I was surprised that a lot of people responded to my entry about not drinking. So today, I went to a Halloween party. Not to my surprise, all the drinks (I think) were alcohol. I didn\’t want to try the punch, knowing that it could be spiked. In fact, someone admitted later that she poured rum into it.

So I drank nothing. Although I sort of stuffed myself with cake, cookies and candy. And chips. And tuna salad. And celery.

But the Halloween party rocked (PICTURES) This is the first time I have dressed up in 4 years. 4 years since someone thought I was 12 years old (I made her guess how old I was since she said that I was too old, she said she was a schoolteacher and knew these kind of things, how far off!). I dressed up as my advisor (or the head of the HCI dept). Basically, I was the IT GIRL of the party. Personally, I loved the TIVO guy.

It took 2 hours to make my hair messy and spray it white. I should have gotten a wig, but the natural look worked nonetheless. Non-hci people thought I was a pumpkin, an old pregnant lady, or a pizza delivery woman. But no I was…HER. I had a pizza slice with me, because she is apparently on Atkins. During our weekly seminar, she would get 5 slices of pizza and just eat the toppings/cheese and leave the rest behind. She wears a fanny pack. She is slightly pleasantly plump (but I borrowed my housemate\’s nice pillow that everyone kept touching…STOP THAT!). And of course the messy hair. I also wore my glasses which made me so dorky. But it worked right?

I have a costume set for tomorrow\’s Halloween party! The greatest idea to come into my mind…since I decided I had to meet Mike Fernando (speaking of which, it has been 2 years since that happened – HAPPY TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY!). The first time I have dressed up in 4 years. Pictures to be posted of course. :)

It\’s getting to a point where I wonder why I go to bars…when I don\’t drink. Isn\’t this too ironic? Why go to a bar if I don\’t intend to drink at all?

A lot of the time, I want to hide the fact that I am not having alcohol. I don\’t really want my housemate advertising this fact. Just to alleviate the pressure. It\’s embarassing, yet am I not supposed to be proud of the fact that I don\’t drink at all? Isn\’t it like being like a vegetarian? People respect those who choose not to eat meat. But I don\’t get the same respect sometimes.

This song, Ah Du – Jian Chi Dao Di, makes me recall my more innocent times (even though I don\’t understand the lyrics at all). My naive, hopeful times. It\’s one of the few love ballads that I have on my playlist (thanks to Chris who wanted to share his taste of music). But the reminder is so strong that I can remember that wistful moment. That moment where I was sitting at home, happy and hopeful that only good things could happen from here. And most of all, you could feel those happy tears, because everything was perfect. At least for that moment.

Ok. Enough of that. Onward to my next musical fascination of the moment. Mogwai.

Awww…Ashlee Simpson messed up! During a SNL preformance, she held the mike to her side while her voice came over the speakers. Whoops? HI 21ST CENTURY VERSION OF MILLI VANILLIIII. Of course, she immediately blames her band. Then she blames the fact that she had acid reflux disease. Wait, rewind that? A team member showed us the video (right before our loonnggg meeting). It confused me at first why she gyrated on the stage a bit, and then walked sheepishly off the stage.

I would have loved to be in the audience. Like most people, I like to watch car accidents.

So today, I stupidly forgot the midterm regrade that was due today. I realized it 5 minutes before my first class started. And for the next two hours, I contemplated on what measures I should take. Or rather I was frozen by extreme anxiety.

The main thing was that the regrade would only get me at least 0.1 point back equivalent to 0.1 of the entire course grade. Was it worth it to skip class and go all the way back to the house (a minimum of 15 minutes, a maximum of 50 minutes depending on how fast the bus came) Should I take the blame and absorb the penalty of 0.1 points? Should I sacrifice my pride and ask the professor for some leniency?

The first time I ever did something this silly was in the 5th grade. Most people know that I am a diligent student (when I put my mind and effort into it). I had worked on a map for my class for about a week. It was highly detailed and everything. The night before, I left the poster right by the door intending to take it with me to school that morning. But! I forgot it. My mom dropped me off at school and a terrible realization overcomes me when I enter class. There were two choices there: 1. cry to my teacher and find a phone to call my mom to bring the poster 2. accept the consequences and bring the poster the following day

I chose the latter and received a C on that project.

So today, I thought of all the possible paths I could take. If I missed part of my stat class, I would be hurting my grade in that class especially since the material is so foreign to me. If I missed my lab hour, then the professor might be unhappy that I am not present when my lab group presented. If I missed the methods lecture, I would miss thing that I would need to know for the homework and later tests. And it was only 0.1 point. Of course, since I was so worried about it, I couldn\’t even concentrate in any of the lectures (see previous post). Ultimately, I chose to ruin my pride and asked the professor if I could turn it in later. Pity for my stupidity always works. But now I feel foolish for being so much like an undergrad when I am a graduate student.

The end of my biggest anxiety of the day.

My mom sent me recipes yesterday and I thought it was rather cute how she named them (but considering the grammar in the recipes, I think it was my dad that actually wrote them out).

And so here is the secret recipe to my mom\’s BBQ sauce. Not a secret anymore huh!

EZ BBQ sauce
Tablespoon=the blue Chinese spoon I sent you
Teaspoon=plastic teaspoon size
2 tablespoons of Hoisen sauce
2 tablespoons of catup
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 teaspoon of sugar
Mix all together and put in a bowl or bottle for future use. It must be covered well.

While learning how to actually cook for myself, I have learned that there are no secrets in how people prepare for themselves. People keep in mind of what they have available in their kitchen and from that, they\’re inspired. In the last month, I have made chicken drumsticks with potatoes/tomatoes, taco salad, and pasta. Of course, my favorite jiffy cornbread. So my plans for this week: mango chicken stir-fry and lasagna.

When something upsets me, disappoints me, I just can\’t concentrate on work. Can\’t study. Can\’t focus.

IT\’S…THAT BAD. AND SO…

Just an hour ago, I found out that the sale for 24 the complete first season dvd is over at Amazon. I missed the bargain price of $15 (now $45+), because I had been trying to find something else to get the super saver shipping price. My big disappointment of the day. I can\’t do my homework now.

When people leave, you miss them so much. The presence is just not there anymore. But time heals. You get used to the absence. Every day, it becomes easier and easier. Your life adjusts and you\’re satisfied with how things are at the moment. At one point, you don\’t even realize that there is someone missing, but maybe you\’ll remember a memory. A something. But then, one day, you forget they ever existed.

Until the next time someone leaves.