Sitting in Carpenter avoiding work...

There are a whole lot of heads in Carpenter…
They’re everywhere. It’s kind of creepy.

I mean, the building was designed to look like an archaeological dig, so the prevalence of statues makes a fair amount of sense, but in addition to the full statue of Athena and the panels on the wall against Thomas, there are a bunch of busts and the heads of statues. They’re all over the place – by the stairs, on shelves above reference books…

And then there’s the head of Juno. You know you spend too much time in Carpenter when the giant head, well lit and resting atop a pedestal, ceases to perplex you.

It’s just kind of bizarre with all the heads here. I feel like I’m being watched…

Maybe all the statues are watching me not do my work and are now judging me for it…

Great, now I’m paranoid.

Seriously though, their eyes follow you.

That girly thing

There’s a facebook group called “I’m not a frilly pink dress kind of girl.” I think that’s fairly accurate in my case. I’m just not that girly. And really, I’m fine with that.

So when my aunt suggested that I sell mark products to make some extra money, I scoffed. I know very little about makeup. I don’t know what looks good, what’s ‘in style’, hell, I can’t even put the damn stuff on most of the time. Don’t get me wrong, every once in a while I like to get dressed up, put on makeup, etc., etc., but most of the time that I do, I end up feeling like an imposter. I do have some girly tendencies. I’m a complete bag lady and I love shoes. That pretty much is where my girly-ness ends though.

Somehow, the combined efforts of my aunt and mother convinced me to become a mark representative.

So here I am. A representative for a company that sells mostly cosmetics (though I got an adorable bag from them) and skincare (which is actually really good) that I have very limited knowledge of and experience with.

I should probably mention that I suck at sales. I’ve worked in sales before. It is not my forte. It’s even worse when I have to track down my clients. My aunt and mother convinced me that I would find a bunch of interested customers on the campus of a women’s college. It’s like I forgot that this is Bryn Mawr. It’s not that people here don’t wear makeup, it’s just that this whole thing doesn’t really fit in with the overall community. I don’t know.

So now I get to the self-promotion: mark really does have good products and I suggest you check them out. And if you happen to want to buy something, why not make your fellow mawrtyr some money?

So yea, if you’re interested in anything or want to host a mark party (sort of like a Tupperware party, but with makeup and other mark products instead), just corner me somewhere and I’ll do my best to answer questions.

I also have an “e-boutique” so you can look at stuff online. To check things out just go to randrews.mymarkstore.com.

My parents came to visit today.

We went to brunch at Tango (by the train station) and then to a craft fair in Narberth

The craft fair was actually mentioned in a magazine that my mom reads, and it just so happened that it was taking place the weekend they were coming up here. Some of the people there were kind of obnoxious, but it was an interesting show. It was kind of bizarre though. There were some really nice pieces and then there were others that were just out of place at a craft show. I mean, I never really expect to like everything that I see at a craft show and that’s fine, but plastic buckets should not be displayed at the same kind of show as high-end jewelry and artwork.

After the craft show we decided to go see a movie, so we headed over toward King of Prussia and the multiplex over there. We ended up seeing “Date Night.” It was a lot of fun. I really like Tina Fey. I think she’s hilarious. She was one of the people we could pick to possibly come for the 125th Anniversary celebration. She was definitely on my list.

After the movie we went to dinner. I realized right as we got our dessert that I was supposed to work at the library in 15 minutes (thank you handy-dandy blackberry or I would not have remembered). We got our bill and a box for the cheesecake and high-tailed it back to Bryn Mawr. All things considered, I wasn’t too late. I also called to warn the person working the desk that I was going to be a little late.

It’s weird. I like when my parents visit, but I always feel like the day ends so quickly when they’re here. I feel like we didn’t do much or didn’t talk enough or something, yet I don’t really know what else we could/should have done. I mean, I need to go grocery shopping,; I guess we could have done that. Other than that and sitting around in my room though, I don’t think there’s really much to do. They’ve gotten the campus tour (many times) before, so that isn’t really necessary. Also, it was a little too cold to just walk around today.

I hope they come up again in the near future. It’s funny how I’m not usually that homesick, but I feel kind of sad now that they’ve left.

Ugh. I don’t have time to feel sad tonight. I was not at all productive this weekend so now it’s time to kick it into high gear and write the papers, work on the presentations, and study for the tests.

Why does college have to involve so much work?

Also, it is officially Sunday and my homework is not done and my room is not clean. This could be a problem...

In terms of homework, most of the stuff I still have to do is for Tuesday, so I have a little bit more time there. I don't have as much wiggle-room in regards to my room. There might be a bit of stuffing-everything-in-closet-before-parents-arrive if I don't manage to wake up with enough time to actually clean. I wonder if I could just keep them out of my room entirely.... probably not.

Maybe I'll try to clean a little bit now before I go to bed...

Another "life experience" to check off the list...

I have this lingering feeling that tonight my dreams are going to include my "disappointed" grandfather (who died of lung cancer) and great aunt (who died of emphysema).

I tried hookah for the first time earlier tonight in celebration of my friend's birthday. The whole hookah bar atmosphere thing was kind of cool, but I don't feel like the smoking was anything particularly exciting and as an asthmatic, my lungs will probably be burning tomorrow.

I don't really foresee myself smoking again. I might go and hang out with people who wanted to smoke, but I don't think I would partake. I mean, the reason I had fun tonight was definitely because I was hanging out with some awesome people -- many of whom I haven't spent nearly enough time with this semester.

I think for "going out" I prefer regular bars.

...it occurs to me I've never been to an American bar. Perhaps I should save that particular judgment until I can actually compare.

In any case, they were playing music and sometimes we wanted to sing along or dance, but that place was just not really the kind of place where that fit.

Gah, I don't know.

I hope I can breathe tomorrow.

(ps- Rilo Kiley's "smoke detector" just came on on my itunes)

My parents are coming to visit me on Sunday. I'm looking forward to it. I'm not homesick, exactly, but I do miss my family. And I guess right now, while I'm dealing with all this crap, it'll be nice to be around them and not have to think about it too much.

Of course, the fact that my parents will be here on Sunday means I have to get everything done before Sunday. And I have a lot of stuff to do. More than I realized. I also have to clean my room so that my father doesn't have a coronary. I am done for the day. Free of commitments. And yet I still can't bring myself to do the stuff I need to do. I feel like I've been having this problem a lot lately. It's frustrating because I can recognize it in myself, yet I still find it difficult to just push forward get the damn thing done.

Maybe I'll take a nap and when I wake up I will have a surge of productivity.

One can only hope.

I finally submitted my application to the Summer Language Institute. Now I guess I just wait. I don't know if I should be nervous or not -- if it's one of those programs that you apply for, but that everyone is admitted to. Seriously though, I hope I get in because my backup plans are significantly less satisfactory.

Some people probably think I'm crazy -- putting myself through all this to study Chinese when I no longer 'have to'. I guess maybe I am, but I really like it. Even though I sometimes complain about it or don't study as much as I probably should, Chinese really captivates me.

I have a bizarre sort of connection with Chinese, or, rather, my family does.

My mom was a Chinese major in college (she went to Georgetown) and she studied abroad in Taiwan for a year. This back when study abroad was not nearly as common as it is now, especially for an entire year and especially in a place like Taiwan. My mom lived in the dormitories and took classes and made some great friends. One such friend basically became part of my mom's family and for many years afterward she and her husband (and later their children) can be seen in family photos. Two summers ago this friend was going to be in the DC area for a conference. We picked her up from the airport. The last time they had seen each other was when my mother was pregnant with me, but they were chatting like two old friends who see each other on a daily basis within minutes. It was kind of amazing and I hope my friends and I are like that. I hope we stay close, even if we're nowhere near each other physically.

So that's Chinese connection number 1. Chinese connection number 2:

Once my mom and her sisters were a little older, my grandmother started taking cooking lessons. Chinese cooking lessons. And then she started teaching. For some unknown reason the idea of my white, Jewish, Polish grandmother teaching Chinese cooking was not particularly strange growing up. I guess it still doesn't quite strike me as strange. Quirky maybe? I kind of just find it funny. In the greater context of my life and family, it is nowhere near the weirdest thing.

Those are the real connections, but there's sort of one more.

I'm obsessed with Firefly and Serenity. I won't go into a great amount of detail (right now), but basically Firefly is a TV show that FOX canceled way before its time and Serenity is the movie that was made based on the series. In this 'verse (as it's called) the two world powers -- the US and China -- come together to create a universe-wide governing body - the Alliance. We don't like the Alliance, but that isn't the point right now. The point is, in this 'verse, everyone from your high society companion, to your illiterate farmer speaks both English and Chinese.

Chinese has pretty much nothing to do with why I love the show/movie (and to be honest, the actors' Chinese rarely sounds like the actual language). I love it for the characters and story line and many other reasons that I might list in a future 'Why FOX sucks and cancels awesome TV shows'-type post. That being said, once the idea of learning Chinese crept into my head the thought that I could finally know what they're saying on Firefly was a neat little perk.

What's really weird is that despite the two (real) ties that I have to Chinese language/culture, I came to the decision that I wanted to study Chinese on my own. It wasn't an option at my first college, and while the idea of someday learning Chinese was lurking somewhere in the shadows of my mind, I didn't really think about it until I got to BMC. During customs week I went around to all the different department tables and learned about the classes I could take and the subjects in which I could major. I actually ended up at the East Asian studies table because I was talking to a linguistics professor who also teaches for the Chinese department. I don't totally remember how things happened, but I left TGH that day knowing that I was going to take Chinese.

So there you have it. My rambling, often tangential explanation for my love of Chinese. I realize it doesn't really explain anything, but I tried. I seriously do encourage anyone to try and learn. It's difficult and time consuming and it'll drive you crazy sometimes, but it's so interesting that that only matters for so long.