"Hey, nice thighs"?
I got a very odd compliment the other day. So I'm taking the MIT PE tennis class, and we meet twice a week for 40 minutes. This doesn't seem like a lot, but it's tough to leave at all in the middle of the day for a tennis class! Anyways, it's a very small class - there are usually 4-6 of us, and a coach and a coach-in-training. I was talking with the coach-in-training the other day, and she asked if I play any sports at MIT. I mentioned intramurals and ice hockey and that I did gymnastics and crew before. And then she says "Ohh, that explains it. Carol (the other coach) and I were commenting the other day how you have awesome thighs, and we were wondering what from." Then I told her I was self-conscious about them because they are so big, and she said I shouldn't be silly - people would love to have them! Anyways, it's the first time I've ever really been complemented on my thighs, so I thought it was odd, but a little bit of a pick-me-up that I didn't expect. I'll also try to dislike them less. :-)
In other news, I turned in the finished draft of my thesis today to my adviser, so that makes me feel relieved. I really hope he doesn't want anything major changed so that I can breathe a little easier and focus on Mars Gravity more. V and I went out last night for the first time in a while, and that was a lot of fun, and he's coming to church with me tomorrow for the first time, so I'll write about that soon.
Hodgepodge - life and VT
I've been a little too busy to post blogs lately, but I've had it on my to do list now for a few days, so I guess I'll update. But then again, I've also had calling David, Beth, Laura, Rebekah, and Jen on my to do list, and that hasn't happened for months. Basically, I'm still stressing about finishing everything on my plate by the end of the semester, and I'm very ready for a vacation. So really, life hasn't changed much for me in the last few weeks.
I'm still debating about whether I want to live by myself in Pasadena. I've never lived by myself, and I think it would be a good experience. But I'm generally a people person, so it might be lonely. I am looking forward to decorating my own place and in general being more comfortable in the place I live, so that would be a plus. However, I don't really like being by myself at night, although of course I do it, and that's definitely something I need to get over. Any thoughts out there about what I should do?
I've had a bunch of visitors these past few weeks - my parents came up for part of my mom's spring break, and it was really nice to take some time off and spend with them. Last weekend, Eric A and
JT were in town, so I got to see both of them for a while. It's always good to see the old
TJ gang. I miss all you guys tons!
I suppose I'm feeling a little sappy with the shootings Monday at Virginia Tech. My mom is normally the emotional one, so I guess she's rubbed off on me. I feel particularly sad when I see families grieving and imagine my own family and how much we care for each other and how much it would hurt to lose someone. I was at the gym the other day and seriously had to stop watching the broadcast because of that. I guess it's because I'm scared of death still, and so I'm scared both by the idea of dying and the idea of losing someone I love.
The other random thought I had was that we hear about deaths in Iraq and in war all of the time, but the number of deaths doesn't quite affect us as much as this tragedy at VT does. I remember, in recent days, seeing that 40 or 50 people were killed in an Iraqi market bomb, and I thought about how horrible that is, but I was no where near as upset as I am now about the VT killings, and I think most people are this way. Of course there are many differences and many reasons for us feeling this way, but there are so many similarities too. These were innocent people, friends and family, that were killed because of some crazy dissenters. I just think, as we mourn those lost here, that we should also be more aware of those lost (both our own soldiers and the citizens) in other countries.
First Unfinished Draft In
So last week was Spring Break, aptly renamed "Spring Fake" by Davener. I worked the whole time, trying to focus on my thesis and a little less on Mars Gravity. With the work over the last week and the few weeks preceding it, I have about 90 pages so far. I turned it in to my adviser Friday, and he read it over the weekend, so we discussed it today. He said it was a little prose-y and not research-y at first, but that I've done a lot of good work and that I'm on the right track. I still have a chapter to do the work for and then write, but I'm feeling a little better about it now. So he acknowledged that I have a lot to do, but he also said he wanted me to have a life these next two months, which I appreciate, but which will still be difficult to do with class, thesis, and the design review. But I'm gonna try to take it one day at a time and not totally hate the next (and last) 2 months here!
The last three days of "Spring Fake," I actually did take some time off. I hung out with Chris, who was here in Boston visiting a bunch of people, and we went to Fire&Ice (where they cook the food for you on a big grill) and to the batting cages. Jeff and Chris told me what I was doing wrong, and last night I wowed them at our
first softball game. I also pitched half the innings, and we ended up with our very first win! (Last year we were 0 to a lot.) So go Rocket Jocks!
My parents also visited this weekend, which was really nice. We hung out, went bridesmaid dress shopping for Nik's wedding, went to Bertucci's (yum!) on Saturday. That night we had an SSL party for the final four at the lab director's house, but he wasn't there, hehe. Sunday, my parents came to church with me, and even though my dad's not religious, he likes the music, so I'm glad something gets to him. They had a really interesting service about Passover from Jews for Jesus, and it was good to finally learn more about that tradition. Then we went to ice cream at our favorite Kimball Farm and explored Concord for a while before having the famous Pizzeria Regina. I was really sad to see my parents leave this time. I think it's just because it's nice to have people around who care for me so much, and I appreciate everything they do for me. It's amazing how much love they have to give, and I hope I can be at least close to the parents that they are some day.
Alright, enough of the gush. I'm off to work a little then bed.
