Email Received -880 Minutes Ago

As pictured above, I just received an email on my Gmail account -880 minutes ago... Interesting.... I'm not sure if that means I received the email already or if I'll actually receive it in the future.

Either way, I'm intrigued.

Update: 10:36pm: The string just keeps getting more exciting. (see above)

IMUSE 2009 Beijing Summer Fellowship Program

For everyone out there that's interested in China, I want to share some information about a fellowship for college students that takes place in Beijing, China, run through a group called IMUSE. (Note: I was a runner up in their China in My Eyes Photography Contest!)

Project IMUSE (Initiating Mutual Understanding through Student Exchange) is a nonprofit organization offering undergraduate students around the United States with a unique fellowship opportunity in China. Each fellow will spend two weeks with other fellows from around the US and China, exploring US-China relations by attending events, learning from each other, and exploring their role in the future of their countries.

Fellowship delegates will be provided will full living accommodations in Beijing for two weeks as they participate in a series of group discussions, cultural activities, speaker events, and guided tours that will promote both their understanding of China and of their Chinese peers. Please refer to the IMUSE website for more information.

Applications are due no later than April 1, 2009.

Also, join the IMUSE Facebook group and click on the flyer below for more details!

Writing a Graduation Speech

I decided to enter our school's graduation speech content. It was due last night at midnight. I started around 10:30pm and finally submitted my speech at 11:58pm. They will go through all of the speeches, pick a select group to audition, and then pick the final speaker.

Last night as I wrote my speech, I channeled all sorts of memories for inspiration. First, I started with the minimal information that the committee provided. They wrote:

In the past, speeches have ranged from humorous to reflective and successful ones typically incorporate the following qualities.

• Focus should revolve around your experiences as an undergraduate at NYU Stern
• Embody the sentiments of your class
• Be appropriate and enjoyable for the entire audience (your peers, families, friends, faculty & administrators)
• Length should be between 3 to 5 minutes

I also brainstormed about what I think college is all about. Here are some brainstorming notes that I came up with:

What is college all about?

1.) Getting accepted.

Nervous. Competitive. Selfish. Anxious. Scared. Waiting. Anticipation. Essays. Recommendations. Applications. Disbelief. Support. Lack of support. Soul-searching. Journey. Life. Road. New beginning. Getting away. Escape. Savior. Stability. Loans. Tuition.

Big envelope / small envelope. Confetti. Big buildings. Big envelope. Congratulations. Excitement. Calling everyone.

2.) Freshman Year.

Packing up. Leaving home. Buying tons of unnecessary dorm supplies. Advertisements for college dorm supplies. Pink and orange. Moving in. new beginning. New roommate. Small refrigerator. No kitchen. Plastic bed. Odd wood furniture. Tall buildings. Cheesy RAs. Cheesy orientation leaders. Cheesy everything. Group activities. Going out. Pizza. Pizza. Pizza. Falling in love for the first time.

3.) Exploration.

Learning more about yourself than you ever have. Falling out of love. Staying up way too late to write papers about how the Bible compares to the Communist Manifesto and The Republic. Group projects. Being late for class. Being late for group projects. Being the only one that shows up to a group projects or class. Studying abroad. New perspectives. New insights. Learning more about life and the world than ever before.

4.) Missing.

Missing your family. Missing class. Missing out b/c you have homework. Missing your friends. Missing pets. Missing parties. Making decisions. Choosing paths. Leaving things behind. Seeking new opportunities. Missing out on sleep. Procrastinating. Facebooking.

Of course, there's more to college, but those were the key things I wanted to hit on. In the end, the speech related my childhood dreams to the completion of college. My main advice was to keep dreaming. Seems a little cheesy, but hey, it's what I was feeling.

Now, let's hope I get accepted as one of the finalists!

'Jon & Kate Plus 8' Rumor Update

In a recent post on RadarOnline.com, Jon Gosselin's reps are backing him up.

In a statement issued through his rep, Jon says: "It is certainly hurtful for people to spread rumors and lies about us. It certainly makes me reluctant to live my life like the average person would. This has made it very clear that the simplest innocent gesture -- such as taking a picture with a fan, can be taken out of context.

"As you can see on the show, I am not perfect, but I am a part of a loving family and couple."

Looking forward to tonight's episode. Perhaps they'll address the rumors and get on with life!

'Jon & Kate Plus 8' Parting Ways?

Although I don't watch TV much, 'Jon & Kate Plus 8' could possibly be my favorite show. I heard a rumor on the web today that Jon and Kate Gosselin, lovely and entertaining parents of eight, might be getting a divorce.

Admittedly, the sources of this rumor are less that reputable: TV Guide, Perez Hilton, Star Magazine and InTouch Weekly... My favorite reference so far? A religion and pop culture blog called beliefnet. I guess everyone's picking up this story!

Even the Jon & Kate Plus 8 Facebook Fan Page is in a fit. We're all curious.... is it true?

Nookies and Cookies

Insomnia Cookies, the late-night cookie delivery service, has gone mad with its promotional campaigns. In my inbox today, I received the following email:

Subject: Can't get any nookie?

How about some cookies? Let Insomnia Cookies satisfy your craving. Order some warm and delicious treats tonight and get 3 free with any purchase using coupon code NOOKIE2*

Enjoy!

Love,
Insomnia Cookies
Baked Right. Late Night.
www.insomniacookies.com
877-63-COOKIE
*3 free standard cookies with any order. Cannot be combined with any other offer.

Wow. How low do you have to stoop to sell cookies to college students? Crazy cookie sellers!

Butternut Squash Soup

My co-worker, Marnee, gave me a recipe for butternut squash soup one day after seeing a tweet I wrote on Twitter that asked "Does anyone else like butternut squash as much as I do?" She came over to my desk and I jotted down her recipe. It goes a little something like this:

Butternut Squash Soup:

1.) Cut up butternut squash into cubes
2.) Cut up apples and/or pears into cubes
3.) Spray baking pan with olive oil
4.) Put squash and apples/pears into baking pan
5.) Add Rosemary and garlic to baking pan (sprinkle evenly over contents and mix)
6.) Bake on 400 degrees for 40 minutes (do a fork test to make sure squash is done). (Addendum: I found that if you add water and cover the pan with aluminum foil, it cooks a bit better... that could have been implied, but remember I'm an amateur chef here!)
7.) Put contents of pan in blender.
8.) Add one cup of vegetable stock and some water
9.) Blend 2-3 times until smooth
10.) Add more water if necessary to make blend smoother

Voila! The soup is done! Enjoy!!!!

Soooo, Weikai (my boyfriend) and I made some of this lovely soup last night! Little did we know, a five pound butternut squash was going to take WAAAAY longer than 40 minutes to bake. So, we were up until 2:00am preparing the soup!

We hope to cook more homemade dishes in the future, but getting to bed earlier is important, so we can actually get past the appetizer before falling asleep!

Well, here are some photos from the festivities!

Above: Weikai seemed to enjoy cutting up the butternut squash.

Above: Putting it in the oven! Now we can nap until 1:30am!

Above: Weikai administered the first taste-test...

Above: I stepped in for a final taste! And the verdict: It's yummy!

Above: Unforunately, we both fell asleep before we could have a proper bowl! So, today at lunch, I sat down and enjoyed a nice, hot bowl of soup! MMM!

Special thanks to Marnee for the recipe!

No Snow Day at NYU

Today is March 2, 2009. New York City is in the midst of a winter snow storm. Let's take a look out of my dorm windows. I'm located at NYU Palladium, on East 14th Street, between 3rd and 4th Avenues. It's definitely a winter wonderland...







NYU, my university of choice, has issued a Winter Storm Alert, saying that we could experience up to 8-12 inches of snowfall, yet all classes are scheduled to open today.


Meanwhile, there are 480 school closings in New York City on NBC New York's website. Among some of the other closed universities in NYC today are FIT, The New School, and Pace University. Wow. And what's the National Weather Service saying? Let's hear a quote:

NORTH WINDS SUSTAINED AT 15 TO 25 MPH AND GUSTING
TO 30 TO 40 MPH WILL CAUSE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW...
WITH VISIBILITIES OF LESS THAN A QUARTER OF A MILE AT
TIMES AND NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS.

A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW MEANS
SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING.
STRONG WINDS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. THIS WILL MAKE TRAVEL
VERY HAZARDOUS OR IMPOSSIBLE.

Sounds like a promising day! A bit chilly, though, so go find your honey bunny and cuddle!

First Dog of the U.S.: Portuguese Water Dog

Above: Portuguese Water Dogs, Splash and Diver, appear on PIX11 Morning News with owner Elena Gretch.

On the day of his Inauguration, President Obama announced to his two daughters, Sasha and Malia, and the entire world that the girls had earned their new puppy that would be joining them in the White House.

After that moment, dog lovers around the nation began to gossip about which breed the First Family might choose. The choices were narrowed down to two breeds in January: the Labradoodle or the Portuguese Water Dog. This month, it was announced that the final choice was the Portuguese Water Dog.

This week, Elena Gretch, pet expert of It's a Dog's Life and proud owner of two Portuguese Water Dogs, appeared on PIX11 Morning News to discuss the First Family's choice.

Check out the PIX11 blog post and video here!

Polaroids & NYU Violet Ball XX

Wow, I can't believe the organizers of the NYU Violet Ball, our annual university-wide dance, still have a Polaroid picture booth (as evidenced above). While Polaroids do add a vintage feel to any dance, I feel that students would really love to have higher quality photos that they can easily access and tag online, possibly via Facebook. Perhaps our future Violet Ball committees will realize that we live in the 21st century and start using digital photography at some future point. Until then, I guess students will continue to be amazed by the wonders of low-quality, slow-developing Polaroids. Yeah for the past!