2NE1 is... the Best!

Ahhh, 2NE1 is back with their latest single, aptly titled "I Am The Best"!!! Honestly I'm not a huge huge fan of the super-electro beat, but it's still catchy and I still love 'em. And you really cannot look away from their crazy outfits, and Dara's hair in the last part. Geez! I want Bom's shiny leather outfit... and the dog.

红楼梦 - Dream of the Red Chamber

Recently I've been reading an English translation of Dream of the Red Chamber, one of the four great classical Chinese novels. I've had the book for a long time, given to me as a gift by my buddy Ana (which she picked up at the Strand, great store!). I did try reading it before when I first got it, but the huge cast of characters quickly overwhelmed me (there's tons of relatives, waiting maids, and other minor characters) and I kinda let it slide. However, now that I am older and wiser, and also bored out of my mind in Syracuse, I find that I'm 7/8ths done with reading it. Plus, being the consummate wiki-er I am, I already know what happens plot-wise. Just reading to see how the writer plays it out.

For those not familiar, Dream of the Red Chamber is about the love triangle between the spoiled son of the rich Jia family, Jia Baoyu, and his beautiful but frail cousin Lin Daiyu and his other lovely cousin Xue Baochai. Overall the novel details social and political workings of the family and of the time (bribing officials to overlook bad behavior, wives scheming against other family members, painful deaths and suicides, etc etc), and shows the gradual decline of the wealthy Jia family. Also, you have to throw in some mystical elements like how Baoyu is the reincarnation of a magical stone and Lin Daiyu is reincarnated from a plant that the stone used to water.... Okay, it gets a little confusing. Oh, did I mention that Baoyu was born with a precious jade stone in his mouth? And that his name means... Precious Jade?!

Even before I was reading the translated version, I had a children's version of the book that I bought from China years ago on a family trip. I'll admit that I bought the book because of the colorful and pretty pictures. Ooh pretty pictures! Pretty girls in pretty clothes!

scanned from my book, the family at a meal with the matriarch in the center. Look at all that yummy drawn food!

week 19, 20, 21, 22 picture roundup!

I've been so terribly remiss about this!! I'm also missing days a lot. I think it's pretty safe to say that my resolution to take a picture a day is sorta shot. But I shall perservere~!

5/8 - yummy yummy tomato, basil and mozzarella salad. Just drizzle a little olive oil, sprinkle some salt/pepper and you're good~!

5/9 - May flowers, loving it!

Another Year, Another Ithaca Reunion!

So this past weekend was our yearly Ithaca reunion! YAY! Successful one too, if I may add. Basically a getaway with Cornell peeps to Ithaca for a few days, culminating in a rainy BBQ. The rainy BBQ is a must. It's a tradition, I tell you!

2005 taughannock falls bbq, the one that started it all

2010 ithaca reunion, another rainy one!

a light at the end of the tunnel!

Agh, just finished a 6 day shift consisting of 4 12.5 hour weekdays and 9 + 8 hour weekend. So relieved that it's over! I was practically willing the clock to move faster today so I can have one day off tomorrow... and then back to work on Thursday! But at least I have a day off, dammit.

I think a lot of people don't realize how tiring it can be to be a pharmacist (especially a retail one). For my company at least, most pharmacies only have 1 pharmacist a day so that means 12.5 hour days on the weekday, not counting my 1 hour drive each way. You're standing most of the day, running between computers, the register and the drug shelves. You chase the doctor down for a refill or a prior auth, only to get yelled at that it's not ready (which isn't your fault!). Or you call worker's comp to review claims and it takes days for the adjustor to get back on, which is usually for controlled pain medication (and that's a touchy topic in of itself...). Then there's the annoying stuff like keeping inventory down, dealing with all the temporary NDC substitutions and bleh.... There's so much more. UGH! Just the daily life of a retail pharmacist.

Happy June!

Man another month has flown by in a flash! And now we're onto the steamy days of June. I am totally feeling the better weather, especially considering how crappy the winter was. Up here in central New York, it feels like spring was just a month and now we're already onto summertime weather! Lovin' it.

Anyway I had a happy happy Memorial Day in NYC with my ladies! Although it's tiring to drive back to the city it was totally worth it to see my friends. It was also a shame that Dong couldn't be with me, but I'm sure he thought of me from time to time while he was playing Starcraft. =D