Blech!
What a day to NOT meet people.
For starters, though swarming with interesting people, it seems the mall is no place to get interviews. Everyone there seems to think you are trying to sell them something. I suppose it makes sense, since the mall is the Mecca of the consumer world. Even before you step into a store, you have a slicked up middle eastern man trying to take your hand, so that he may caress it with the latest Dead Sea salt hand cream he is trying to sell you.
It may also be that the women, to whom I tried to speak, didn't seem to have the greatest command on the English language. I suppose if I were in Taiwan, and a loud, native girl accosted me in the middle of my iPhone gaming, I would also make up some story about a friend that was just around the corner, coming for me.
Well, after the first few rejections, I got the message that people do not go to the mall to meet new ones. I decided to stop ignoring the angry churning in my stomach, grabbed the necessities at the grocery store, and rushed home to curl up in a ball on the couch, and moan the pain away. GO AWAY, PAIN!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Nikki (Not Greek)
I was taking the trash to the dumpster, when I noticed the lifeguard sitting by the pool, looking quite bored. "She's perfect!" I thought. "And she can't go anywhere for at least the next few hours."
I marched down to the pool side to have a chat with her. Sadly, I was met with a polite wave of the hand and a "soddy, my Engleesh ees noat so good." (I think she was Polish. They all are, you know. Or at least every life guard I have met this summer. )
I thanked the lifeguard, and gestured to the one other person within eyesight; the sunbathing girl in the black and bright blue bikini. "Does she speak English?"The polite Polette nodded her head, so I picked up my writing materials and marched over to the pool recliners.
"Excuse me." *silence* "Excuse me?" *more silence* "Excuse me!"
She finally turns her head to look my way. It is only then that I see the earbuds lodged in her head. I let out a sigh, relieved that she isn't deaf, as I had feared for a brief moment.
She greets me with a bright smile and a warm "hello." Nikki puts down her book (but doesn't close the book, so I can't see the title...again). Turns out, this bubbly 22 year year old UVA pre-med grad doesn't need any help talking. I think I have about 1/16th of everything she said actually written down in my notebook.
*Do I talk that fast? I was definitely making mental notes the whole time to slow down when I talk from now on.
Let's start at the very beginning. A very good place to start. When you read, you begin with... Ah, forget it. There was this Indian girl (dot, not feather) living in Cleveland, with her parents, who loved her very much. In fact, they cared about her well-being so much that they took it upon themselves to put an advertisement, in the local Cleveland Indian community newspaper, looking for a nice, young Indian man. Well, they found one. Sadly, the young man was offered a job in Richmond soon after, so a large portion of the relationship was spent on the phone. They managed to sneak in some dates now and then, eventually found their way to matrimonial bliss, and finally, the joys of servanthoo...er, I mean parenthood. One year after the birth of their first baby girl, they decided that two was better than one, and along came little Nikki.
Though having only a slight difference in age, it became clear that big sister was the one to look out and care for the younger, even when Nikki shot up to twice her sister's height. To this day, Nikki still looks up to her big sister, while technically, looking down on her.
Growing up in an American-Indian home seems to have been a unique experience. Nikki has never been to India, and was raised in a mostly western environment, but her upbringing is definitely peppered with a bit of Indian spice. Her family ate Indian food about 2-3 times a week, and her father was a vegetarian, so they ate mostly vegetarian or chicken dishes. With a nostalgic look in her eye, Nikki relates that she did not have her first taste of steak until the age of 12. How did she live???
She lol's and gives me another tidbit on the Indian culture. "We're cheap. It has been drilled into me from the time I was small, no matter what store we go to, we head straight for the clearance rack. There is no such thing as spending $40 on a top."
*Hmmm. Sounds a little too close to home.
Her modest shopping habits do not seem to have had an impact on the magnitude of her professional aspirations. Even at a young age, This "not super Indian, yet not super American" girl was convinced that she was cut out for the medical field. "I want to be an ophthalmologist!" declared an eight year old Nikki. When asked what it was about this particular profession that so fascinated her in her youth, she replied in all honesty, "It was a big word, and it sounded cool."
Today, Nikki graces the halls of the hospital as an ER scribe. I make a jest about killing a person with a typo. She chuckles, but then replies, "Actually, yeah. If you make a typo, you could kill someone." Apparently, there are many tests and treatments with acronyms varying in only one or two letters, and when a doctor is hurriedly spouting out various prescriptions and diagnoses, it can get difficult to keep them all straight. But if you don't, there is a good chance the patient could have an allergic reaction to the wrong acronym, and die.
So what happened to the dream of making blind eyes see? It happened one day on the sweltering coasts of Nicaragua. Nikki had the rewarding opportunity to do some humanitarian work down there, and it changed her life forever. After building relationships there, and visiting four more times after that, she realized she had an opportunity to make a tangible difference in people's lives, and from that time on, medicine became her passion.
What makes Nikki smile big: 1) Sports. All sports. She played soccer all through college, and is currently training for a half-marathon. 2) Catching up with college friends and seeing what has become of her comrades in academic arms. 3) Music. She is currently taking guitar lessons at the Conservatory of Youtube.
That movie that Nikki just loves to hate: Nights in Rodanthe. "I just want those hours of my life back." She's usually a sucker for old people falling in love, but this was no The Notebook.
Physical Description (in her own words): "Tall, dark hair and skin, athletic build. I like my hair, and that I don't have to do anything with it to make it look good. I didn't used to like my brown eyes, because I thought brown eyes weren't as pretty as blue eyes, but now I like them. Especially since my eyes are lighter than those of everyone else in my family."
Now, is it her destiny to follow in the steps of her forefathers, and be joined in a slightly arranged Indian matrimony? NOPE. She likes her men like she likes her vanilla fudge sundaes: white, capped in brown, and popular with children. So the story goes, she fell for her green-eyed stud as he was playing with the little kids, in the sports camp she was teaching. I'm sure it helped that she already found him exceedingly attractive, but that just sealed the deal. Is it true love? "Not yet," she says. "I have never been in love." Nikki takes love VERY seriously. Despite being in several relationships, even serious ones, she has never spoken the three solemn words to any man. She is saving her love for when she knows it is sure.
I hope you find it, Nikki!
I marched down to the pool side to have a chat with her. Sadly, I was met with a polite wave of the hand and a "soddy, my Engleesh ees noat so good." (I think she was Polish. They all are, you know. Or at least every life guard I have met this summer. )
I thanked the lifeguard, and gestured to the one other person within eyesight; the sunbathing girl in the black and bright blue bikini. "Does she speak English?"The polite Polette nodded her head, so I picked up my writing materials and marched over to the pool recliners.
"Excuse me." *silence* "Excuse me?" *more silence* "Excuse me!"
She finally turns her head to look my way. It is only then that I see the earbuds lodged in her head. I let out a sigh, relieved that she isn't deaf, as I had feared for a brief moment.
She greets me with a bright smile and a warm "hello." Nikki puts down her book (but doesn't close the book, so I can't see the title...again). Turns out, this bubbly 22 year year old UVA pre-med grad doesn't need any help talking. I think I have about 1/16th of everything she said actually written down in my notebook.
*Do I talk that fast? I was definitely making mental notes the whole time to slow down when I talk from now on.
Let's start at the very beginning. A very good place to start. When you read, you begin with... Ah, forget it. There was this Indian girl (dot, not feather) living in Cleveland, with her parents, who loved her very much. In fact, they cared about her well-being so much that they took it upon themselves to put an advertisement, in the local Cleveland Indian community newspaper, looking for a nice, young Indian man. Well, they found one. Sadly, the young man was offered a job in Richmond soon after, so a large portion of the relationship was spent on the phone. They managed to sneak in some dates now and then, eventually found their way to matrimonial bliss, and finally, the joys of servanthoo...er, I mean parenthood. One year after the birth of their first baby girl, they decided that two was better than one, and along came little Nikki.
Though having only a slight difference in age, it became clear that big sister was the one to look out and care for the younger, even when Nikki shot up to twice her sister's height. To this day, Nikki still looks up to her big sister, while technically, looking down on her.
Growing up in an American-Indian home seems to have been a unique experience. Nikki has never been to India, and was raised in a mostly western environment, but her upbringing is definitely peppered with a bit of Indian spice. Her family ate Indian food about 2-3 times a week, and her father was a vegetarian, so they ate mostly vegetarian or chicken dishes. With a nostalgic look in her eye, Nikki relates that she did not have her first taste of steak until the age of 12. How did she live???
She lol's and gives me another tidbit on the Indian culture. "We're cheap. It has been drilled into me from the time I was small, no matter what store we go to, we head straight for the clearance rack. There is no such thing as spending $40 on a top."
*Hmmm. Sounds a little too close to home.
Her modest shopping habits do not seem to have had an impact on the magnitude of her professional aspirations. Even at a young age, This "not super Indian, yet not super American" girl was convinced that she was cut out for the medical field. "I want to be an ophthalmologist!" declared an eight year old Nikki. When asked what it was about this particular profession that so fascinated her in her youth, she replied in all honesty, "It was a big word, and it sounded cool."
Today, Nikki graces the halls of the hospital as an ER scribe. I make a jest about killing a person with a typo. She chuckles, but then replies, "Actually, yeah. If you make a typo, you could kill someone." Apparently, there are many tests and treatments with acronyms varying in only one or two letters, and when a doctor is hurriedly spouting out various prescriptions and diagnoses, it can get difficult to keep them all straight. But if you don't, there is a good chance the patient could have an allergic reaction to the wrong acronym, and die.
So what happened to the dream of making blind eyes see? It happened one day on the sweltering coasts of Nicaragua. Nikki had the rewarding opportunity to do some humanitarian work down there, and it changed her life forever. After building relationships there, and visiting four more times after that, she realized she had an opportunity to make a tangible difference in people's lives, and from that time on, medicine became her passion.
What makes Nikki smile big: 1) Sports. All sports. She played soccer all through college, and is currently training for a half-marathon. 2) Catching up with college friends and seeing what has become of her comrades in academic arms. 3) Music. She is currently taking guitar lessons at the Conservatory of Youtube.
That movie that Nikki just loves to hate: Nights in Rodanthe. "I just want those hours of my life back." She's usually a sucker for old people falling in love, but this was no The Notebook.
Physical Description (in her own words): "Tall, dark hair and skin, athletic build. I like my hair, and that I don't have to do anything with it to make it look good. I didn't used to like my brown eyes, because I thought brown eyes weren't as pretty as blue eyes, but now I like them. Especially since my eyes are lighter than those of everyone else in my family."
Now, is it her destiny to follow in the steps of her forefathers, and be joined in a slightly arranged Indian matrimony? NOPE. She likes her men like she likes her vanilla fudge sundaes: white, capped in brown, and popular with children. So the story goes, she fell for her green-eyed stud as he was playing with the little kids, in the sports camp she was teaching. I'm sure it helped that she already found him exceedingly attractive, but that just sealed the deal. Is it true love? "Not yet," she says. "I have never been in love." Nikki takes love VERY seriously. Despite being in several relationships, even serious ones, she has never spoken the three solemn words to any man. She is saving her love for when she knows it is sure.
I hope you find it, Nikki!
Monday, August 29, 2011
Paul
There once was a rugrat named Paul. Paul loved digging in the dirt, searching for lost civilizations. One day, he would be a great archeologist or paleontologist, and discover great artifacts left behind by the Incas or the Mayans, or maybe some other undiscovered victim of extinction! (Go figure: Whether they dream of becoming an archeologist, pirate, or stock broker, every little boy loves a good treasure hunt.)
Fast forward to the present. Paul is sitting in a Geographic Informational Systems (GIS) class in George Mason University. He can't quite decide if his training will lead him to a job in city planning or to something in natural resources or botany. To escape the monotony in his professor's speech, Paul takes a little canoeing trip down memory river, to one of his favorite remembrances.
He finds himself back at Mt. Ranier National Park, with his band of fellow seasonal park workers, sneaking to the other side of the park to meet up for a clandestine farewell party for one of the interns. They make their way to the field, surrounded by woods, build a fire, pop open the beers, and lay out their sleeping bags. Several slightly buzzed members of the party decide to go out and scout the land. They come upon a large rope swing, tied to a sturdy tree, hanging above the Ohanapecosh River, alongside leviathan cliffs. In the water below, lies a massive log jam, washed to that spot by flood waters from the previous Fall. What else was there to be done but PLAY!!! After using the rope to scale the cliff walls, Paul and his friends make use of this log jungle gym, provided by Mother Nature. Ahh. Good people, good beer, good times.
Who is Paul? I came across Paul sitting alone at a bus stop, reading a book. I didn't get a good enough look at the title, because I was too busy rehearsing my introductory speech to see anything beyond my own initial insecurity and discomfort. I think it might have been a Penguin Classic. But he kindly listened to my spiel, smiled, and put his composition book and reading material away to oblige this aspiring writer.
Physical Description (In his own word): Shorter than average, white guy, with a bushy beard. Currently wearing green brush pants and a faded blue, untucked button-up.
Things that Make Paul Smile Really Big: 1) Being a member of equal standing, with things to contribute, in a group of people with similar interests. 2) When a woman sees something in him that people do not typically notice, and discovers that she is attracted to him because of this little seen feature. 3) Being in the right place at the right time to help someone who really needs it, and wants it.
The origin of Paul: Ladies and gentlemen, I am happy to announce that, contrary to some beliefs, there is NO SHAME in meeting potential spouses in church singles groups! Apparently, it works! Or at least it did for Paul's mum and pop. They met while ice blocking in a park for a church singles group outing. For those of you who are not familiar with winter sports, ice blocking is where you sled down a hill on a giant block of ice! Isn't that fantastic? Well, as fate would have it, one of the other guys with the group broke his arm while ice blocking, and Paul's mom had to rush him to the hospital. This led Paul's father to mistakenly believe that there was a special relationship between his targeted love and the invalid, and that gave him the swift kick in the pants he needed in order to ask her out shortly after. After love and marriage, came the baby carriage. Baby Paul was born, followed by a sister and a brother. Many years after that, sister got married and made Paul an uncle to a precious little niece.
Ahhh, L'amour. Yes, once upon a time, Paul was in love. She was a wonderful girl that he met while studying abroad in England and Wales. Sadly, it was a one way street. He loved everything about her. They were good friends and had such good times together. So what went wrong? She had a girl friend. *HELLO!* Yet, even despite this jarring piece of information, Paul could not stop thinking about her, even a year and a half later. Why is it that we can never help who we fall for? Man. Cupid must have been blind AND deaf when he shot that arrow.
So there you have it. A small compilation of series of events and elements that are PAUL.
Fast forward to the present. Paul is sitting in a Geographic Informational Systems (GIS) class in George Mason University. He can't quite decide if his training will lead him to a job in city planning or to something in natural resources or botany. To escape the monotony in his professor's speech, Paul takes a little canoeing trip down memory river, to one of his favorite remembrances.
He finds himself back at Mt. Ranier National Park, with his band of fellow seasonal park workers, sneaking to the other side of the park to meet up for a clandestine farewell party for one of the interns. They make their way to the field, surrounded by woods, build a fire, pop open the beers, and lay out their sleeping bags. Several slightly buzzed members of the party decide to go out and scout the land. They come upon a large rope swing, tied to a sturdy tree, hanging above the Ohanapecosh River, alongside leviathan cliffs. In the water below, lies a massive log jam, washed to that spot by flood waters from the previous Fall. What else was there to be done but PLAY!!! After using the rope to scale the cliff walls, Paul and his friends make use of this log jungle gym, provided by Mother Nature. Ahh. Good people, good beer, good times.
Who is Paul? I came across Paul sitting alone at a bus stop, reading a book. I didn't get a good enough look at the title, because I was too busy rehearsing my introductory speech to see anything beyond my own initial insecurity and discomfort. I think it might have been a Penguin Classic. But he kindly listened to my spiel, smiled, and put his composition book and reading material away to oblige this aspiring writer.
Physical Description (In his own word): Shorter than average, white guy, with a bushy beard. Currently wearing green brush pants and a faded blue, untucked button-up.
Things that Make Paul Smile Really Big: 1) Being a member of equal standing, with things to contribute, in a group of people with similar interests. 2) When a woman sees something in him that people do not typically notice, and discovers that she is attracted to him because of this little seen feature. 3) Being in the right place at the right time to help someone who really needs it, and wants it.
The origin of Paul: Ladies and gentlemen, I am happy to announce that, contrary to some beliefs, there is NO SHAME in meeting potential spouses in church singles groups! Apparently, it works! Or at least it did for Paul's mum and pop. They met while ice blocking in a park for a church singles group outing. For those of you who are not familiar with winter sports, ice blocking is where you sled down a hill on a giant block of ice! Isn't that fantastic? Well, as fate would have it, one of the other guys with the group broke his arm while ice blocking, and Paul's mom had to rush him to the hospital. This led Paul's father to mistakenly believe that there was a special relationship between his targeted love and the invalid, and that gave him the swift kick in the pants he needed in order to ask her out shortly after. After love and marriage, came the baby carriage. Baby Paul was born, followed by a sister and a brother. Many years after that, sister got married and made Paul an uncle to a precious little niece.
Ahhh, L'amour. Yes, once upon a time, Paul was in love. She was a wonderful girl that he met while studying abroad in England and Wales. Sadly, it was a one way street. He loved everything about her. They were good friends and had such good times together. So what went wrong? She had a girl friend. *HELLO!* Yet, even despite this jarring piece of information, Paul could not stop thinking about her, even a year and a half later. Why is it that we can never help who we fall for? Man. Cupid must have been blind AND deaf when he shot that arrow.
So there you have it. A small compilation of series of events and elements that are PAUL.
Profile 1
Considering that it is 1:53 in the morning, and not too many people are around, I decided it would be most fitting to make the first profile about myself. I'm sorry, is my modesty showing? I'll just stick to the non-basics.
BECCA~
Physical Description: Button nose. High, Tudor forehead. Dark, squinty eyes. Long, dark hair. Currently wearing striped pajama shorts and a black top.
Things that make her smile big: Eating (any time of day). Dressing up, The color green. Puppies. Korean Dramas. Dance, in all its forms. Anything written by Roald Dahl. That song that forces you to listen to it again and again.
When Becca was a little girl, she wanted to be a movie star. You couldn't get her to stop singing, dancing, or hamming it up, no matter where she was. She could quote entire movies, from start to finish, playing every character herself. There was also a 3 year phase where she wanted to be an Irish dancer in Lord of the Dance. (Not the ideal dream-job for a Chinese girl.) Now that she's grown, she still occasionally daydreams of being a performer.
Where did she come from? Well, there was this singer from Taiwan, who travelled with her singing group, hired by a Chinese radio station to perform in Chinese churches all around the world. This singer was introduced to a widower, who was the former son-in-law of the host family she was staying with in Ohio. His first wife/the host family's daughter had died of leukemia at a young age. Well, wouldn't you know, that darned visa was about to expire, but maybe there just might be something there. Only one way to find out. Providence stepped in, and husband and wife stepped out of that courtroom after a whopping 2 week relationship.
Oh. Did I mention he came with some baggage? Three to be exact. 2 little girls and a baby boy with special needs. Did I also mention that she could not speak a word of English, and he, not a bit of Chinese? Despite the fact that Chinese blood coursed through his veins, he was actually born and bred in Kingston, Jamaica. Just a clue. They don't speak Mandarin in Jamaica.
So. One baby boy and lot's of culture shocks later, into the world came the one and only Becca. The fifth, the last, the spoiled.
Where is she going? God only knows.
BECCA~
Physical Description: Button nose. High, Tudor forehead. Dark, squinty eyes. Long, dark hair. Currently wearing striped pajama shorts and a black top.
Things that make her smile big: Eating (any time of day). Dressing up, The color green. Puppies. Korean Dramas. Dance, in all its forms. Anything written by Roald Dahl. That song that forces you to listen to it again and again.
When Becca was a little girl, she wanted to be a movie star. You couldn't get her to stop singing, dancing, or hamming it up, no matter where she was. She could quote entire movies, from start to finish, playing every character herself. There was also a 3 year phase where she wanted to be an Irish dancer in Lord of the Dance. (Not the ideal dream-job for a Chinese girl.) Now that she's grown, she still occasionally daydreams of being a performer.
Where did she come from? Well, there was this singer from Taiwan, who travelled with her singing group, hired by a Chinese radio station to perform in Chinese churches all around the world. This singer was introduced to a widower, who was the former son-in-law of the host family she was staying with in Ohio. His first wife/the host family's daughter had died of leukemia at a young age. Well, wouldn't you know, that darned visa was about to expire, but maybe there just might be something there. Only one way to find out. Providence stepped in, and husband and wife stepped out of that courtroom after a whopping 2 week relationship.
Oh. Did I mention he came with some baggage? Three to be exact. 2 little girls and a baby boy with special needs. Did I also mention that she could not speak a word of English, and he, not a bit of Chinese? Despite the fact that Chinese blood coursed through his veins, he was actually born and bred in Kingston, Jamaica. Just a clue. They don't speak Mandarin in Jamaica.
So. One baby boy and lot's of culture shocks later, into the world came the one and only Becca. The fifth, the last, the spoiled.
Where is she going? God only knows.
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