My mom said she's interested in the bad news too. Hmm. Too much reading, too little time. Depressed that I'm behind other people in the quality of my writing and critical thinking. Textbook hassles with stores being sold out (thank goodness Amazon sells used books). I think I pulled a few muscles in the bike accident, doing sit-ups too quickly, playing table tennis. The kitchen is still a mess so I haven't done any experimental cooking, not to mention that there is one single serrated knife that is adequately sharp. Still dealing with newbie stuff: can't find this place, don't know who to talk to about that matter, don't know the shortcuts through campus -- big ups to Shirley for teaching me to swallow my pride and ask for help, it comes in handy. The Chinese teacher is great, but she's teaching from a really awful textbook that she can't do much about because she's a sub. I feel her pain.

Maybe I look at the world through silver-lining-ed glasses -- that's also my mom's fault -- but it's easier for me to focus on the good stuff. It's a great relief to finally have a bike, and shave a couple of hours worth of commute time off each day. The table tennis club meets four (4!) times a week, for two hours each night. Reading for class is a pleasure, because it's all material I enjoy. Had a great time chewing through Sen's ideas about "capabilities and functionings" with John on Sunday night deep in the Grad Library stacks; it's something I really missed at Caltech that we always had at home around the dinner table, deep discussions on heavy topics. My Timbuk2 bookbag came sooner than I expected, so no more toting around plastic bags or over-sized backpacks. Lots of good stuff, I'm glad to report.

It's getting chilly at night. One blanket added to the bed.

Oh, and I decided no more Japanese drama (only the occasional HeyHeyHey). If I'm going to aim towards Chinese fluency by taking the class, I should watch Taiwanese dramas if anything.