Break: The Final Chapter

Break is almost over! These days of sleeping in and relaxing all day are coming to an end. I know I didn't appreciate them enough and I'm gonna realize how lucky I was sometime next week, when I'm back to the studying routine and completely not used to it!

Surprisingly being home with the whole family wasn't as frustrating as I was afraid it would be. I'll admit I did spend most of my time with the people I prefer and was pretty good at avoiding the people that would annoy me. But I'm gonna justify that with the potential consequences that were averted!


I'm almost caught up with my friends in Dexter viewing...only 4 episodes left and then I'm done with the biggest task of my break! It's a great show and I'm really glad I started watching. It's an interesting concept and the dialogue is sharp. Also character development is incredible. I mean, REALLY incredible. What's amazing is not only how fully developed and life-like the characters are, but how well their growth is documented. You can watch a character unfold and then once you've gotten to know them, you can track their progress as they change. Relationships between characters evolve as they change and all of it happens so naturally..it really is something that amazes me!

Yesterday was my birthday. I just don't feel it anymore though. I guess after you reach a certain age it's not something that excites you anymore. Not that I'm really old or anything haha..I guess it's lost its appeal because different things excite me these days. It's not a bad thing I think. The one thing I do appreciate is talking to the people that made a difference in my life. It's great because I get to talk to people from all different parts of my life, so it's like reliving all of the positive memories all in a single day.

Tonight I'm spending NYE with the family. This is the first NYE the India family will be here for and I really want to spend time with them. I haven't really done much with them since I've been home so I want to make sure I spend some quality time with them before I go back to school. I've always spent new years with my family...I don't know. It just always seems like the best way to ring in the new year. I guess they're the people I'm the closest to and it seems so impersonal to hang out with anyone else.


I've been reading Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult. I haven't read anything by her yet so this is my first impression of her. It's a good one! I really like the story and how she captivates her audience. There some witchcraft and stuff like that in here...not things I'm usually into. But the way she's written the book, it's really a page-turner. I have a lot of pages left though and only like 2 days to read it all in! Ahhh! Plus I got the ultimate hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy. I read the first book sometime last year but I need to read more. I figure I could probably get in one other book before the break is up. Man that's a lot to do: Salem Falls + Hitchhiker's + Dexter + 4 movies that I got with the siblings.

And with that I'm off! Happy NYE! =)

I'm Vicariously REALLY lucky!

So I have finished Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy!! And I want more! I am going to get the next book in the series from the library so I can continue the story. It's a really quick and easy read and very amusing. There are some parts that actually made me not just smile, but laugh out loud! I just wish I didn't wait so long to pick it up!


In other news...as always I went on Colbert Nation this morning and clicked on the tickets tab. I know it's kinda impossible to get tickets, but I still have hope. THERE WERE TICKETS AVAILABLE TODAY! For two different days!!! Except those days are during the first week of medical school!! I was so disappointed! I was SO close to being able to see the taping of the colbert report! I guess the good news is that I was able to get one of my close friends to get on the site before they were taken and he got the tickets! So at least I get to go vicariously =D

Speaking of Colbert, I LOVED the episodes in Iraq! I thought the haircut was a nice touch and it really showed his support for the troops. It's so great that he went there to entertain them and make them laugh. They need it and deserve it! I love that he was able to show his feelings on the war and yet still support the troops wholeheartedly. Man, what an awesome guy! And when he showed that picture of himself wrapped in the American flag...mmmmm ;)

There is A LOT going on in life right now. That's mainly the reason I haven't been able to post as consistently as I keep promising to! Remember the family from India that I was talking about? Well, they're coming on Wednesday!!! That leaves 3 days to cram in whatever other preparations there are left to do! We spent the day cleaning out the basement and the garage today. It was a LONG task but it definitely feels good to be done with it! Tomorrow's project: the attic (eek!).

Yesterday I had to drive down to Rutgers Camden with my sister to take her there for her placement exams. It took up most of the day, especially cuz we hit traffic on the way back. I parked in this lot but I didn't know if it was allowed without a permit. And I didn't want to get my car towed (at my expense of course) so I decided to sit in the car for the 3 hours. Um yeah, okay so much for that! I had to go to the bathroom an hour in and I gave up and just left the car. Luckily, parking was allowed during weekends without a permit and the day didn't turn into an entry on FML =)

Work has been going pretty well. There's not too much to do so it's not all that hectic. But there is something to do everyday since it's a hospital-affiliated practice. It gets boring sometimes, but that's why I bring a book! One of the people I work with is very amusing too. She can talk A LOT about nearly any topic so whenever I'm bored, I just say a word to get her started. It works out really nicely!

I am also busy preparing for Dada's visit this year. (For those who don't know, I have a Guru who lives in India and comes to visit every summer for about 3 weeks. He will be arriving at the end of June and leaving in July.) I am doing a dance with my sister as well as helping out the aunties with their dance. Also, there's a bunch of one-act plays that I am helping narrate. It's fun with all these people coming over for practice. This busy schedule of practices has defined my summers for as long as I can remember and it's so comforting to be home for it all again. It's always a great time and definitely filled with lots of laughs! We are completely done with the aunty dance so that's exciting. Next up: the little girls' dance! Following that: me and my sister! It's gonna be a busy month =D

Well I think that just about sums it up..OH I started a new book. What They Didn't Teach You About the 60s. It's interesting and I'm not far enough into it to write any more haha!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Summer

It's definitely summer. I spent most of yesterday working outside--mowing the lawn, watering the vegetable garden, planting a bunch of trees. There's nothing more 'summer' than dirt under my fingernails, grass blades in my hair, and some light brown icing on all of my already brown skin. Let's just not think about the mosquito bites!

I have this comfortable ache in all of my appendages and my lower back..and a blister on my hand. I also managed to finish cleaning my room, yayy! Oh and what's sad is that I'm getting so close to the end of the Feynman book. I am really not happy about almost being done with it..it's been an excellent companion for the last few moments of my day, just before I drift off.

The most exciting things that came from me unpacking my stuff is: 1.) Speakers! (my laptop speakers haven't worked since...a while..but now I've set up my speakers!), 2.) My husband pillow thing that makes reading SO much better, 3.) King Julian masks that I promptly turned over to my brother and sister (my delivery was excellent, complete with the fake accent and dancing), 4.) Boo Bear! (self-explanatory), 5.) Turtle! (not so self-explanatory...it's a stuffed animal duck)


So today my plans are to relax! I haven't really gotten much relaxing in since I've been home but that'll change today. I plan on watching reruns of all those corny shows--Full House, Sister Sister, Saved by the Bell, and of course Arthur! And then I'm going to see either Angels and Demons or Up with my brother and sister after they get home from school. I am super excited about this! The movie we watch depends on what time they can get home. And after that, I'll either do some more gardening or I'll go play tennis..we'll see which way the wind blows me.


Oh so let me update you on my outdoor projects since a lot of my time is devoted to them: We have nearly an acre of land and well mowing that is definitely a task. So I've decided to help my dad out with the mowing since I'll be home all summer (and since my brother is especially lazy about that). Also, we are growing eggplant, cucumbers, okra, peas, tomatoes, and peppers in the backyard. So I am in charge of watering the plants twice a day. So my backyard is sort of shaped like half a baseball diamond (a triangle, in simpler terms)...the far end is home plate and it gets wider as it approaches the house (which is the pitcher's mound). Along the stretch from third base to home plate we want to plant a row of trees. Mind you this is not to scale so really we are planting a LOT of trees. Also, it slopes upward a little bit as it approaches the back point so it's a little harder than it sounds. We planted like 8 trees or so yesterday and my parents had already planted 2-3 before I came home. We're making some progress! Another task we have is to lay out weed-blocker (the black sheets) in our front landscaping and then cover that with stones. The stones are kind of pretty so it looks nice. We have a huge pile of stones sitting on the driveway and with every wheelbarrow-full of stones that is transported to the front of the house, I see a little shimmer of hope that we're almost done. We did finish about half of the weedblocking/stone transport so now we should be done within a week or two maximum. Okay I think that's it haha!

Alright time to get a work out in before my day turns into a tv/movie marathon. Yay so excited! =D

Much Needed Alone Time

Last night was one of the most relaxing nights I can remember. I was alone in my apartment and so I thought I would get lonely or sad or something but surprisingly, I woke up this morning, unscathed! I was doing work last night and catching up on episodes of the Colbert Report. I am embarrassed by how infrequently I watch the show I love the most and I decided to rectify that. I got through almost 3 weeks of episodes and I will continue working backwards whenever I have time! It was such a nice, relaxing evening and I really felt like myself again.


I know that last statement is a little heavy but really, I have been feeling a little off lately. Nothing significant, just in the slightest way. You know when you are constantly in the company of others and you never have the chance to just appreciate some alone time? I think the past month has been so busy and active with other people that I haven't had enough time to just sit down and be by myself. Part of it may be because I don't like to be alone anymore. It's funny because I would've never said that before but I guess since college started I have always been surrounded by people so now I'm used to that. I used to enjoy my own company and now it's like I run from it at every opportunity. It will be nice to go home for the summer and reset my social clock. Especially considering at med school I will have my own room and the only company I will enjoy (?) is that of my books. I just realized that since my last few posts have been catch ups on the previous week or whatever I haven't really shared any thoughts. I am going to try to make some more alone time for myself to post on here and share some of my thoughts.

I have been reading the Namesake and I'm like three quarters of the way through. I am really liking it. The characters are better developed than in the movie (and even the movie was deep!) and I am really enjoying reading it. Lahiri has a way of making every feeling Gogol has completely accessible and I have felt that I can relate to Gogol countless times. The writing is beautiful but beyond that, it is human. And that is what makes it such a well-written book. It's also interesting to be reading a book that I already know the story of. It's not often that I read a book that I have already seen the movie for and I'm finding that it isn't as bad as I thought it would be. It's like there's a secret thrill in knowing what is going to happen next, before the characters do. I don't know how many more books I will read post-movie, but it's definitely not a bad thing!

Alright well now that I've enjoyed a great morning to myself, I think it's time to start studying. More later =)

My House on Unaccustomed Earth

I'm home and it's wonderful! I helped my ba make chapati for dinner tonight and did half a lecture so far. I'm gonna finish the lecture and then maybe do another one, maybe not. We'll have to play by ear for this one.

I have gotten about halfway through Unaccustomed Earth. It's pretty deep stuff. At first I wasn't sure if I liked the short story format because when the story ends, I feel like I get jipped. A story is just long enough to make me forget about the characters from the previous story and right when I'm getting really interested and familiar with these characters, the story is over! A lot of times the endings are abrupt and leave me wondering what happens afterward. Things don't end neatly and the loose ends are anything but tied together. All of that being said, the stories have a haunting presence that really affect me in a sort of negative way. The themes that are present all have a negative aura that make me question and doubt people. The book as a whole seems to be a study of interactions between people: father and daughter, husband and wife, brother and sister. Lahiri is a gifted writer and the way she describes things, I feel as though I have either experienced them in my own family or I can imagine them happening. I do like the book but it's definitely not uplifting or encouraging. It's beautifully written and it really does haunt me and make me think. Well I have half a book to go, will probably finish it before the end of the week!

The weather has been beautiful today, in the 70s. The weekend weather will echo today's so I have a lot to look forward to. Definitely gonna try to get some tennis in! I watched the first episode of this season's House today. I'm gonna start catching up now that my schedule is a bit more manageable. I can't wait to catch up and knowing me, it won't be a long wait. I am so glad to have the free time I do now and I am taking advantage of it, doing the things that make me happy! Like I often do, I find 24 hours to be insufficient but for the first time in a while, I want more hours to squeeze in more fun, not more work.

Ah but back to the first episode of House...having this long absence from the show, I think I have become sensitized to how much of a jerk House really is. It's nuts! I really like the show but as far as his character, I'm gonna go ahead and take a leap away from the teenie-bopper House fanclub (not to be confused with the Mrs. Efrons alliance). House is extremely insecure and the way he projects his resentment onto his only friend Wilson is disheartening. I mean I really didn't like Amber but the way House was acting was completely out of line. Anyway, apart from all this House criticism, there was an idea in the episode that I liked. Thirteen was talking to a female patient that she felt she could relate to and the girl said "I would rather spend my time with the birds than spend it wishing I could have wings." I may have butchered the quote (all due apologies to House fanatics that have memorized the transcript) but I think the meaning is accessible. I thought it was interesting and maybe one of the best counterarguments for ambition I have heard, mainly because it doesn't imply laziness. I don't know..just something to think about!

Okay well now that I've procrastinated my lecture for quite some time, I am going to get to it so I can watch an episode of House AND read more Lahiri. A funny picture to leave off with..