was told in, and I think it captured the essence of the Holocaust very nicely. It was heartbreaking and all sorts of beautiful.

Rating: 4.5/5.0

World Autism Awareness Day

The Puzzle of More Autism Cases

U.S. kids with Autism up 78% in Past Decade

Belmar Beach, NJ - March 2012

Convalescence

I find it hard to remember sometimes that health is something that needs to be maintained. Although I am constantly told stories about illnesses, they still feel so removed, so far away. I am always convinced, deep down, that it’d never happen to my family.

But it’s when four simple words (“your grandma has cancer”) reach my ears that I start to think about health, about illness, about human mortality. It’s when these four simple words reach my ears that I realize how thin the line between health and sickness really is. 

I feel extremely grateful that it’s still in the early stages, and that it’s not too late to operate on the tumor. 86% success rate.

But it’s still cancer.

I don’t know what to think or what to feel. There’s a mixture of fear, relief and panic.

I’ve never been good at dealing with things by keeping it all bottled inside. And my parents have been freaking out about it enough that I don’t want to discuss my feelings with them further.

Thank god for best friends, because who else would be so understanding when you suddenly change the topic and casually bring up the fact that your grandma is diagnosed with cancer?

Fran - what would I do without you? Probably have a mild breakdown. I hope our friendship never weakens. 

Princeton, NJ - March 2012

Spring Break :)

When I am experiencing a complex story or novel, the broader planes, and also details, tend to fall away. Rereading them, certain sentences are what greet me as familiars. You have visited before, they say when I recognize them. We encounter books at different times in life, often appreciating them, apprehending them, in different ways. But their language is constant. The best sentences orient us, like stars in the sky, like landmarks on a trail.

Jhumpa Lahiri - My Life’s Sentences

7 Day Culture Challenge, Day 6:

What countries did your ancestors come from/what is your nationality?

My ancestors come from China. But this baby was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1993 :)