Posts Tagged ‘memories’

Amazing Race: some observations

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
22 May 2009
0
photo credit: gearlive.com

photo credit: gearlive.com

When I went online today to try to find new episodes of the shows I started to follow recently, I found that apparently the seasons have ended.  I guess that makes sense in retrospect, seeing how dramatic the finale for House was, but I guess I didn’t quite see it for Lie to Me.  Well, once I found out, I tried to figure out when the next seasons start, but I guess they don’t tell you that.  Perhaps people who watch TV just know this, just like any schoolchild can tell you what month they start school.  Unfortunately, that is not knowledge I have had since sometime in middle school, so I’m quite out of the loop.  Thus, in an effort to do an activity that doesn’t require much out of me but is still relatively engaging, I thought I’d check out the latest season of the Amazing Race, which I have read about when Tammy and Victor won as the first Asian-American team.

What struck me was the relationships, the unpredictability, and the rush and intensity of it all.  First and most importantly, any sort of show like this that challenges people to work together under high stress situations tells you a lot about their personalities and relationship.  You watch as they get frustrated with what is going on and some people blame themselves, some people blame others, while some people will blame the situation itself.  And in terms of dealing with that stress, there are those who lash out at their partner, those who get upset with themselves, and those who are impatient or even rude to the locals.  It’s interesting to see the different coping mechanisms that come into play when these people are under stress.  Certainly anyone would start to crack and show their faults and again and again I would see power struggles within the teams, with one partner trying to be more dominant.  Usually this was because of their personal relationship as family or significant others.  It seemed to happen less so with the teams that were coworkers and friends.

photo credit: abovethelaw.com

photo credit: abovethelaw.com

Observing all of that made me evaluate myself and how I would behave under those circumstances.  I think I’d want to be the dominant one and would in turn be the one dishing out more criticism.  Of course, all of imagination towards how I could compete is in the scenario in which I would go with Panda.  So I’m thinking of the dynamics of our relationship, where I assert myself far more and tend to be more expressive when it comes to sharing my feelings and gripes.  So for me, the hardest thing would be to let go and not always control, but step back and let him do his thing.  The good thing with us is that whenever we get into a disagreement, at the bottom of it we both just want things to go well.  And though we’ll misunderstand each other, we’re both working hard to make things better, in our own ways.  As for how I’d treat the people along the way, I know I’d thank them a lot for their help, but I don’t know if I’d get exasperated when the communication barriers get in the way and delay things.  I can be impatient and demanding, and I may not always be able to be the gracious person I’d like to be.  I’m still working on that.  Don’t shows like this make you reevaluate yourself and your life too?

Secondly, there was the unpredictability of the situation.  Until the moment you step on that mat and hear you’ve been eliminated, there’s nearly always hope.  Time and again teams have yo-yoed from leading to lagging and back again and oftentimes they get back on an even playing field due to travel restrictions.  Plus, you never know exactly what’s going on with all the other teams, so even though you may have a good idea, something unexpected could have gotten in the way.  It’s a huge lesson in hope that I think people need to grasp better.  It’s too often that I see expressions of defeat and despair that end up in glee and joy when they discover that things weren’t as bad as they thought.  At the same time, there are great examples of people who don’t give up and fight to the last bit, no matter how badly off course they get.  That’s the beauty of it – this fighting courage that they get when it comes down to the wire.

Sometimes you just gotta go for it.

Sometimes you just gotta go for it.

Similarly, in life, so many people say negative things about what they think can’t happen only to be proven wrong.  I know I hold myself back a lot because I’m afraid of venturing out to be wrong.  However, everywhere you read, the most common thing that self-made successful people share is a certain level of bravery in taking risks and trying.  This is a topic addressed often in entrepreneurship.  If you want to do something and make something of yourself, you need to go out and attempt all kinds of crazy ideas.  Sure, lots of things will fall flat and you’ll probably get shot down more than you’d ever care for, but then you just have to pick yourselves up and keep going, taking what you’ve learned from each lesson to build on to your repertoire of knowledge.  I want to be like that since I want to be an entrepreneur and I hope shows like this are encouraging more people to act like that as well.

Finally, the intensity of the race and the pace that it goes at (which I’m sure is highly misrepresented in the show) is astonishing sometimes.  The one thing I don’t like about this premise is that people rush through these countries so quickly that they only get a glimpse of what things are like there.  It’s not true travel and tourism in the way that I value it.  So it makes me wonder how much down time they get and if they even have time to go check out some things they may have wanted to.  I think the worst thing would be to finally go to a place you’ve been dreaming of only to run around like maniacs trying to track down the right clues.  For their sake, I hope they get to do some of their own traveling, though it doesn’t really look like it.  I’m sure everyone is so focused on conserving their energy for the race and preparing themselves to take on challenges that they probably aren’t even in the right mindset to truly enjoy the cities they pass through.  It’s the one big downside I see to this great big game.

Me and my bags, dragged all around Europe.

Me and my bags, dragged all around Europe.

Though granted, I started to get nostalgic for my travels through Europe, like the 5 weeks I spent gallavanting around from Portugal to Hungary, Greece to Sweden, spanning 21 cities.  It was a similar mad rush, with me averaging 1.5 days per city, including travel time.  I had a basic plan that changed a few times depending on when I could catch trains, if I could book hostels, and where I felt like going next.  There’s a beauty and freedom in that kind of travel, where you only really know where you’re going to be in the next two days, but no more.  I had similar frustrations with missing trains, running with a rucksack on my back while dragging a suitcase behind me, and getting lost or stranded.  Additionally, I had to deal with extra fees when my luggage got too heavy for the small, cheap airlines that fly around locally.  The moment I arrived into a city, I’d get a map, go online, and find all the historical landmarks, museums, and other tourist attractions I was interested in visiting.  From there I’d map out my plan of action and go from there.  It was 5 full weeks of banking it from one place to another, trying out all kinds of cuisine I could find, and still managing to enjoy some hotspots and take a breather.  It was quite fun to travel like that and I miss it, though I do plan on going back to see things more in depth in the future and spend some time getting more immersed in the cultural feel.

So all in all, it was a very reflective experience that allowed me to think about my own life.  Which I think we should always be doing.  🙂

Taste and smell, poor overlooked senses

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , ,
20 May 2009
2
Oh yes, the smell is only the beginning...

Oh yes, the smell is only the beginning...

As I was doing research today about learning methods and styles, it occurred to me that again and again people would mention visuals, sounds, and physically doing to learn.  It could range from seeing a chart or drawing a picture to hearing a speech or talking to yourself, but never once did the sense of taste or smell get brought up.  I guess it’s because people can’t really fathom eating an apple and remembering a piece of knowledge, or suddenly remembering a fact or equation from smelling a certain flower.  So I’d like to ask, why not?  Tastes and smells are just as evocative as the other senses and often a particular scent can trigger far more vivid and emotional memories than any other form of primer.  And because of that, it can greatly affect our mood, whether we realize it or not.  As for taste, doesn’t just the thought of something succulent make you salivate?  And if you’re reacting so strongly physically, surely a specific memory can be conditioned to be associated with a taste.

When thinking about this, I suddenly had this vision of using these strong triggers to enhance learning.  Imagine walking into a final and smelling the must of the seat, which reminds you of the answer for that question on neural circuits.  Then the person next to you, who always sits next to you, moves and wafts some of his cologne at you, which triggers a memory to that question about the frontal lobe’s functions.  Your hand starts to get tired from writing and you reach into your bag for your lotion to help relax  your muscles a bit and that scent brings up memories of that lecture on how the two hemispheres differ.  Next you reach for your water, which has just a hint of sweet that helps you recall how male and female brains are activated differently in doing tasks.  Finally, you pop a few jelly beans in your mouth for a pick-me-up before lunch and that leads you to the answer for the last question.  You then check over your answers, pleased, and go turn in your exam.

Not being able to taste this anymore?! Noooo...

Not being able to taste this anymore?! Noooo...

Unfortunately, the above scenario is not plausible, since it is far more difficult to incorporate tastes and smells into learning.  Because in the end, you taste and smell so many arbitrary things that you can hardly control what you do come into contact with during a test or otherwise, when you’re trying to evoke a memory.  However, sight and sound are easier to replicate anywhere, anytime.  Additionally, we can reenact scenes by will (even if it’s not that well) just by using our imaginations.  I guess that’s what makes seeing and hearing things such common memory aid techniques – they lend themselves to creation on demand.  However, who can make themselves smell or taste something?  It’s pretty much limited to your own body odor (if you can even smell that… we’re so well conditioned to our own smell we mostly don’t) and maybe some bile.  Even then, it takes a lot of effort for a not very pleasant sensation.

Additionally, these two senses are less commonly lost than sight or hearing, so they’re more taken for granted.  When they are lost, it can really affect your mood negatively.  In fact, it’s been found that people who are depressed have a duller sense of smell (this is the opposite effect, but you can see there’s a correlation here).  Can you imagine never tasting food again?  Never smelling it?  That would be terrible.  People often don’t realize how strongly smells affect our perception of taste, so losing either would be quite miserable.  Hmm seems like there’s a huge connection to food and its enjoyment here.  But really, these are important senses that protect you not from predators, but from those nasty poisonous foods and substances!  If you couldn’t taste or smell, you’d need a taste tester to make sure your food wasn’t spoiled or toxic.  In an evolutionary sense, what use is it to see and hear predators coming if you just ate a deadly plant and essentially killed yourself?

Yeah, I know, really random thoughts.  Seriously though, value all the senses you have and relish in what joy they can bring you.  Oh, and this subject reminds me of the Jorvik Viking Centre in York, which uses scents during its ride/tour to give you a better idea of what life was like back then.

Anything but the “normal” job recruiting process!

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , , ,
16 May 2009
1

From the way that I grew up, I now constantly need new stimulation, new faces, new situations.  For the first time in my life, I am sitting at a desk all day long, expected to do work for the most part of the day.  At first during K-12 schooling, I sat in a desk a lot, being talked at (and taking some notes from that).  Then in college I sat in any given class for no more than two hours at a time.  I also made an effort to schedule my classes in the afternoon, since I knew I wouldn’t make morning classes.  I’ve always been a night owl, feeling most calm and productive late at night, when the rest of my  community had gone to bed.  So one of the ways I retained my freedom was by staying up as I pleased.  In my housing segment, I was well-known for being up reliably late.  Queen of All-Nighters, even.

So back to constant new experiences.  Of the ten jobs I’ve held prior to this one, three required sitting, but for no more than 4 hours.  I don’t know if it’s because I’ve never had a conventional full-time job or what, but I certainly can’t sit at a desk and concentrate on my work for a full day.  I need breaks to move around, or rest, or do something else.  Anything else.  I’m not used to this office atmosphere, as casual and welcoming as it is.   That then begs the question: what type of work can I do?  Well, I need a lot of variety.  I need to go out and meet clients or visit sites.  I need to be able to write a proposal one day and do research the next day.  I’ve found I have trouble spending two days in a row doing the same thing if it requires a lot of energy.

Not only is my preference for how I work a bit… distracted, the way that I go about getting these jobs also tends to be rather unusual.  Let’s explore:

Job #1, waitress/bus boy at Home Bon Buffet: asked the manager if he needed anyone to work there when my parents and I were eating there one night.  Left my number and got a call a couple weeks later and started work.

Job #2, swim instructor at local YMCA: got stopped while swimming laps on April Fool’s 2002 and asked by manager if I wanted to work there.  Thought it was a joke, but he followed through and ended up teaching Polliwogs and Guppies.

Job #3, production intern (<–check out my IMDb listing!) for an independent film company (No Matter Productions): got an e-mail saying I was referred from another internship I had applied for that was already full.  Went in for interview and started working that day.

Job #4, textbook reader for blind students through UCLA Office for Students with Disabilities: saw the ad through classes I was enrolled in, e-mailed, can’t remember if there was an interview, and started to get work.

Job #5, financial intern at Smith Barney: found listing on myUCLA, e-mailed, interviewed, and arranged summer hours.  The most standard and normal as it gets, I guess (except not one of those with multiple interviews).

Job #6, product demonstrator for Natural Selection Promotions: bugged one of my fraternity brothers about taking a job I wanted that another brother had told us she was leaving.  He then told me his friend had a contact, so I e-mailed with resume and was soon told to arrange time for training to start.

Job #7, marketing intern for UCLA Live!: heard about it through a fraternity brother while studying abroad, forget if I e-interviewed or called on Skype.

Job #8, computer lab concierge for UCLA Office of Residential Life: another opportunity from a fraternity brother, though I was aware of it from my Resident Assistant the year before.  MSN interviewed while in England.

Job #9, “Scribe” (campus rep) for Livescribe: and still, something from my fraternity, happened upon their Scribe program when looking at their Facebook page.  Filled out form to apply, got phone interview.

Job #10, Orientation Counselor for UCLA Orientation Program: saw a flier, was reminded of a dream I had my entire undergraduate career, and applied.  Also rather normal, did one interview, a group interview, and a follow-up.

Job #11, Assistant Manager for Caelan & Sage: Marylin was working there and felt that I should too, so she proposed it to the boss and it was cool.  Had a Skype meet-up to solidify things and meet each other.

I don't mind corporate wear, but corporate culture? Not so much.

I don't mind corporate wear, but corporate culture? Not so much.

So generally, I didn’t go through the “normal” process of career fairs or online job listings and most of them, though requiring interviews, were quite simple and straightforward.  Of course, I simplified a lot of this and it was just like the jobs were handed to me.  Usually my resume spoke for itself and some other e-mail or phone interactions cemented things.  But overall, it was a whole lot less complicated than the convulted things you need to do these days… attend job/career fairs like mad and suck up to the recruiters, send follow-up e-mails and maintain a relationship, get an internship in hopes of being invited full-time when you graduate or apply and go in for behavioral interviews, one after another.  Me?  I have no patience for any of that.  I attended one career fair and hated it, so thereafter I swore I’d do things on my own terms.

I guess that’s why I want to be an entrepreneur and do consulting!  It offers much more interesting new work and opportunity to do things my way.

Entertainment and the internet’s disadvantages outside the states

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , , ,
15 May 2009
0
dsc04568

Can you read it? It says: "Catch Bones as early as 24 hours after the USA telecast."

Being one who never really paid attention to TV shows or movies, I didn’t know about the glaring disparity between when shows were available in the US and when they became available internationally. It wasn’t until I studied abroad in England that it started to be more apparent. When I first arrived in Scotland on my way to my school, I saw an ad for a movie that had been advertised back home three months earlier and was already old news. It was then that I started to learn about the time delay in getting things abroad.  It seems that since Hollywood is the hub for entertainment, most shows produced are in the states, done according to our laws.  Once it is something that needs to be prepped for an international audience though, it takes time for licensing, screening, and of course, translated subtitles or voice-overs.  I guess it really surprised me that that’s how it is in the UK because there’s no need for all the translation worries, so it really just comes down to legal issues.

Another thing I was surprised by was how what was legal to watch in the states was not legal outside of it.  So, I was promptly blocked from sites like Hulu once they detected my IP to be outside the allowed territories.  This I can understand, since American laws can only have jurisdiction over Americans and does not extend to foreigners in other countries.  Their own local companies would have to come up with some sort of agreement with the TV stations themselves.  Ok, I can accept that.  I’ll have to find more local sites to offer me these perks.

I was reminded of this a few weeks ago, when Marylin was going through her “CSI Supreme Sunday” fix, watching hours of the various versions of the show all day.  One of the episodes was a two-part series to be continued the following week and of course, not wanting to wait, I went online to search for it.  It turns out that episode originally aired around a year old!  Shocked, I was reminded of that very first encounter I had with this idea of delayed entertainment and a filtering process that blocks people in other countries from seeing things as soon as Americans generally get to.  Of course, films that were created by non-Americans are exceptions, but nearly all American-made productions experience this red tape or whatever it is.

Today, however, I was surprised to find that Angels and Demons is released worldwide at pretty much the same time in most countries.  I don’t know if movies are more likely to get through international barriers or if this is a sign of changing times and a cohesion developing around the globe.  Maybe this movie is merely an exception to the rule, seeking out all international approval before deciding to release it anywhere.  Whatever the case, I think more shows should opt for this (what’s the point in making other audiences wait?).  I can see that potentially a lot of traffic is driven to online sites that offer free viewings of these productions.  I’m sure broadcasting and theater companies would prefer to have them seen on the big screen and on TV instead!

Slightly off-topic, but still related is websites that don’t allow access outside the US, like the Opt Out Prescreen site, the free annual credit report site, and US-only retailers.  The Opt Out Prescreen to reduce junk mail and credit card offers I can understand because if you’re not in the states you can’t possibly be receiving junk mail now.  The one thing I can see is if you are having your mail held while you’re away and don’t want to come back to find piles of outdated junk offers.  However, I feel like the free credit report that we are allowed by law each year should not be limited to being seen to only when you are in the country.  After all, I’m still using my US-based credit cards for all charges, which is affecting my credit, is it not?  So why can I not check up on that if I’m temporarily living out of the country?

Even worse are the retailers that do not let you even look at their site because they serve only on American soil, like cowboom.com.  I was so confused about why they blocked me that I even sent them an e-mail explaining the various scenarios in which I should be able to access their site (and how they’re losing out on potential customers):

1. I am a foreigner who wants to buy a gift for someone I know in the states and have it shipped to them directly

2. I am a citizen who is just out of the country for awhile and I want to buy a gift for someone back home while I’m away (or this period could be more extended)

3. I am a citizen who is currently out of the country, but wanted to buy something to have by the time I got back (which was the case for me)

Honestly, what are you thinking?  If you didn’t track my IP address, I’d look like any of your other customers, using an American credit card mailing to an American address.  Well, good for them, they’ve lost my business.  And unless I get an e-mail back from them apologizing and undoing this, I’m certainly never going to use them, even when I’m back and have full access again.

Growing up in the states we are often so sheltered and privileged.  It’s not just this, but many deeply important ways as well, from the freedoms we have to the things we take for granted and never knew others don’t get.  If only for that reason, I think Americans should get out and not just visit, but immerse themselves in other countries and cultures, especially the ones that are more dissimilar to ours.  Otherwise, you may never know about these differences in seemingly given things that complicate the rest of the world.

The inevitable Mother’s Day post

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , , , ,
10 May 2009
0

I like to be strange, different, unusual.  So, it’s almost too cliche to write about my love for my mother on Mother’s Day.  Not that I don’t like the idea – I certainly appreciate my mom and enjoy celebrating her role in my life!  However, it seems all to predictable to be writing about motherhood on this day.  I’m sure a good majority of the world is doing so and the blogosphere is alight with posts of a similar sentiment.  Even on Twitter, the most trending term is “Happy Mother’s Day.”  But, filial piety and maternal love win out in the end and I concede to do something all too normal and expected.  That’s my tribute to my mom, I guess.

When I ran into Marylin’s mother outside in the living room today, I made a point to wish her a Happy Mother’s Day and inquire about her plans.  I was vaguely aware of dinner plans she and Marylin had with family friends, but I wasn’t sure if it was just a normal gathering or if the holiday would be acknowledged.  I guess it was kind of just a random gathering also meant to celebrate a friend’s birthday.  So celebrate away!  Celebrate all there is to celebrate on this day.  What struck me the most though, was her initial reaction to my well wishes: “Oh, I’d forgotten all about that.”  It reminded me so much of my mother and I asked Panda if his mother is the same way too.

You see, my mom’s the type of person who doesn’t remember Mother’s Day or her birthday, or any other day out there that’s meant to celebrate her.  I have a theory that she only remembered her birthday long enough for me to be old enough to remember it for her and now it’s just a fleeting memory in her mind.  So, every year, it’s up to me to remind her that, this is your day and I’m taking you out to eat, as our family tradition goes.  Over the years we’ve ended up going to the same Asian buffet for every holiday that we celebrate together, whether it’s Mother’s or Father’s Day, Christmas, or one of our birthdays.  We don’t make a big fuss out of these things and they pass rather quietly, but I make a point of never forgetting.  It’s one of the most basic ways I can show that I care.

12-dsc01156

Well, it turns out that not all mothers are like this and Panda’s mom quite likes to be recognized, at least in comparison with my mom.  I think I’ll be the type who won’t bring it up in the hopes that I will be remembered.  I asked Panda if he’d remember all the important days to celebrate and though he was reluctant to promise at first, in case something comes up, he eventually agreed to extend that promise to me.  After all, I realize that life gets in the way and I’m really only asking for his word that he’ll try his best, which I know he will.

So back to my wonderful mother.  Currently she and my dad are in LA again, so I hope they go out to a nice place to eat.  As the truly dedicated mom that she is, she’s helping me with my taxes and finances.  She was always the one I turned to for all things money related.  Right now she’s in a stage in her life where she isn’t sure what to do.  Before I left for Singapore, I spent my time trying to give her the confidence and hope that she needs to perhaps take a leap and go for her dreams.  After all, they were put off because she chose to take care of me fully, rather than be distracted by a job.  So now that she’s back in the work force, doing environmental consulting work with my dad, she’s looking to do more of what interests her.  And that is something in the aerospace industry, preferably along the lines of designing planes.  She feels like she’s too old and there isn’t a foothold for her to grasp in the industry.  The unfortunate thing is that employers don’t even want to consider her because she’s not as young and fresh as college graduates and she took so many years off from practicing her engineering expertise.  They don’t trust her to be as sharp and capable as she used to be, even though she has been teaching herself programs like AutoCAD and attended some courses at our community college.  How do you get people to give you a chance though?

So for now, she’s helping my dad out in his company, building up her resume again as she tries to think of how to get into Boeing or Northrup or Lockheed and the likes of them.  I fully support her and hoep that she can achieve what she wants, after all those years she gave up for me.  She gave me a privileged life growing up, with a mom who could always drop off a project I forgot to take to school with me, or drive me to the various swim and track practices and meets, or pick me up from school after all my extracurricular activities were over.  I remember when I was young I won a competition for writing about why I have the world’s best mom and I still have that essay to this day.  When I read it, it doesn’t seem all that exciting since I wrote it when I was in fifth grade, but apparently it was good for my age!

I hope everything is well with her now and I wonder where she’ll be when I return to LA.  I’m keeping a lookout for her, in case I hear of any opportunities that she may want to look into.  For now though, all I can do is be a good daughter and call her periodically to check in.  I think I really surprised her when I did that like two weeks ago.  We’re not a family built around constant contact and communication.

With that, I hope that everyone has spent some time to think about their own mothers and remember all the things they should be appreciated for.

Spring Sing

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , ,
08 May 2009
2

spring-singUCLA has got some great traditions, and Spring Sing is one of my favorites.  Put on by the Student Alumni Association (SAA) every year in May, thousands gather to witness one of the most entertaining events you could ever imagine.  People sing, people dance, and back in my glory days, people juggled and jump roped too.  Entrants compete in a variety of categories, a special guest is given an award for lifetime musical achievement, and everyone is entertained by hilarious skits and parodies in between acts.  While I was a student there, it was held in the Los Angeles Tennis Center, which got transformed into a huge concert venue for the night.  This year, they had to move it over to Pauley Pavilion due to the high demand.  When I went last year, over 5000 people were there as well, which is why a bigger venue had to be sought out for this year’s 7000+ attendees.  Although the LATC can hold many more than just 5000 or even 7000 people, many of those seats become obsolete once the stage is set up.  It’s strange to think of the event I associated with that place now indoors, but that’s part of Spring Sing’s growth – throughout the years it has moved as the audience size grew.

spring sing 2009 flyerYouTube Spring Sing and you will find hundreds of great videos, from the performances themselves to the George and Ira Gershwin Award winner speech to the amazing videos and skits that Company produces.  We’ve had some great talent throughout the years, including Maroon 5 (known as Kara’s Flowers back then) and Sara Barielles, who won twice!  Additionally, some celebrities have been invited to judge, with the likes of former President Ronald Reagan and Tatyana Ali (Will Smith’s little girl cousin in Fresh Prince) amongst them.  And of course, let’s not forget the special guests who are invited to attend just so they can accept the George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement.  Last year it was Lionel Richie, who gave a funny and engaging acceptance speech, saying, “Forget about surviving 30 some odd years in the music business, I survived 27 years of Nicole Richie.”  This year, the award recipient is Julie Andrews!  I’m so jealous.  And finally, Company provides the best laughs for the night, with videos like the “March of the Trojans,” “Brokeback Fountain,” and “The Hill” to musicals about “fro-yo” when frozen yogurt joints had spread across LA like wildfire and skits about the new Sudoku craze.  There are SO many other great ones!  You’ve got to check them out.

I’m really sad that I am not there right now, as performances rage on and the audience has a blast.  However, I know that at least I can expect videos popping up online within hours and throughout the next week or so, so at least I can experience some of what they saw.  Unfortunately, some videos just don’t do justice the experience, like any you may find of the UCLA juggler and jump roper when they “battled” each other.  On video, it doesn’t look that exciting because you just can’t see the intricacies of what they’re doing.  Being there, however, was AWESOME and I’m so glad I had that privilege.  I hope I’m around next year to go see what it’s like at its new location and see what other talent UCLA holds.  It’s always endlessly entertaining with the parodies that Company does, as listed above.  They touch on a lot of current situations, from popular TV shows and movies to the latest craze hitting LA.  It’s some quality comedy!

Lovesac

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , ,
06 May 2009
2

lovesac logoNearly seven years ago, not too long after I had moved to California, I discovered a shop in the mall that I’ve never forgotten.  It was a cozy-looking place, with cushy Lovesacs strewn around the room and a couple of TVs positioned throughout.  Lovesac?  What’s a Lovesac, you ask?  Well, first picture what a beanbag looks like.  Then take that image and imagine something that feels so soft yet still firm and supportive.  Whereas traditional beanbags are filled with random little balls or, literally, beans, Lovesacs are stuffed full of foam – Durafoam, to be exact.  It’s designed to never go flat and a quick fluffing can plump out any Sac that has started to mold to your body from too much lounging!

So in my local mall, there was a Lovesac store, where people would go in just to chill and rest up.  It was a very relaxed atmosphere and Katana and I would find our way there whenever we were at the mall.  The Sacs are the most comfortable fluffs of foam to lay or sit on and they fit anything, from your pet to at least three adults.  They also come with a variety of accessories, including SodaSacs for having drinks handy as you sprawl on your Sac, or sactionaleven TubeSacs for those who want some pillowed neck support.  There’s a whole line of removeable covers as well, with textures like Twill, MicroSuede, Velvish, and Phur.  Colors and designs also allow people to customize to their heart’s desire, from the basic solid earthy shades to the custom order fabrics of different patterns.  Their newer products include an oversized PillowSac that can be used in a multitude of ways and an ottoman doubling as a seat or footrest.  And most recently, they’ve come out with Sactionals for any sort of sectional combination you can come up with.

I’ve had my eye on the SuperSac for awhile now, with its six-foot diameter that comfortably fits two people.  It’s so big that it can fit “3 adults or 14 kids” as the description touts and weighs about 70 lbs.  In high school, I dreamt of the day when I would have my own apartment and could buy myself one of these to be used as a couch, bed, and chair.  I would just need a lap table and it could be used as a desk too!  Alas, about two years ago I was just checking up on the LoveSac of my choice when I found shocking news – LoveSac was no more!  I was devastated and regretted not buying them before they disappeared from the face of this planet.  Then this summer, purely by lovesacserendipity, I ran into my friend walking in the hallway with one of his friends and that guy had on a LoveSac shirt!

It turns out that this friend’s friend works for one of the LoveSac shops that has since reopened.  They are much more dispersed now, with only two stores in California, but I’m so happy they’re up and running again!  I immediately went to the website to see what had changed (and hopefully find that what I wanted hadn’t changed).  There’s no longer a pre-starter page that assures visitors that this is not a pornographic or otherwise inappropriate site.  Some of their smaller sizes seem to have gotten a facelift, with names like GamerSac and MovieSac.  They expanded the type of alternative furniture they offer and changed the logo, but other than that it was (thankfully) still the same company I had been obsessed with so many years ago.  I was relieved to find they were back in business and excited to figure out when I could get one for myself.

As of yet I still don’t know when I’ll be able to settle down enough to get one, but I’m hoping within the next year.  🙂

Self-taught

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , , ,
05 May 2009
2

There are many skills I have learned throughout my life and plenty of them have been acquired of my own volition.  One of these skills has been (basic) coding.   Back when I was in my “tweens,” I taught myself how to use HTML to create my own websites.  I spent hours upon hours in front of the computer, typing away with various <> tags, making all kinds of nonsense sites that I don’t remember anymore.  Those were the days of GeoCities, Angelfire, and the like and I doubt anything useful or interesting was ever posted.  I was just happy to be given a blank slate and a simple box to type up my HTML.  So off I went, happily coding away.  I remember I used to sit in front of the computer for hours at a time, even pulling some all-nighters, as I browsed the internet learning about hex codes and how scrolling doesn’t show up on all browsers.  I always had a gigantic bag of Chex Mix with me to snack on through the night and my blanket wrapped around me for warmth and comfort as I curled up on the chair.

My first LiveJournal.

My first LiveJournal.

As the years went by, such simplistic websites lost their charm and I eventually left them to the wayside.  A few years down the line, I picked up blogging, which hardly required more than centering, bolding, linking, and inserting pictures.  It was very easy to remember the few commands I needed to do everything I needed.  All the other stuff was taken care of for me.  As that picked up, I became more and more interested in customizing my blog for my own needs.  At first I could still plug and chug – many themes were customizable to a certain extent, allowing me to upload my own banner or change the font.  However, to really delve into the design elements that I wanted to control, I now needed to use CSS to create the look I wanted.  I have never quite learned that more sophisticated programming language, so I took it upon myself to discover its workings.  Instead of grabbing a book or reading a tutorial, I just took the codes that had been created as themes already and began tweaking them to fit my desires.  Initially that worked out just fine – all I wanted was a bit of a change in width here, a different look to my link there.  But of course, things don’t always stay so elementary.  My needs developed more and more and what I knew simply wasn’t enough.

The way that I have been learning and teaching myself requires a lot of trial and error.  It’s much like learning the vocabulary of a language similar to one you know already, but then not really understanding the more complicated grammar.  And to make the right effect, you need those complicated sentence structures!  So I’ve hit a bit of a rut where I should probably take the time and effort to start from the beginning and learn all the ins and outs of this language, but I don’t have the patience for it.  As frustrating as it is, I still much enjoy pounding away at the script I have currently, changing and refining things as I go.  My stubbornness keeps me doggedly pursuing this path, even if it’s not the most efficient.

The first theme I was working with.

The first theme I was working with.

To me, there’s a certain pleasure to be found in finally getting the right change accomplished this way.  When I get into the process, I really get into it and hours fly by as I try adjusting a number here or reconfiguring a command there.  It’s one of the few times I feel like I’m in a “zone” and truly wholeheartedly focused on something.  I’m the type of person who tends to like to dabble in a lot of things and jump around from project to project, getting a little done here, a little done there.  Every now and then, I find one of the few things that just grabs my attention and keeps me there.  Granted, it does depend on when my whims come and go, and how long this phase lasts, but while it’s here it’s strong and pervasive.  I put up my do not disturb face and go at it until my body is begging for a break or I have an obligation to fulfill.

Tonight, I hit one of those strides, where I just kept fiddling with one of the themes.  I’ve tried and considered a handful of themes so far, but I’m quite picky when it comes to how I want it to look: customizable banner, adjustable width, round and curvy font, two columns

What I'm settling on for now.

What I'm settling on for now.

only.  The color scheme has to be right as well and I tend not to like any of the extremely graphical backgrounds I’ve seen.  That narrows it down to pretty much no option, so I’ve had to make do with what I’ve found and figure out how to work with it.  I won’t ever be completely satisfied until I learn how to make a theme from scratch or I get someone who knows what they’re doing to create something with all my specifications.  Somewhere down the line I’ll be looking for a complete makeover of my blog interface.  I’ve got some friends who are good at this, so perhaps one of them will have the time to create something for me one day.  Until then… you may find that this theme will switch back and forth as I find ways to edit in what I do want and edit out what I don’t want from the templates I’m using.

Swimmer’s high

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , ,
02 May 2009
0

I finally made it to the pool again after months of inactivity.  Though it felt awkward to try to work out in a bikini (pity I didn’t bring my competition gear with me), I managed to still get some decent exercise in.  I’m so used to the comfort of a one-piece suit, cap, and goggles that I didn’t exactly know what to do with myself without.  I figured I could just tread water and do some endurance exercises that way, so I started off just doing a casual freestyle kick, keeping my chin just above the water.  After awhile, that got boring, so I curled up my knees and tread with just my hands.  From there, I did variations of strokes, from a breaststroke with my head above the water to doing some freestyle kick drills on my sides.  Every time I get in the water I’m tempted to do the butterfly, which is my favorite stroke, but alas, in a suit like mine today, I was in great danger of losing my top half that way.  So instead, I satisfied myself with some simple exercises that may not raise my heart rate a great deal, but certainly required a certain amount of strength and endurance.

By the time I got out, I felt great.  My face was flushed and my heart rate had increased.  That’s one of my favorite parts of working out – getting to that flushed stage where you know you’ve pushed your body beyond its normal resting state.  I felt so at peace that I began to wonder if there’s such a thing as a swimmer’s high.  It seems pretty commonly recognized that there’s a runner’s high, but does the same go for swimming?  I have not been able to find anything online to back me up, but there’s a certain feeling that I get when I’m doing the fly and everything is in sync.  You get into a rhythm and inertia kicks in.  It’s almost harder to stop that flow of action than to continue on with it.  Unfortunately, the pool can only be so long and that stroke tends to be very taxing on the body, so at some point gravity’s influence becomes more apparent and it slows things down.  But for those couple of beautiful seconds, everything just feels so right.

If there was such a thing as a swimmer’s high, it could only really be achieved in freestyle (at least that’s how I feel).  Fly is too demanding, breast is too technical, and backstroke is too disruptive.  I’m not saying it’s not possible, but from what I understand, it should last quite a long time and for any of the other strokes, it’d be more difficult to accomplish.  To start off with, people tend to swim proper strokes in a pool, which of course requires flip-turns every couple of seconds.  That in itself, though integrated into the process, can be disruptive.  Runners can get themselves to move to a beat and maintain that for virtually as long as they want.  Swimmers must pause their rhythm to add in the occasional glide, flip, push-off, kick-off, and resurfacing.  In open water swimming, this phenomenon might be easier.  At least for freestyle, the stroke motion going into a flip-turn is similar to what you are already doing.  Maybe it’s just the way I swim, but I think it’d be easiest to get into a groove with freestyle.

I miss the lull of the water, the smell of the chlorine, and the whole atmosphere surrounding training and competition.  From wearing swim parkas and Uggs around the pool to helping be the counter for those swimming the 500 free, I really enjoyed being on swim teams.  I liked how it felt to have the water rushing by me and bubbles flowing around.  I loved playing with Sammies (those super absorbant towels) and the beauty of a perfectly executed backstroke start.  I enjoyed practicing my dives and finishes, especially when there was a touchpad present!  I liked how professional I felt when I wore a drag suit for added resistance in training.  I even had a blast at the swim camps at Mt. Holyoke, where we did dryland circuits until I could barely move, then hopped in the water for more working out.  It was a lifestyle that I will always miss, just like my track and field days and my military training days.

ussc

Back when I was a sophomore in high school, I got invited to go to Australia with other swimmers from around the country, to compete against some of the swimmers down under.  This was with the International Sports Specialists, Inc. who run Down Under Sports.  It was an awesome time, from the places that we went (Sydney, Gold Coast, and then Waikiki Beach in Hawaii) and the people we met (these guys who were there playing soccer took us around).  I don’t remember much of the meet, except that Aussies are freaking fast and we couldn’t beat them, but we had a great time and it was a great bonding experience.  I used to have a t-shirt with all the people from the New York team on it, but I lost it long ago.  I also managed to misplace the sweatshirt I bought from them, as well as the Bond University one that we girls decided to get when we went there for a visit.  It’s a pity – those were great memories of an unparalleled two weeks.

down under sports, international sports specialists

I have always had a pleasant experience with the water, from my childhood splashing around in pools to middle school when I first learned the four strokes to high school where I helped start the swim team at Brewster High School and finally when I competed on the varsity team at Valencia High School.  Though I got a late start, learning stroke techniques when I was thirteen, I wasn’t too far behind and always managed to be good enough for varsity level, even if I wasn’t a star in that realm.  Nowadays, without a team to practice with and keep me motivated, it’s hard to complete a workout like I used to.  Once I settle down somewhere, I’d like to make sure I visit the pool frequently, even if I don’t do a real workout.  Perhaps one day I can join a club or something, just to get back into it.  For now it will just be my therapeutic experience; something I can always count on to make me feel better.

TV’s lack of appeal

laelene Posted in general blog，Tags: , , , ,
19 April 2009
0

I can’t recall where our household TVs were in most of the places I grew up.  In fact, my first memory of really consistently watching TV was back in middle school, around 7th grade.  That was when we had moved to New York and I remember coming back from school to watch trash shows like Ricki Lake and then classics like Fresh Prince of Bel Air as I ate my way through a few bags of instant chicken ramen.  I never really cared for cartoons and other animated shows, so I pretty much just stuck towhatever was on when I got home from school.  Prior to that, I had always read books for fun.  I think the change began when I started to come out of my shell and be more sociable at school.  Coming out of my own world and integrating into the larger one introduced me to this phenomenon that seems inescapable in the American culture.

Well, by the time I left New York three and a half years later, I had given up TV other than whatever was on that my dad was watching during dinner, which was usually 60 Minutes or 20/20.  The internet was booming and I could entertain myself far more with that than any TV show could ever provide.  Plus, I had much more control over what I would be exposed to, versus being at the mercy of some channel’s scheduling choices.  I can’t even remember what I used to watch, other than Gilmore Girls and Charmed.  I never really got into the whole TV or movie thing.  I’m not sure why, but I guess it was something about how unenlightening they seem and how they tend to encourage vanity.

Unfortunately, it’s gotten worse, from what I know, what with shows like Damages that I’ve seen commercials for and Gossip Girls that I’ve heard about.  Why would you spend hours of your life watching people be terrible to each other?  I hope this doesn’t produce a pathological society intent on revenge, greed, and other traits that will pick at our morals.  Entertainment is widely influential and the messages being sent these days are often questionable.  I’m not sure I want to know how this is affecting the younger generation as they grow up with their role models watching that kind of junk.

At the same time, there are some shows cropping up that I don’t mind, such as House and Lie to Me.  Initially my obsession with House started when I was moving in my second year of college and my friend was watching the season one DVDs.  The abrasive humor, fast-paced discourse, and insightful tidbits into the human body and mind attracted me.  Enough for me to decide to buy the first four seasons on DVD when I joined Columbia House.  As I spent the tail end of last year watching episode after episode, I started to notice the trends and patterns and slowly my interest waned.  I am still fond of the show, despite all its peculiarities (or maybe because of them) and I find it interesting because Dr. House is just so odd.

As for Lie to Me, I saw bus stop ads for it all over Westwood in the early parts of this year, as I was enjoying life with no schedule.  I decided to go check it out online once the show started airing and found it to be quite intriguing.  The entire thing is based on research done on microexpressions and body language, and how they can tell us when people are lying.  I have heard of this type of thing before, and having studied psychology as one of my majors, I find this fascinating.  There were a lot of facts in the show about how it all works, plus audiences get to see how what our behavior tells you is just the what, but not the why.  A lot of unexpected motives for lying are unveiled throughout the episodes, which makes you think before you assume.

I am also glad that the newer reality shows I’ve seen are getting more positive, rather than taking the dramatic approach by throwing a bunch of strangers to live together just to watch them fight.  I mentioned beforewatching some of the episodes of The Biggest Loser, which encourages people to take charge of their lives and finally get around to losing the unhealthy weight they’ve been bearing for years.  It’s not that I don’t have gripes about certain details of the show, but overall they are trying to send a good message.  I also like this one show I saw five minutes of, which pairs up children with their dads in a competition.  Done right, it encourages the parent-child relationship to be stronger and allows them to outperform by doing teamwork activities.  Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? can be positive too, by making being smart look cooler.  What kid doesn’t want bragging rights to knowing the answer that the adult didn’t and "saving" them in the show?  Though the show makes some adults look like fools, it also encourages kids to do well in their academics.

Even the good shows out there have their flaws, but I guess that is expected, since they can’t be perfect or they’d be uninteresting.  The main problem with TV shows for me, however, is that I bore of them easily.  For both House and Gilmore Girls, which are the only two shows I own on DVD and the only two shows I have ever watched every episode for, there came a point when I started to tire of the plot or the characters.  When you see a pattern or things become predictable, it’s just not fun anymore.  I like to be challenged to never expect things at face value, to have to think about things that are going on in the plot.  Perhaps that is why I also quite enjoy watching CSI with Marylin on the weekends, whenever she has it on.  There’s always mysteries and twists to look out for.  Yet, whatever draws most of the population to their television sets each day baffles me, for I could live perfectly well without it.  Actually, I can’t even remember the last time I turned on a TV; in the past few years I’ve only ever turned them off after people around me have finished watching and I am still left sitting there.  To me, TV is just unappealing.

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