Post # 100!

Yep. This is my 100th post. Here's my kitty. She likes covering her face while she sleeps. She makes me happy...when she's not scratching me, of course. Wow...such elementary-level sentences.

The Only Funny Thing in My Psych 101 Textbook

This was from my junior year of undergrad (the Spring 2008 semester), but I wrote this down and forgot about it until just now:

"Sexual motivation was unaffected, although damaged to the cerebellum presumably would have made copulation awkward." - p. 20 of Research in Psychology: Methods and Design (4th Ed.)

*Note: Psych 101 = The only required upper division psych course at UCB...the dreaded stats class that really isn't so bad...it's just a pain.

*Note 2: Apparently I already quoted this HERE, but oh well.

Lea Michele

I love Lea Michele's (from Glee and Spring Awakening) voice and personality. I really like the top part of this dress too (the bottom was feathery):



Lea Michele and Charice singing "Telephone" on Glee HERE.

Laugh to Keep From Crying

Kinda dramatic title, but that's life as a grad student. lol

Seriously...I've been seeking sources of comfort and amusement to keep myself from going crazy from stress and exhaustion. Here's something funny that happened yesterday in stats lab about this scatterplot from a computer program made of data points in the shape of stars (pretty cool):

Teacher's assistant: "Now what do you notice about this scatterplot?"
Class (at the same time): "There are stars."

Yes. That is exactly the answer she was looking for. And the shape of the data points is so important. HAHA!!

*Note: You can also make the data points into hearts, triangles, etc.

I'll try to paste the scatterplot here someday.

Sugarland

I've gotten into country music lately because of my boyfriend. I've always thought it was okay and knew I could probably like it if I listened to it more, but I just never had the motivation to sit down and look up songs. Now I love hearing country on the radio! haha Anyway, today I heard Sugarland's "Stuck Like Glue," which is a catchy song despite its irrelevance to my life (except for the being stuck on someone parts), on the radio today and listened to a bunch of her songs on Youtube. By the way, Captain Awesome (Devon = Ryan McPartlin from the TV show, Chuck) is one of the lead dudes in that music video.

I like this part from "Something More":

"Some believe in destiny, and some believe in fate
I believe that happiness is something we create"

Me too.

This is a good video with good lyrics one too: "All I Want To Do" - you have no idea how much I want to just chill with Blake.

Adding to the Bucket List?

I think it'd be pretty neat to experience what Frances Mayes heard in Portugal:

"Some cousins of Ferdinand the Bull relax in the shade. They gleam like polished copper, and each wears a bell. All the sheep wear bells, too, and when we stop, little symphonies are playing all over the rolling countryside."
--A Year in the World: Journeys of a Passionate Traveller

Wouldn't that be cool to hear? There are so many little things like that that make life extra enjoyable. I want to learn more about random things like this!

There are plenty of sheep in the U.S. Anyone wanna go find some and attach bells to a few hundred of them? :P

So Grateful!

I know Thanksgiving is awhile away still, but I have to make a list of the things for which I've been thankful lately (in no particular order):

* Sweet, genuinely friendly people
* Warm water
* Detailed but still interesting (i.e., not boring) travel books like The Geography of Bliss and A Year in the World
* Blake!
* Streetlights
* Music
* Lotion
* The internet
* Air conditioners
* Hair ties
* Caring, supportive family
* Volleyball socks (when I'm not playing, they keep me so warm!)
* Access to plentiful, delicious food
* Amazing friends
* Vacuums

Kinda random...I know.

Overheard at Greek Fest

Have you heard of Overheard in New York? People can post interesting/funny/weird things they've overheard...in New York, of course. They also have an Overheard Everywhere.

Anyway, this is a random funny comment I overheard at Fresno's Greek Fest:

Man: "God I love a man in a skirt."

He was talking/joking about the men walking around in white skirts like these. Made Mom and me laugh.

Saawariya

Official movie site here.

Finished watching this last night. I love this movie's title, music, and actors (Ranbir Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Salman Khan, and especially Rani Mukherjee). I also liked how the storyline and characters were far from perfect (I'm not as into dreamy happy movies anymore). It's not my favorite Indian movie, but I absolutely loved its visual displays of darkness and cool (blues, greens, purples, etc.) colors in general. The saris were gorgeous, and I liked the dancing. I do have to say that it was overly dramatic most of the time, but I guess that was the point.

Oh...and check out Ranbir Kapoor's almost-naked towel dance (Nicky showed me this scene awhile ago). My mom just laughed and walked away after a few seconds. I liked it because he's attractive and you rarely see guys' bodies in such a revealing, sexualized way. We talked an awful lot about how Indian movies reveal and hide the female body (and kisses!) in my Indian Cinema class. I miss taking classes like that one.

Parenthood (Show)

I recently started watching Parenthood online, and I really like it so far. I love how it's based in Berkeley, where I went to school, and it relates to a lot of things I enjoy (people, culture, kids, school psychology, etc.). Anyway, this quote made me happy for some reason:

Jim: "Hey, Sarah."
Sarah: "Can I come in?"
Jim (after a brief hesitation): "You like lasagna?"

Maybe it's because I want these characters to be together and because I love food?

Post #90: Tubby's Wave to Cinderella

I can't use real names here, but this tiny little kid (his nickname is "Tubby") at my volunteer place waddled up to me and looked at the sticker on my clipboard. Here's what made me smile:

Me: "What are you looking at? Cinderella?"
::Kid waves his arm::
Me: "Are you waving at Cinderella?"
Kid: "Yea!"

Haha... This kid isn't very verbal, so I don't know if he was actually answering my question, answering his own question, or randomly saying something that sounded like "Yea!" Sooo cute though. He could melt anyone like butter.

It was ME!

One time at the preschool I caught a kid hitting another kid, but then a lot of things happened after that glimpse of a hand falling on someone, so I gave a stern talking to the correct kid and then mixed up their names or something and told an incorrect kid to apologize to the victim. Fortunately, the one who had actually hit the other kid immediately said, "He didn't hit him. I hit him!"

I love how these little guys just blurt out the truth constantly.

I MISS PRESCHOOLERS!!

A few friends and I were talking about how it's risky to get physically and romantically involved with someone you kinda know already, and one friend, who always surprises us with her one-liners, said this:

"That's when you go do strangers."

Haha!

Female Friends and Guys

I haven't updated in awhile, although many things have amused me lately. One thing that makes me happy is when I find a good group of friends. I really like this relatively new female friend group, which is extra nice partly because I usually only get really close to my guy friends. Hopefully these girls and I will be able to open up to each other more in the future.

Anyway, here are just a few characteristics we like in potential boyfriends:
+ Good with kids (MAJOR plus!)
+ Ambitious
+ Hard-working
+ Responsible
+ Humorous

And a few turn-offs:
- Likes to drink a lot
- Arrogant
- Irresponsible
- Dishonest
- Any smoking!

Are those too obvious?

Glee Quote from "Acafellas"

Tonight they aired one of the early episodes of Glee, in which Puck said one of my favorite lines of the season:

Puck (to Fin): "Dude, my bowels have better moves than you."

Early Sympathy & Empathy

.:Preschool:.

Today was the last day of school and my final day working at the preschool. Here's one of the cute/sweet things that happened today:
[Child with autism throws a fit and cries loudly]
Samantha (to me as the other child leaves): "That's sad, huh?"
She also gave me dried mango (see below), which she knows I like because I brought it to school once after seeing her eat it for lunch. Hers is actually better than mine! I might post a picture later. Such a sweet little girl. She said it was also from her sister, who used to come up to talk to me whenever I went to the cafeteria for the kids' lunches. I'll miss them so much.

This is the dried mango she gave me:

This is the dried mango I had shown her from my lunch earlier (way different: mine wasn't as good as hers 'cause it was really sweet and hard vs. her smoother, softer, more chewy dried mango):

Random Friends

I was trying to ask my friend about this yellow post thing I saw at his school, and here's how he responded:

Me: "I saw this yellow bar thing sticking out of a hill on campus. Do you know what that is? Like artwork or something? Maybe just a construction thing?"
Blake H.: "Oh. Did you poke it?"

WHAT?! He said that without hesitation too. :P

Superman's Only For BOYS?!

Little Kevin (in broken English), pointing at my watch: "That's...boy clock."

haha. Cute.

I've gotten that a lot with my Superman watches and lunch pail. I used to have a Disney princess shirt, but I gave it to a little girl because it was too small. Anyway, I'm teaching these kids that it's okay for girls to like boy superheroes. Heck yes.

Wong Fu's Influence on Me

Some awesome artists I've heard about through Wong Fu Productions (Youtube site here):

In no particular order:

(1) David Choi: I love "That Girl" and "I Won't Even Start"
(2) AJ Rafael: "When We Say (Juicebox)"
(3) Kina Grannis: "Valentine," "Together," "The World in Front of Me" (the first song I heard of hers on a few Wong Fu Weekend videos), and "In Your Arms" are awesome.
>> She actually sings with David Choi too (See "My Time With You")

So Random

I always have to stop myself from laughing whenever the kids say things that don't make sense or aren't appropriate within a certain context.

I've noticed that M says two completely different things (that should be two separate sentences but aren't) in one breath, apparently assuming that the other person will understand both of his trains of thought. For example, the other day he said something that came out like this: "I'm going to Texas next week Albert and Jimmy have bikes now."

What?

Haha. I changed the boys' names.

Another time, I was reading a book to the kids when D raised her hand and said, very slowly, "Um, myy brootherr likes to eat chips."

That's nice! But...can we finish the story? She does this a lot. It's cute that she wants to talk about her brother so much, but her comments are so random. :D

Huh?

Sometimes it's difficult to accurately describe the funny or cute things I encounter with kids. Sometimes you just have to have seen their facial expressions, heard their giggles (like Samantha's), etc.


For example, the other day, E, who often mumbles and has trouble enunciating due to his little boy accent/voice, said something to D about her watermelon. I looked at D, who looked at me at the same time, a puzzled expression on her face.

I quietly asked, "What did he say?"
She shrugged, frowning slightly, and I couldn't help but laugh at our shared puzzlement.
I think E noticed (you have to be so careful how you react to things in front of kids!), so I asked him what he had said, he repeated himself, and I made it clear that I understood and agreed with him. Luckily the confusion D and I shared didn't phase him. If it had, we might have had to deal with a very upset little boy (he's known for reacting unpredictably to certain things).

Anyway, D's facial expression was priceless.

Caught Red-Handed

One of the best parts of being with kids is when you catch them doing embarrassing or cute things that they probably wouldn't do if they knew people were watching.

The other day, E. (preschooler) was walking to his cubby, and, being the hyper kid that he is, he did a kind of dance/waddle, shaking his butt left and right without realizing that another teacher and I were watching. So adorable. I wish I had that on videotape.

Earlier, I caught a male sixth grader dancing and making weird bodily and facial movements outside of his classroom. He saw me and stopped dead in his tracks. I smiled and stifled a laugh. Poor guy. Sometimes there are few differences between preschoolers and older kids. And adults, to be honest.

I had another story but forgot it.

Can I Adopt You?

Seriously...I love this kid so much that--without thinking through all of the logistics--I would seriously consider adopting her. That won't happen. I just think she is so adorable. I absolutely love all of the other kids though, to be honest. I wish I could babysit them all! Have I said that before?

Anyway, today, when the preschool girls were lining up in the bathroom, as I was getting ready to sing a song with them, I leaned toward S to more clearly hear her, and she jumped up and hugged me, almost breaking my back and knocking me over...and kind of hanging from my neck due to her tininess (I didn't know "tininess" was a word until just now).

Being a Teacher

.:Preschool:.

Yesterday (5/10/10) I asked A. (girl) on our way to the cafeteria if her mom liked the Mothers Day gift she made for her at school, and she said something about her really liking it, and then she said, after sighing softly, "You teachers are so great."

This is the same girl whose mom told me that ever since A started school, her behavior has improved significantly at home. It's nice to know that the kids and their parents like the teachers. :)

Maybe someday I'll be some kind of teacher again. In addition to what I already want to do.

Me According to Preschoolers

By S.:


By E. (below). What's extra cute about this is that he wanted to include our ages above our heads (he drew me and himself in his journal). I cut off the bottom part because it says my name (The teachers write what the preschoolers say about their drawings, and E. said, "This is you" to me, and I wrote in brackets which teacher I was).

Gray Hair

.:Today:.

Female 1st grader to male 1st grader: "What color is your mom's hair?"
Male 2st grader (in a soft, genuinely puzzled tone): "Uh...black. But sometimes it turns gray. It's kinda weird."

I'm on a Sheep.

If you haven't heard of Wong Fu Productions, go here now (they also have a Youtube page). :) They're awesome independent filmmakers/actors/designers from SoCal, and they just came to my hometown to speak and present their work. Such kind, hilarious people. Despite their very Chinese-sounding name, they don't limit themselves to just projects featuring Asian Americans, by the way.

Anyway, once you know who Wong Fu is, or even if you don't, watch THIS at 2:28 if you've seen that old spice commercial where the guy says, "I'm on a horse." Wesley/Wes does a hilarious spoof.

They even have a Facebook page that you can like here.

Here is the old spice commercial.

Meet Q-Man

I love mini Q-mans ... Q-men? Whatever they are, they're so simple...yet so awesome and hilarious (you can make them hang upside-down if you want). They come in bigger sizes and different colors too. The same company made the arrow. They're called Nuop Design, which only sells wholesale right now, but you can still get your hands on these sometimes randomly at stores. So great. I met one of the creators/artists, and he was really cool and nice. I should have just bought a hundred of these guys. I keep giving them away, but I want a bunch of them so that they can link together.

The story behind this: First I found these little multi-colored mini Q-man things in New York City in December of 2009 when doing a pre-grad school interview thing. Then I went back for the real interviews in March of 2010. I was determined to find the Nuop store so that I could see all of their other cool things and get more Q people. Unfortunately, I was dumb and called them directly to ask where their store was--only to find that they only sell wholesale. One of the creators was nice though and invited me to his office building's lobby and let me buy some things directly from him. So nice and cool...and kinda crazy (in a fun way). And there ya go.

Surfing Bug

Saw this bug in our pool the other day. So hilarious. Mom and I had a good laugh about this. Hope he was having fun. I looked for him later and didn't see him, so maybe he flew off? Are those even wings?

That Obscene Duck

From the back of a raisins box. From the same company that makes these raisels, National Raisin. Pretty funny. Donald always forgets his pants...and yet he wears bath/shower towels. Who pointed that out? It might have been from a chain letter email.

Mia Rose

I really like Mia Rose. So far my favorite is "Let Go."

:)

Creative Artwork at the Preschool

The same girl who painted germs the first week of school drew something else very mature for her age.

The kids were drawing castles as a morning exercise, and when she showed me her awesome castle, she pointed to a solid green circle and said something like this: "And that's a hose. You know...because sometimes they're curled up like that."

Sooo impressive. First, it's interesting that she thought to draw a hose for the castle's inhabitants. It's also interesting that she imagined a wound-up hose instead of an extended, snake-like one.

Prince(ss)/Manners Week

.:Preschool:.

Tuesday, 3/23/10

Last week we talked about good manners and princes and princesses at the preschool. We explained this to the kids on Monday, so when little S. walked in on Tuesday after having been absent on Monday, what she said made me want to laugh.

Instead of questioning the crown I was wearing, she said, "Miss [----], I like your crown."

'Cause, you know, it's perfectly normal for girls/women to wear pretty crowns on any given day. Typical little girl response. Adorable.

Community Channel

She's hilarious. Watch THIS vlog (video blog) about the Google street view man.

Glee Quotes From "The Rhodes Not Taken"

Emma: "Kurt? I'm a woman who knows her solvents, and your breath smells like rubbing alcohol."
Kurt: "Oh, Bambi. I cried so hard when those hunters shot your mommy." *barf*

(She has really big eyes...and he was drunk)

- - - - -

Kurt: "Maybe Quinn is lactose intolerant."
Artie: "That doesn't explain all the crying."
Tina: "M-maybe she just doesn't like the group?"
Puck: "Are you all THAT stupid? Seriously, I bet you thought Burt and Ernie were just roommates."

So Cute!

.:Preschool:.

Friday, 3/12/10

Maybe this isn't as cute to you as it was to me, but J. was sitting with Mrs. L. yesterday during recess, and he sat down next to her on the grass and said, "Mrs. L>>>, can I tell you something?" in the sweetest little innocent voice. I have a picture, but I don't have the kid's parents' permission or Mrs. L's. :P

A Chuck Quote!

Watch this clip from Chuck.

Hannah (Kristin Kreuk's character): "Any idea what she's doin' here? Other than making you jealous with that ridiculously good-looking date of hers."
Chuck: "Ridiculously good. Him? Him? Meh. Yeah...if you're into the strong kind of Superman-y type of a guy."

What's funny about that? The guy who plays Chuck's ex's "ridiculously good-looking date," Brandon Routh, actually played Superman in the most recent Superman movie (Superman Returns). Also, Kristin Kreuk played Lana, Clark Kent's love interest on the TV show Smallville, which is about Clark Kent's life before he became identified as Superman.

One of My Favorite Smallville Quotes

Bart (guest actor/character): "I want a lawyer."
Lex: "And I want a ponytail. Disappointment abounds."

Michael Rosenbaum, who played Lex Luthor in Smallville, talks about this line in this video toward the beginning (He talks about how the writers wrote it and took it out and then MR fought to keep it in the script).

Funny Responses

.:@ the Preschool:.

Me: "You think so?"
O. (5-yr-old): "I know so."

He actually said it in a respectful way.

-----------------------------------------------

Me: "I had a marshmallow milkshake!"
A.: "Ohoho!"

-----------------------------------------------

I love how easy it is to get a lot of kids excited about...anything. All you do is change the tone of your voice. For example:

Me: "Guess what I have in my lunch today?"
Kids: "What?"
Me: "A sandwich with peanut butter, jelly, and APPLES!"
Kids: "Whooaaa!!" (It was more like "whoa," "oh," and laughter put together. It's hard to explain).

They also got pretty excited when I told them about riding on a subway in New York (I told them that this train goes underground and above buildings...and they were amazed).

Two Preschool Quotes From Today

L. (trying to determine if his friend's sibling is a girl or a boy): "Is she a girl or a sister?"

S: "Yesterday we had a lot of Hmong people at our house."
The little girl who said this is Hmong. This made me laugh because she didn't sound happy about it. It was kind of a whispered, almost-offensive-to-offensive comment...if that makes any sense.

Funnies From Today's Compound Words Lesson

(1) Me: "What are these words called again?" *Compound words*
A doesn't answer
Me: "Coooom..."
A: "Down."

(2) After I explained how "doghouse" was "dog" + "house," J. said, "OOoohhh. It's because sometimes people who live in houses have dogs."

LOL So cute. And hilarious.

Santa in January?

.:@ the preschool talking about snow:.

Mrs. B.: "What falls from the sky in January?"
Preschooler: "Santa Claus!"

Kids Correcting Each Other

:@ the preschool:

A conversation between two of the boys went something like this (but this is shortened):

A. says "free" when trying to say "three."
L.: "You mean 'three.' You said, 'Free,' but it's 'THree.' TTHHHHHree."
A. pauses briefly but then continues talking unaffectedly.

Oh no. Good thing A doesn't let things bother him that much. He almost ignored L.