Carousel with Amy and Gillian!!!

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Gillian, Amy and I first crossed paths at an audition for Guys and Dolls. I remembered Gillian because she was an awesome dancer, and I remembered Amy because she had a beautiful legit soprano voice. (Nothing about me was memorable except perhaps being a nervous wreck. And being Asian, that makes me stand out in the theatre world.) I think that audition was one of the first for all of us; we were just starting to get into this thing called musical theatre. To be fair, Amy had plenty of experience in opera, but I believe she had recently made the jump to focus on Broadway musicals.

Since then, we’ve occasionally run into each other in classes or at other auditions, but we never had an opportunity to work together on a show. Until now! The cast list for Narberth’s production of Carousel was just released today, and we’re all going to be in it! YAY!!!!! I’m already anticipating good times and I can’t wait Congrats, girls!!

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FriSatSun, soccer, and switchable CSS (that A|A|A font-size thing)

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This weekend has been sweet I still have to study for an exam tomorrow, but it’s been sweet.

I’ve always wanted to try that restaurant in Rittenhouse Square called Friday Saturday Sunday. Well, my birthday was last week, but I was too busy getting rocked by school to celebrate, so Chris took me to FriSatSun last Friday. It’s a cozy, romantic little place, not too trendy or loud, with great food — I loved it. I had the crusted tilapia and he got the duck. For dessert, we had a mocha creme brulee, which was good except that they evidently were in a hurry and it not was properly warmed or brulee’d. Our poor waiter was rather harried by the table next to us, though (he refilled a water glass that actually contained a drink on the rocks — oops ), and neither of us cared enough to send it back. We then split a bottle of Merlot (I have to start remembering what these various wines taste like or I’ll never figure out what I like). I’m pretty sure I downed at least 1/4 of it. Maybe 2/5 even! That doesn’t sound impressive, but as my friend Jasmina commented, “You look like a lightweight.” Thanks, Jasmina.

My exchange with Jasmina occurred post-soccer game yesterday. My old team needed a girl, and I’m generally pretty happy to have an excuse to run around and roughhouse people. However, I am in no condition to run around these days. So, I tend to look forward to soccer with a mix of happy anticipation and apprehension; I always feel glad I played after the game, but before and while playing, I’m always wondering how much pain I’ll incur. On Saturday, though, the opponents couldn’t field a full team, so we actually just picked up a few more people and scrimmaged ourselves — tons of fun! Marty the cool referee played, too

Yesterday I also started working on a website for Prescott’s dad. (Even though we’re not together anymore, we’re still buddies, and of course I will help out where I can.) It’s been a long time since I did any coding, and I was really eager to get started. Gosh, it’s fun! Poor Chris was bored because I ignored him all night as he sat next to me…I can’t help it, I get carried away. Also, sometimes I just like having a warm body next to me even if we’re not doing anything together.

Anyway, I needed to add the font-size changing option that you might have seen on some websites; it’s meant to provide accessibility to people who need larger (or smaller?) fonts. Rather than relying on the client’s browser options to change font size (yes, I realize it’s available under the “View” menu), setting my own font adjustments enables me to control how the page displays, so that stuff doesn’t shift around and so forth. The web design resource A List Apart has a great article by Paul Sowden on creating switchable CSS using alternate stylesheets. It’s really easy to implement.

The only hangup I have is that I thought the alternate stylesheets would override only those selectors modified, and the others would default to the main stylesheet. As a result, I had to include all of the content from the main one on my alternate, with the few specific changes I wanted for my larger and smaller font styles.

Speaking of larger and smaller, I’m wondering whether the default should be the smallest font, with two options to size up, or whether it should be the middle ground. Any thoughts?

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Hmm, I suppose I am a masochist

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Today, my first math homework was due. I am taking Engineering Mathematics (ENM) 510, Foundations of Engineering Mathematics I. Whereas this class would be too easy for my Applied Math grad friend Yan, I can’t make heads or tails of the stuff sometimes. To make matters worse, I shamelessly procrastinated on it and didn’t really start until about 8 hrs before it was due. Oh, I had looked at it earlier, and it seemed impossible. As of this morning, it still seemed impossible.

My friend Dania and I collaborated for a bit, and then we decided that, since this class allowed us to drop the lowest homework grade from the final average, we’d cut our losses and focus on the other problem sets we had due. So, I skipped class, skipped lab meeting ( naughty, i know), and conquered perhaps 3 of the 5 multi-step problems. The remaining ones I had no idea how to approach. (Do YOU remember how to do the determinant f a 4x4 matrix? I don’t.) I’ve never turned in a homework assignment that was so incomplete and dubious.

Yet after the exhilarating exercise (yes, I said that), I’m strangely happier than I have been in quite some time. My math homework pretty much kicked me in the shins and made me eat dirt. So why am I on a strange high with an incorrigible smile on my face? It feels good to struggle, to feel the adrenaline of approaching a solution, perhaps encounter an obstacle, and feel my brain pulse more than ever as I edge just a little bit closer to the answer. It feels good to struggle and come out at least partly on top, knowing that I have conquered that which once defied me, knowing that I still have an enormous amount to learn. That feeling keeps me going, keeps me learning. That feeling is exactly why I signed up to go to school forever…or at least until this md-phd thing finishes.

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Today is the day - get fit!!

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Last night, I had my dinner. Then I had a pint of ice cream. Then I had a stack of Pringles — which I normally don’t eat, but these were “screamin dill pickle” flavored, packaged in a lime green canister, and my curiosity got the better of me.

Today, I feel blah, as if digesting all that unhealthiness sapped me of all my energy. So here I am, resolved: I will stop eating excessive amounts of sweets and treats, start running again, and hit the gym. The Penn gym is pretty sweet, recently built and complete with a rock climbing wall. The best part for me, though, is the variety of fun classes, including cardio kickboxing, butt/gut/thighs and other activities with fun names.

I am hoping that if I blog about my resolution, I will actually keep it If I don’t give any progress reports, it’s probably cuz I’ve slacked. And you’re not gonna let me get away with slacking, right???

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Spinning on that dizzy edge

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Now that I’m ready to talk about it, I might as well blog about it: Prescott and I ended our relationship earlier this summer. It was difficult and rough, but it was time. We were together off and on for seven years; in that time, even when we were apart, I don’t think we belonged to anyone but each other. I spent over a quarter of my life with that boy, I grew up with him in those seven years. He made me cry, he made me laugh, he drove me insane at times. But I always loved him, and I have no regrets. I always loved him, and I always will. How could I not? He stole part of my heart and has yet to give it back. He is my family and my best friend; he knows me better than anyone else on this earth.

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