G.R.E.

It's just a test!

Sigh.  Have you ever had the feeling that you want to get something over with but at the same time wishing you had all the time in the world?

I have been keeping up with studying but am really losing steam.  Partly because I'm distracted by a lot of other things.  Really need to take a class on compartmentalizing!

I am scoring around where I would like to be, but I don't really trust the score from Kaplan mock tests.  I am freaking out a bit because I'm starting to run out of time in the math sections.  The tradeoff between getting more right but not finishing the section or finishing the section but making silly mistakes.  The key is that I need to get the ones I spend time working on RIGHT for this to matter...

And please tell me how knowing the definition for calumny (slander) or obsequy (funeral) will help me succeed in a PhD program?!?!  I could demonstrate my acuity of mind right now but I'm suffering from a case of extreme lassitude, which may lead me to befuddle the proper usage of new vocabulary and therefore leave me discomfited.  (If there is a silver lining--I'm having a lot of fun coming up with the most outrageous mnemonics!) 

I feel anxious about the test because I feel like the score will tell me where I should/can apply to.  I know a less than ideal score should not be the sole reason not to apply to certain programs, but I can't get myself out of this box.  The rational part of me says, "Don't worry about it until you finish the test."  The irrational part of me is screaming, "This is your one chance.  Don't screw it up."

I then remind myself if God wants me somewhere, even with a terrible score, He'll make it happen.  (And conversely, even with a perfect score, I could still not get in somewhere if God wants me elsewhere.)  I just have to do my part and study.  Leave the rest to Him.  There is no reason to freak out about what may happen.  It is almost always worst in my head.  I am sure that if PhD plans don't work out, God has an even better plan for me. 

Living like a local #1

I ran to catch the bus for the first time today!

I'm going to remember to press the bell before my stop today.  Isn't that self-explanatory, you ask?  Well... So I was riding back from Mong Kok the other night. Knew where my stop was and everything. The bus driver was pulling into the stop so I walked to the exit door. Why isn't the door opening?  I looked at the guy next to me and no help.  Do I push the door open like the buses in the US?   Nope, nothing written on the door. Oh no, he's driving off...

I hurried over to tell the bus driver I wanted to get off and he muttered "say something earlier next time" and pulled over. I was hoping he would open the front door, but no. I had to walk to the other door, having to walk pass half the bus of people who were probably annoyed or amused. And then I waited for what felt like eternity for the driver to open the door. I've had worst moments but I sorta wanted to crawl into a hole. I just looked ahead and walked at normal speed, imagining the whole bus of strangers staring at me. (okay fine, being melodramatic.)

Apparently you really do need to press this bell. Even if there are people getting on, doesn't mean the exit door will open. And the exit door also isn't automatic.

"Get on the damn plane"

I did it.  I finally registered for the GRE.  FINALLY.

Because Laura basically made me.  She said, "GET ON THE DAMN PLANE."  Like when I had so much trouble buying the ticket to HK and then dreaded getting on the plane. It has become the euphemism for a lot of things.  Hahaha.
 

Several people have kindly reminded me that taking the GRE is as simple as making certain options available to me.  Doesn't mean I have to do anything with the score.  But just in case pursuing a PhD is what I want to do, I will need a GRE score to apply.
 

So okay.  I'm going to study and prepare for the test.  No more excuses.  I'm going to stop telling myself I'm a bad test-taker.  I'm going to stop avoiding doing certain things because I'm afraid of the outcome.  Whatever score I get, it'll be better than no score. 

Driving rocks #7

This is not actually about driving...it's about singing along to the radio, inside the comfort of my own car.  Blasting music and singing at the top of my lungs.  I really miss that.  I miss turning up the music to drown everything out...

Probably one of the first things I want to do when I get into town next month!


I'm in my office...having SO much fun singing along to Chicago.  Hahahah.  I found this 80's/90's mix on youtube and had it on as my study music.  No one is here so I'm totally singing along.  Hahaha.  I've got headphones on, so I have no idea how on (or off pitch) I am.  Hahahahaha.  But who cares.  This is fun! 

Once I publish this, I'm going to get up and dance.  Because I've been sitting still for the last couple of hours doing GRE questions.  Or maybe this is just my delirious self talking...

Housewarming present

I was skyping with Laura when I saw something brown moving. O.M.G. Biggest cockroach EVER.

I picked up one sandal and tried to whack it. Too slow! So I'm kinda screaming but not really because it's 130 in the morning. Meanwhile Laura is dying of laughter because I'm giving her the play by play, while trying not to freak out. I even put the phone down, but couldn't find it! And my room isn't that big! I kept waiting for it...and there it was again. It went under the bed. But I was ready with disinfectant. I know it won't kill the cockroach but it'll "smoke" the bugs out. The cockroach ran in the direction I wanted it to and then I whacked it as hard as I could. Got it! Picking it up was dis-gusting. I flushed it down the toilet in case the cockroach was just momentarily unconscious.

Eew eew eeeeewwww. I guess I'm officially living like the locals.

Fireworks!

After an afternoon of scrubbing and scrubbing and more scrubbing, I joined Dorothy and Carmen for fireworks for National Day (October 1).  Carmen had VIP tickets to Harbour City's waterfront parking deck.  We were high up, front and center!  Good thing we got there at 7:15 pm for the 9:00 pm show.  By the time we turned around at 8:30 pm, the one row of people behind us became this:

It was a fun show.  Not the most spectacular ever, but it was nevertheless, an impressive show.  I had fun taking photos, but were envious of people in front of us who had tripods with them.  I still got some pretty awesome shots though.

  

 

Check out the gold sticker--that's our admission ticket

I think I was grinning the entire 23 minutes.  Something about watching fireworks live makes me really happy.  It probably has a lot to do with the company.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry about this

I was so fixated on the fact that there is no separate space for shower on the first day that I didn't notice something else...

THERE IS NO SINK IN THE BATHROOM.

The day I moved my stuff into the apartment, I looked in the bathroom to make a list of what needed to be done in terms of cleaning.  Then I thought to myself, "How come the door is so close to the wall?  OMG...where is the sink.  OMG.  There is NO SINK behind the door."  I assumed there would be a sink.  Of course there would be a sink, right?  My bad.

The fact that I'm going to stand in the middle of the restroom to shower suddenly became a non-issue.  LOL

(April, who thinks she's so funny, said the next time she visits, she'll wait until I'm cooking--washing vegetables in the sink--and announce she needs to use the restroom.  Which means she'll come into the kitchen to wash her hands afterwards...eeeeeewwwwww.)

My first lecture!

This time it is an actual lecture. Okay, not my slides, but I did help with the powerpoint.

My boss had lost her voice. Rather than rescheduling the class, she asked me to sub for her.  Lots of definitions today, so I mostly read the slides.  Nope, it wasn't the most engaging topic...intro to health economics (zzzzz).

A third into the lecture, I realized I was losing the class because there was just no way to make this stuff interesting!  I started to call on people to read the slide, which made them at least follow along...perhaps thinking, "I may get called next." Hahaha.

The whole time, my boss sat in the front.  I had to pretend she wasn't there, just to not feel too self-conscious.  It still felt like an audition though.  Hahaha.  I didn't feel comfortable venturing too far from the slides because 1) she was sitting right there, and 2) she was sitting right there.

It was overall a really great experience.  Yay me!  But no time to do my happy dance (no, I don't really have one)...gotta prepare for tomorrow afternoon's tutorial... 

View from 7th floor of MMW building (CUHK main campus)--don't know what MMW stands for...lol