Campus Conversations

Halloween is nigh, the days are getting shorter, parents everywhere

October 29, 2011

Hello Everyone! In case you are wondering, the title is a Haiku in honor of National Novel Writing Month, i.e. November!  Yes, I know it is hard to believe, but November is just around the corner.  Every November there is a novel writing contest, and every November I say, "I'm going to do it this year!" but once again, I don't think I will be partaking.  In case you are unfamiliar with the NaNoWriMo competition, basically you have from midnight on Halloween until midnight on Nov.30 to write a novel.  The idea is quantity, not quality, but it is a competition.  I forget what the prize is if you win, but it doesn't matter.  The idea is to have fun and challenge yourself! Even though I probably won't be writing a novel this month, I might as well be with all the writing I will be doing.  November means term papers, and I happen to have quite a few to write this semester.But enough talk of papers!  I haven't posted in awhile, but I have been busy collecting pictures and stories to tell you all! Lately, earthquakes have been on my mind.  They always say, "The Big One's coming!" and considering that I have never experienced even a small tremor, these words strike fear in my heart.  Whenever the floor shakes from someone walking down it or slamming a door, my first thought is always,"It's an earthquake!!" (It never is). One day, something like this is going to happen:

THE EPICENTER

There is a point to this confession; the Thursday before fall break, there was an earthquake simulation chamber on campus.  So of course, I went.  To tell you the truth, it was actually kind of fun.  It was supposed to emulate an 8.0 magnitude earthquake, and it was quite violent, but it felt like a roller coaster.  Mind you, if it were a real earthquake, it would NOT be fun.  At least now I know... and knowing is half the battle. A lot of people use it to catch up on homework, but to be honest, I spent most of fall break sleeping.  Of course, no one can sleep for four days straight--even I would get bored with that. Though I've been here for a year already, there is still so much of the city I haven't seen.  One such place is Olevera Street, which is something like a street market in Downtown LA.  It reminded me a lot of Santa Fe, only it was more like Cozumel.  That's not a very useful comparison if you haven't been to both places, so I took pictures, because a picture is worth a thousand words, right?

my first foray into panoramic photography

Yes, those are cow-foot water bottles

Central Square

                  Anyway, Olevera Street was a lot of fun, and I got some good Christmas gifts for an even better price (yes, I've already bought some presents... I don't normally plan ahead this much).

The credit for this goes to the Alice Q Foodie blog. Her pictures were better.

I also went and ate Dim Sum at Ocean Star.  I had never had Dim Sum until last year, but now I am obsessed with it.  I wish I could eat Dim Sum everyday.  By the way, Dim Sum is Chinese breakfast/brunch type food, like steamed pork buns and mochi cake. (I don't know/can't say the names in Chinese.) If you've never gone, you should try it.  It will change your life and your waistline.

Photo belongs to Alice Q

I took this one. Not quite as good of a picture, as I'd already eaten all of the food...

            That was pretty much it for fall break, though I did spend three hours playing piano at Booth.  I wouldn't say I am a particularly good pianist, as I haven't taken lessons since 7th grade, but I do still enjoy playing from time to time.  One of my favorite things about Oxy is that the practice rooms are open 24 hours a day, and they're (more or less) soundproof and private.  So if you have an urge to have a solo jam sesh at 2 o'clock in the morning (which I've done...), you can go for it! In other news, this upcoming weekend is Halloween!! I am being Carmen Sandiego to go along with my you'll-never-find-me-on-halloween theme. (I was a ninja last year.  Nobody saw me.) I've been planning to be CSD since last halloween, so I already had the main components of the costume, namely the red coat and hat, but I still needed a black dress, so last weekend I went with my roommates to the American Apparel Warehouse Sale.  It was QUITE the experience, let me tell you!  People everywhere.  The inside (and outside, actually) of the factory was a little intimidating, to say the least, but when 90% off sales call, what can you do? Well, that's all I have to say for now.  I have some interesting things coming up in the next few weeks, so stay tuned! Oh, and the part of the haiku-title that mentions "parents everywhere" is due to the fact that it's homecoming weekend... and there are parents everywhere. Until next time, stay classy! Here's a video to keep you smiling :-D