I just got back from watching Gake no ue no Ponyo, Hayao Miyazaki's latest masterpiece. The crew started out five strong, but by the end of the movie, only Sunny, Bob, and I remained. Hmm, I guess you really have to be Asian to enjoy the movie. Y (^_^)
Then again, perhaps part of the reason we liked it so much was because it showed us what Josh would look like as a cartoon fish girl and what Ed would look like as Josh's underwater sorceror father.
Josh as Ponyo
Ed as Fujimoto
Josh and Ed, I'm sorry I had to use such frightening photos of the both of you. But you have to admit, the resemblances are uncanny.
Well, it was Richie's day yesterday, anyway. Lee and I planned to make him dinner to celebrate, but we certainly did not allot enough time to go to the grocery store, prepare the meal, eat the food, and clean up afterwards. It ended up being a much larger ordeal than I had expected, and while I enjoyed every minute of it, my stomach was left to pay the price.
We decided to make fajita burritos, and I kept telling Lee to cook more chicken, because I felt like we didn't have enough. Well, it didn't occur to me that in addition to the chicken, we also had rice. And beans. And red peppers. And yellow peppers. And onions. And tomatoes. And lettuce. And cheese. And sour cream. And black olives. And guacamole. By the time we finished making our burritos, they looked something like this:
Do I regret eating all of this? No.
Do I regret making a second one and eating that one too? Umm, possibly, yes.
I made the terrible mistake of not picking up my phone yesterday afternoon. I was studying in the library, and for once I decided to enter the Zone and ignore all incoming calls and Gchats. The call that I missed happened to be one asking me to play piano for the Drama department auditions this Sunday. I returned the call in the evening and left a message, only to find out this morning that they had already found another accompanist for the job. Ugh, I really could have used the money, but I suppose I should study and go to church on Sunday morning anyway. Welp, that'll teach me to screen my calls ever again.
Here are a few pictures to cheer both you and me up after that sorrowful tale.
I was just looking for an old file on my computer in my folder from college, and I came across the Bio that I had written for my role as pianist and rehearsal accompanist for the First Year Players' production of Fiddler on the Roof. Apparently I was weirder than I ever remembered. Why didn't somebody tell me??
Sam Zhao has studied piano for fifteen [trillion] years but secretly wishes he played the xylophone. He enjoys eating shrimp and talking about himself. And shrimp that talk about himself. Like Russian gymnast Svetlana Khorkina, he wants to win gold as badly as he wants to mother his own child. He would like to thank his two sons, Hambone and Flippy, for their constant support. Sam is actually dead. In lieu of flowers, please send shrimp. No pun intended.
This morning, JDT (I mean, Dr. Turner) gave our HIV lecture from her new office in Michigan. They worked out some crazy broadcasting system where JDT's computer screen was projected into our classroom while she watched us on some camcorder system. Well, I use the phrase "worked out" very loosely. I went to class solely for the purpose to see how often the connection would mess up, and I was not disappointed. It was immensely entertaining when the lecture was interrupted... the first four times. The next five times were not as funny; I just felt like we were playing on Chatroulette.
This morning, Pastor Leland gave a great sermon on the second Beatitude, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." He talked about how it is natural to mourn after a difficult loss and also gave us advice on how best to comfort those around us who are mourning. But the part of the service that I remember best was at the end, when he was giving the weekly church announcements. While he was still talking, a cell phone went off in one of the back pews. To have a cell phone go off during a church service or a class lecture or a theater production is bad enough, but this particular ringtone was... wait for it... a rooster's crow.
I kid you not.
And, for the next twenty seconds while the perpetrator searched for his or her cell phone, the entire congregation got to listen to the high-pitched sound of "Cockadoodledoo!" over and over again.
I just signed up for Shop It To Me, a website that matches your size and brand preferences. It sends you an e-mail when clothing in your size goes on sale from the stores you normally shop at, saving you the trouble of searching for deals yourself. This is especially useful for people like me who wear size XS, which is for some reason is NEVER in stock when things go on sale. Why does the rest of America have to be so big??
Then again, the website might not be very useful for me if I say I'm interested in stores like Banana Republic. The e-mail I got last night featured this "Sale Alert." Whew, that $70 hat I've been wanting is finally on sale for $45!!!!11!!111!
Okay, seriously, as I was writing this post, the item sold out. WHO IS OUT THERE PAYING $45 FOR A BR MONOGRAM SHADOW-PLAID WOOL DRIVER CAP!? WHO???
I stayed in to study Path tonight, by which I mean that I went to go see Shutter Island with Nick and Lindsay. It. Was. So. Good. I mistakenly thought that it would give my brain a rest and just provide me with a few hours of cheap entertainment, but my mind was practically racing the entire movie. So many twists! So many surprises! So many girls screaming in the audience!
If I learned one thing from the movie, it's that perhaps psychiatry really is the ideal field for me. Shutter Island is set in 1954, right after the development of chlorpromazine, the first typical antipsychotic medication. The drug is used by the psychiatrists in the movie, and it's still in the UVA formulary today. Less new drugs to learn? At this point, that sounds like the perfect specialty to me!
EDIT: I just realized that the basic premise of Shutter Island is about uncovering the truth behind a mysterious island where nothing is as it really seems while trying to get off of the island and return home. Sound like something else I'm totally obsessed with?
I am pleased to announce that, for the first time I can recall since I moved to Charlottesville, the Subway on the Corner is participating in the Footlong Nation Appreciation promotion. For some reason, they've always refused to honor the deal where the $5 footlong price is extended to every sandwich on the menu. But they've finally done it, and I can truthfully say that it was well worth the wait.
I am also pleased to announce that Nisha is still the most absurd person I know. I logged onto Facebook earlier today to discover that she had written on Tina's wall the following statement:
actually something came up and i'm back in tanzania!!
Okay, what?? The phrase "something came up" does not logically precede the phrase "i'm back in tanzania." You don't just pick up your things and fly from Richmond to Tanzania on a whim. I can only presume that the soccer team that she was following for her documentary is finally playing in the international competition that kept getting postponed. Nisha, if you're reading this, I hope you're getting some awesome footage!
But that doesn't change the fact that you are without a doubt the craziest person I know.
The Punch Brothers concert last night was amazing (as you may have already gathered), but there was one low moment in the night. The band had just come out to play an encore, and luckily for us, we were sitting up close in the fourth row. As they were setting up for their final set, Jon nudged me to ask them where the after-party was going to be. While the rest of the audience was completely quiet, I yelled out, "WHERE ARE YOU GOING AFTER THE SHOW!?" Sadly, they completely ignored my query. Alas.
I didn't give up on hanging out with the band so easily, though. A few of us stuck around the Jefferson Theater lobby after the show hoping to see them come out, and they actually lined up to meet the fans and sign autographs. I didn't really have anything on me that I could get them to sign, but like any good second year medical student, I happened to be carrying around my First Aid for the USMLE Step 1 study book in my track bag. Chris Eldridge, the guitarist, told me he wanted to sign a cool page, so he flipped around until he found the Pharmacology section regarding alcohol toxicity. And now I have all five of their signatures on page 236 of First Aid 2009. Guess this is one book that won't be going into next year's book sale!
Tonight I sacrificed four hours of my time to Concertgod, and he has greatly rewarded me for my selfless offering. I just saw one of the best performances of my life, put on by the Punch Brothers. Their musicality is literally beyond words, but you know how I love talking/typing, so I'm going to try to describe it anyway.
The night actually started with Christina Courtin, a young singer with a voice that sounds a lot like Regina Spektor. Almost too much like Regina Spektor, if you ask me. But she was charming in a quirky way, and her acoustic set won me over in the end. I was worried for most of the time that she and her guitarist might be having seizures onstage, though. Those jerky movements they made while they performed... those can't be normal. Anyway, you can check out her music on her MySpace page, and I highly recommend her song Foreign Country.
But then the Punch Brothers came onstage, and my, what a show. I mean it when I say that these guys have to be some of the best musicians out there. Led by mandolinist and vocalist Chris Thile of Nickel Creek fame, the band blew me away with their unpredictable harmonies. Listening to them play was like walking through a haunted house, but in a good way, because you never knew what was going to come at you next. Several songs involved more than three time signature and/or key changes, but they were incorporated so seamlessly that I wouldn't even realize what had happened until several seconds later. I don't know how they were able to play off of each other so well, but I'm going to chalk it up to an endless well of talent combined with what must be hours upon hours of rehearsal.
I think my favorite part of the show was watching how the musicians all fed off of each other's energies. They all knew what everyone else was about to do at any given moment. The best example I can think of was during their cover of the Stanley Brothers' The Lonesome River. They bent and scooped the notes just the right amount and somehow always hit the final chord at just the right time.
Wait, I lied, that wasn't my only favorite part. My other favorite part was how they were able to use cliche little band tricks like suddenly getting quiet and building the dynamics and tempo back up in a frenzy, but making it sound totally naturally and unplanned. To compare, one of Christina Courtin's songs was written in major but for some reason she decided to end it on the minor chord. IMHO, it just didn't work. On the other hand, the Punch Brothers ended several of their songs on the dominant chord or even the first inversion of the tonic(!), and it didn't sound gimicky at all. It was almost as if the music wanted to flow that way of its own accord, and the musicians were just a channel of this unstoppable force flowing towards me from the stage.
Okay, I could literally go on and on about how much I enjoyed the show for hours, but Neil just sent me the link to tonight's episode of LOST that I missed because of the concert, so obviously I need to go watch it immediately. I'll leave you now with a video of the Punch Brothers performing Rye Whiskey, a song off of their new album. Sadly, the audio isn't quite synched with the video, but I trust that you'll enjoy it nonetheless.
Katie's new status message - I made one little comment to my family about "moar snow" in charlottesville and spent the next 20 minutes explaining lolspeak to them via text message. Apparently knowing Sam Zhao has warped my sense of the appeal of obscure internet memes to the general public. 2:14 PM
It has just come to my attention that it has been over a month since I have driven my car. The last time I remember using it was when I drove back from the Jefferson Scholars Regional Interviews in Richmond on January 11th. And, aside from going to the grocery store once in Lee's car, I haven't needed to drive at all since that day. I mean, the several feet of snow we've gotten in the past few weeks and my reluctance to shovel my car out of the driveway and general lazy demeanor may have had something to do with it as well. But no matter what, carbon footprint win!
To celebrate, I'm going to rent a personal jet and fly it to class tomorrow.
In the midst of all the excitement surrounding Chinese New Year, I completely forgot that today is also Valentine's Day. I ended up having a most romantic dinner with Matt, Richie, Cameron, Hassan, and Liz at Christian's Pizza, followed by dessert at Arch's. Who knew that polyandry could be so fun?
Of course, being Valentine's Day and all, I have to take a moment to honor the true love of my life: stop-motion videos. Here's one I came across today on Geekologie that makes me smile and feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. At least I think that's how love is supposed to make me feel. But I wouldn't know... cuz I'm a robot! DUN DUN DUN!!
It's the year of the tiger, it's the feast from the Moms
Rising up to the challenge of the Hot Pot
And the last known survivor has to eat all the nomz
And he's watching us all in the Year... OF THE TIGER!
Phew! My stomach has finally settled since the Chinese New Year to end all Chinese New Years. My parents teamed up with Bob's parents to bring the festivities to good old Charlottesville tonight, allowing us to celebrate the lunar new year with a few of our close friends. We used five hot pots, which may or may not have definitely set off the circuit breakers multiple times throughout the night. But it was totally worth it! Everything from the fish balls to the beef slices to the bok choy to the shrimp was uber-tasty.
I think it was mostly rewarding for me just to see Lee, Jim, Jon, Neil, Randy, and Tri eat until they were about to pass out. I wouldn't be exaggerating if I said we each consumed at least two pounds of food per person. And that, my friends, is what Chinese culture is all about.
I checked my mailbox at school this morning and was pleasantly surprised by a Hershey's chocolate bar from Steph and a box of Nerds from Tina. Unfortunately, the Nerds came with one of those elementary school Valentine's Day cards, and this one in particular didn't necessarily do much to reaffirm my sense of masculinity. Thanks a lot, Tina...
And, completely unrelated to the above, I was kind of in a funk all day today. I can't exactly pinpoint what it was that put me in a bad mood, but I dunno, maybe it had something to do with the, oh, TERRIBLE HEMATOLOGY LECTURES or the IMPENDING DOOM OF CUMULATIVE FINAL EXAMS or the OMNIPRESENT THREAT OF BOARDS. Whatever the cause, I'm issuing a blanket apology to anyone that I may have annoyed with my sourpuss demeanor.
On the bright side, all of my anger disappeared after I got off of the phone with Dia Dia and Niang Niang, which is what I call my maternal grandparents. I had called them earlier tonight to wish them a happy Chinese New Year. As it turns out, several of my aunts, uncles, and cousins were already at the house, getting ready for New Year's Eve dinner. Naturally, they passed the phone around until I got to catch up a little bit with everyone that was there, which took over half an hour. It's been over two and a half years now since I last saw any of them, and talking to them just now made me realize how much I miss everybody. Apparently they don't miss me quite as much, though: my uncle won't permit me to come back until I've found a girlfriend AND taught her how to greet him properly in our village dialect. Such typically high Asian standards...
The more I studying I do, the more daydreaming I do about what it would be like to have a different life. What if I had never given up the childhood dream of becoming an astronaut? Or a paleontologist? Or a marine biologist? Or, to be more timely, a YouTube star? Okay, so I would much prefer to be a professional musician, touring around the country and playing my music in front of audiences of thousands. But baby steps, right?
Here's a guy who's well on his way to... well, somewhere that's more exciting than the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library. I like this medley a lot, but then when I checked out his original music, I was a little underwhelmed. Ah well, he can at least make a life for himself doing covers, which ain't half bad.
Sometimes I worry about my sanity. More and more often I discover myself talking not in normal English, but instead using words from LOLspeak. I was discussing this disturbing trend with Nosheen and Lee, when Lee regaled to me the following tale:
My sister recently told me a story about her band director. He was putting people in rows designated by letters and saying stuff like, "You all are in the A row as in 'Apple.'" And when he got to O, he said, "You are in the O row as in 'O Hai.'"
Remember a few years ago when there was that big push to bring Ebonics into the academic curriculum? Maybe they should look into doing that for LOLspeak instead. In fact, I'd like to volunteer myself to chair the committee that presents this proposal to the Senate.
I mean, i can haz leedership role in teh itteh bitteh congreshunal committeh??
EDIT: In the spirit of all things lulz, I present you with Textbook FAIL (or is it ESL WIN?).
I had lunch with one of my professors from college today. He suggested that we go to Lemongrass, which was fine by me since it's probably my favorite restaurant on the Corner. It wasn't even half an hour after we finished, though, that the food coma started setting in, followed closely behind by a sense of remorse.
Part of the problem is that I have somehow convinced myself that all Asian food is healthy, even though this is a far cry from reality. It's even less likely to be true when I consume 2-3 times the normal serving size at every meal. But how can I resist, when beef and noodles make my taste buds so happy?
I've always believed that the best way to lose the guilt (and the excess pounds!) is to laugh it off. And on that note, enjoy the following video I stole from Cameron's Gchat status. Just make sure you don't watch it in the library, or you might end up under the table and crying like I did. From laughing, of course.
What if some creepy guy in the parking lot of Harris Teeter took a picture of Lee climbing the new Barracks Road snow mountain? Oh wait, that actually happened.
Let's have a little recap of Superbowl XLIV, shall we?
Lee, Steph, and I took advantage of the $5 nomz at Trinity Irish Pub tonight. Their pulled pork sandwiches are AMAZING, although I would argue that the portions are not quite large enough. After having a teaser of a dinner, Lee and I joined our friends in watching the Superbowl in Mulholland Lounge, since the party had been relocated from Ashtree Apartments following the unexpected loss of electricity on 14th Street.
We had a lot of fun watching the game at school, but Mary, the only non-medical student present, probably had the most fun when she took home the $25 prize at the end of the Superbowl. And right here, right now, I'm going to prove that I can take good pictures of Mary that don't involve her scarfing down a Gus burger in the middle of the White Spot (although I would argue that those pictures are good as well):
Ugh, now I'm supposed to pull my act together and do the Epidemiology problem set that's due in class tomorrow. Why can't medical school just be fun and games all the time? It's so unfair!!
I've been a little bummed out this year, because it seems like there's an invisible canyon between the residents of JPA and the residents of 14th Street. Okay, so it's not so much an "invisible canyon" as it is "a mile of walking covered in snow." Tonight I decided that wintry precipitation had kept me away from the other half of my friends long enough, and it was time to venture out to the distant and dreaded Ashtree Townhomes once again.
The trek took half an hour each way, but I have to admit, it was totally worth it. What could possibly better than the following combination: a rousing game of Cranium, grilled cheese sandwiches and quesadillas, and the first half of Ong Bak 2? Unfortunately, I had to walk home after the night was over, only to discover that the White Spot had invoked some sort of black magic to project its delicious aromas in an 800-foot radius around its storefront. You have no idea how hard it was for me to walk past it without stopping in for a Gus burger! Sigh, literally the best.
It's Doppelganger Week on Facebook, a craze that has swept the interwebs like no other. I finally gave in and put up a picture of Short Round, because I couldn't figure out what other famous person I even remotely resembled. Neil suggested that I try one of those websites where you upload a picture and let them analyze it for you. Well, I tried the one at MyHeritage.com, and the results were more stereotypical than they were accurate.
Welp, here we go again. There's yet another winter storm warning in effect for Charlottesville, and this time we're expecting between 20 and 28 inches of snow in the next 48 hours. Lee and I knew that the best way to prepare for such an onslaught of wintry precipitation is to make a dash to the nearest Redbox to rent movies to watch. When we got to Kroger, however, we discovered the madness below:
The line to every checkout counter extended down the aisles to the back of the store. The self check-out line wrapped around the side of the store all the way to the dairy section in the back. The scene was horrifying, yet I couldn't look away. It was simultaneously beautiful and frightening to behold.
Things got better from there, though. UVA announced that everything would be canceled tomorrow, including classes and even non-emergent hospital appointments. All of Charlottesville is shutting down in preparation for the storm of the century, and what better way to welcome it than with the best Grand Rounds of all time at Michael's Bistro? More importantly, what better way to end a night out than with the Jimmy Johns guy handing out free sandwiches on the Corner? Now I'm no prophet, but I'm pretty sure this is God's way of telling me to enjoy the snow he's about to give us. And don't worry, God, I hear you. I hear you loud and clear.
At the Family Medicine luncheon yesterday (mmm, fajitas!), Dr. Reed told us about one of the doctors in the Shenandoah Valley who is apparently the craziest man alive. There are stories of how he makes the students that do their rotation with him wake up at 4:30 in the morning to do manual labor on the farm like milking the cows and delivering calves before going to work at the clinic. As you can imagine, some students hate it, and some students love it. Personally, I'm going to try to find out how I can be on his rotation. When else will I get the chance to help deliver a calf in my lifetime??
Since Valentine's Day is coming up, I thought I'd include this cute little comic from Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, although you'll probably have to click on it to actually read it. Credit goes to Danny, from whose Gchat status I stole this. Gah, I hate not being able to end sentences in prepositions!
Q: Why did the smoke monster cross the island? [answer at the bottom of the post]
As you probably already know, my favorite TV show returns to the airwaves tonight. The VMed Lostafarians are getting together at the Mad House to watch the season premiere, so hopefully the 3-6 inches of snow we're supposed to get tonight will hold out until after 11pm. Seriously, what is going on with the weather? But more importantly, WHAT HAPPENED TO EVERYONE AFTER THE BOMB WENT OFF??
And, just to whet your appetite, here's a little video that was posted a few months ago that mashes scenes from different episodes to show, in real time, what happened during the crash of Oceanic Flight 815.
Or should it technically be "For Which You Have All Been Waiting"? Anyway, Jon and I uploaded all of the videos from the talent show onto YouTube today, and it only took us seven hours. Wait, you didn't think I was done talking about the talent show, did you? Don't be silly, the day I get tired of talking about myself is the day this blog goes to blog heaven to be with all of the other blog angels.
Anyway, as I was saying, the videos from all the acts are online now, and I have compiled them into a playlist, which you can watch here. But you know what? I'll make it really easy for you and just show you all the ones you really want to see: the ones with me in them.
First, we have the Blue Ridge Medicine Boys performance. I apologize for my inability to sing in a Tennessee accent. And also for my "wardrobe malfunction."
Next, we have the Dancing Doctors. Steph deserves some sort of special award for somehow managing to teach a bunch of medical students how to dance in synch with each other.
And last, but not least, my special baby: the Arrhythmics. You guys are the best!
Alright, now watch them again. And again. And again.
We got about six inches of snow over the weekend. Normally, this would be cause for great excitement and alarm, but after our 24-inch blizzard last month, it really doesn't seem like such a big deal anymore. In fact, I didn't even go outside to play in it; I stayed in the whole weekend and studied. If by "studied" I mean "watched the video of the Blue Ridge Mountain Boys performance over and over again."
It's been a while since I've bought any pop culture t-shirts, and there's a hunger growing inside of me that needs to be satiated. I kind of want to get this one. And this one. Um, also, this one. This one, too. Okay, aaand this one.
But one of my resolutions this year was to be more frugal, so I will resist buying more t-shirts when I already have two drawers full of them. Instead, I will channel my money towards tickets for the Carbon Leaf concert at the Jefferson Theater on Saturday, March 20. You should come!
