John, Paul, George, and Ring-u

Happy New Year, everyone. No, I didn't make any resolutions. Can we move on now?

My mother turned another year older last week. Guess which Beatles song she won't be listening to this year.

There's a great little Japanese joint in San Mateo called Izakaya Mai, a place so authentically Japanese that English is still a bit of a novelty to all the servers. Imagine a Japanese beer hall that also serves sake and really great food - that's an izakaya. My mom and sister frequent this place, and I always try to tag along when the opportunity presents itself. (The food is fantastic, but that's not why I go. I go because of the toy train running along the ceiling all around the restaurant.)

Growing Up SUCKS

There were fish in here before, I SWEAR.

East coast winter is here. Granted, I wasn't here for SNOWPOCALYPSE '09, but being a spoiled Californian, it's pretty miserable. Even the fountain right behind the medical school agrees. If you can't tell, most of this fountain is frozen except for where the water is being forcibly moved by the pump. Waste of money to keep the pump going, if you ask me. Just let the whole damn thing freeze so I can buy skates and learn to stand on ice without breaking my nose.

I don't get why Gluttony is a sin

Yesterday was my first Thanksgiving away from home. Considering that 3/4 of my family are Taiwanese immigrants (the remaining 1/4 still living in Taiwan), we're not a particularly American group. Traditionally, my mother invites a couple of my cousins who also live in the area over to our house for dinner, and we have a big hot pot. For those of you unfamiliar, "hot pot" is a style of eating common in east Asian countries where everyone sits around a central pot of broth and everyone dips in various raw meats, frozen foods, vegetables, etc. to cook and eat. Think of it as fondue but without all the cheese clogging your aorta.

Simply Taking Up Space So You Don't Think I've Abandoned You

I eagerly await the day that it actually gets colder outdoors than the temperature inside our refrigerator so we can save some electricity. We can just put all our food in buckets and hang them out our window. I fully expect this to happen in, oh, two weeks. Frozen milk homemade ice cream for everybody!

One Mississippi, Two Mississippi (Or Alligator)

At least it's not like walking into a sauna anymore.

The walk from my house to school is lined with trees starting to turn. I suppose this officially means that autumn has begun. There have been a couple nights cold enough to make me think about wearing a scarf and my gloves outside. I was dissuaded by the thoughts of ridicule coming from, like, everybody else in my class calling out a spoiled, pussy Californian. I do have to admit, though, that I've never seen such a beautiful scene in the fall. Despite what my father insists, watching the seasons turn here is most decidedly not like watching paint dry. Knowing that I'll FINALLY have an excuse to blow money on fall and winter clothes is exciting, no?