Camera

I just bought a new camera! Well, I got it for Christmas.... kinda. I had been gently informing my parents for about a year now that my current camera, a Nikon Coolpix 5600, was completely inadequate for anyone who actually wants decent photographs. This year they decided to buy me one (how nice of them!), but didn't know what to get, and figured I knew what I wanted enough that they probably couldn't pick it out without consulting me first. So after Christmas I began to look for cameras, and found this one, with some help (-_^):

Canon PowerShot Pro Series S5 IS 8.0MP Digital Camera with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

It is, in a nutshell, amazing. It's about a half-step down from a full-blown digital SLR, and thus much more powerful than a regular point-and-shoot. 12x zoom, image stabilization, dozens of scene settings, the option for manual calibration as well, and lots of other great things about it I'm sure I'm forgetting. It's several orders of magnitude better than my old Coolpix, and probably one of the best cameras on the market for its class. The only real drawback is that it is quite large (about 15 oz) and bulky, so it will be more difficult to take places easily. I waffled on my decision a lot because of this, and almost bought the Canon SX100, a similar camera, cheaper and a bit weaker in features, though about twice as light and more streamlined. However, many of the reviews I read said that it had a long flash recovery time, and that is probably the feature I despise the most about my current camera. It also doesn't have a viewfinder, and while I use it seldom, not having the option was somewhat disconcerting. So bye-bye the SX100 went, and all the arguments I had in favor of the S5 got that much stronger. I think I'll be really glad I got it. I guess I'll just have to get used to lugging around a big camera, and deal with the extra weight while backpacking (a valid concern, but it's not like a backpack that often anyway).

When I receive it, I'll probably post some pictures from it. (^_^)

Lasse Gjertsen

I recently discovered this guy on youtube and he's so amazing! He films everything in time series, so the videos are just clips of video strung together expertly to create the illusion that he's playing the instrument, or walking down the street, or actually beatboxing. Check it out!


This is really awesome!



Probably my favorite. Norwegian is so cool!



And for all the beatboxers I know and love....

Happy Christmas!

Yes, I say it the British way. Deal with it! Hope your's is a good one! And, in good Christmas tradition, I almost fainted at Midnight Mass... again. Yay me. Darn those heavy choir robes!

This year's Christmas tree.

Look at my little reindeer-wannabe!

Long Awaited Updates

As I'm sure you've been waiting with breath that is bated.... It's been a while since I've posted, but that's to be expected at the end of the semester I suppose.

At least I finished my classes. It ended up being the most difficult end to the semester I think I've ever had. All of my classes had significant portions of the final grade due in the last few weeks. Combine that with RA-ing, RA interviews with next year, CoSO applications that still needed to be finalized, Soundbytes rehearsals and performances, and a few more things I've blocked out, and you get a crazed, sleepless few weeks. However, it's over now, and I guess I did the best I could under the circumstances, but of course I wish I'd done better.

A few pretty cool products came out of the classes I took this semester though. I learned all about how technological change affects economic growth (began to understand national growth models, why Asian countries are doing so well, etc.); designed two websites (pretty awful, but still cool for a newbie); delved into the complex system that is US regulation; made contributions to a class project in philosophy that finished with a website cataloging our efforts to map the philosophical arguments made by Hobbes, Hume, Kant, and others, as well as a book that will be soon published with very limited distribution (and details about the project itself will potentially be published in a high profile philosophical journal); and last but not least, worked on a semester-long project attempting to solve a current policy issue that culminated in a presentation to high-level civil servants in the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services, among others (that same project might also be presented to FEMA in January). Not bad for a 21-year-old college student, I'd say. ^_^

Soundbytes' annual Winter Concert also went incredibly well. Each year it has been growing. All the a cappella groups on campus are invited to perform, and last year Soundbytes had hosted it in UC Connan to a packed crowd; people were literally sitting on floor and out the door. This year was The Originals turn to host it, and as the concert neared, it became apparent that Connan just wasn't going to be large enough to hold the number of people we were expecting to attend. Incredibly, we were able to get McConomy at the last minute! While certainly not filled to capacity (as it holds 500), it was definitely over half full by the end of the night, with people milling in and out during the 2-hour concert. When Soundbytes went on, there was a cheer from the crowd like we'd never heard from a CMU crowd before. They LOVED us, and the energy was great, better than anything we've had yet. I got extremely positive comments from a lot of people I knew after the concert, about how much they liked our set, how tight we sounded, how great we looked, and how we not only sang well, but performed too and were fun to watch! It was one of the best CMU concerts we've ever had, I think, and it's about time we moved a cappella to McConomy! Next semester we're looking to have a huge a cappella event, inviting a bunch of groups we've connected with from in and out of state to come and perform. It's been the product of years of discussion and plotting, and I think we have a good chance of it finally happening this Spring. So watch out for that!

I'm really looking forward to a month of chill time at home. I haven't been back for more than a few short weekends since last winter break, and I've really missed it. I'm going to spend most of it with my family (and in the house I expect), but I'm going to Wisconsin for a long weekend in January which I'm very much looking forward to. Another state off my list to visit! However, I can't believe when I get back that I'll be a second-semester senior! It hasn't actually penetrated yet that I am done with my major, and will never take another class in SDS again. All but one of my classes is at the graduate level next semester (one philosophy class to finish my second major), and in about 5 months time I'll be walking to get my degree in my cap and gown. While I'll still be coming back next year for my master's, nothing will be the same.

I won't even be living in the same environment next year either, which is another major switch. I found out today, after several rounds of interviews, that I am being offered an RA position in West Wing/Resnik (exact house to be determined). I wanted to return next year as an RA, knowing that I'll only be here for a semester as I'm going abroad in the spring, so in order to ensure that I got the best chance for placement, I interviewed for a variety of housing types. I was asked back for three interviews, which I think is rather a lot (people love me, I know), and ended up having a stellar interview with the Housefellow for West Wing/Resnik. It'll be a major change though, as I haven't lived on campus for three years, and even New House was farther off campus than West Wing. I've loved living in Oakland, and not having an apartment will be a significant adjustment. Luckily, it's only for a few months, and I think it will be for the best, since I can leave a lot of my apartment stuff at home. It would be a pain to store it in boxes here, or to take it back in December. And I'll also have a single, though I'd be sharing the suite with four other girls.... I'm just so glad I don't have to think about housing next year, either finding it or paying for it, which would be an incredible hassle.

All in all, I guess it was a pretty productive semester. Now I get to relax for a while, be with family, eat too much, get fat, catch up on sleep, and try to find an internship for this summer....

Fun in Florida

Over Thanksgiving, my family went to Florida, primarily because my cousin was getting married on that Saturday. We decided to just spend the entire holiday there, and it ended up being really fun, and changing my opinion about traveling during Thanksgiving, which I had previously been against.

Thanksgiving night we saw the Blue Man Group; my dad had gotten tickets in the middle of the second row. It was awesome! However, I really thought the band behind the three blue men was better than them overall. My mom got pulled on stage and they used her in one of their performances. It was great.

The weather was amazing , about 85 and sunny the whole time, so we spent almost every day in the pool. Friday night was my cousin's rehearsal dinner, at this great Italian restaurant. It was also open bar, so everyone drank a lot. Actually, that was the story of the weekend: there was so much food, and so much free alcohol. I've never had so much to drink in a five-day period before. But I didn't overindulge, that would have been extremely awkward in front of my parents and family.

Saturday was the wedding, held in an outdoor garden similar to what Phipps would be outside. It was only fifteen minutes long though, which seemed kind of a waste, seeing at it took so long to get ready. We waited for the wedding for longer than it actually was. My cousin is visibly happy though, and her husband is really great.

The hotel we stayed at was directly on the beach, and it was the weirdest experience to lie on the beach in the middle of November. I'm not complaining though. I also made a friend that weekend; my cousin Noah is three, and fell in love with the red satin dress I wore to the wedding, and followed my around after and the next day. He liked to try to "drain" me in the pool (that was how he pronounced "drown").

Happy Thanksgiving

The ultimate day of thanks. I figured, in the spirit of the holiday, I would write a long-needed Thankful Thursday, albeit a day late (a girl is busy, doncha know?). There are several things I've been meaning to post about, like the Soundbytes Boston trip (which was spectacular) but I have been so swamped recently that blogging took a back burner. That story will just have to wait until a later date.

- my family. I seem to put this down every time I do a Thankful Thursday, but I never cease to be thankful for them. They're always there for me and I never see enough of them. My brother in particular is the best, and I'm forever trying to be a better sister to him.
- having meaning in my life. I'm glad I have a lot going on in my life that I love to do, and that I do well.
- Soundbytes. They're all like family, and I don't know what I'm going to do when I graduate and leave them all...
- muffins. ^_^
- being able to touch people's lives. It is my continual goal to not only add meaning to my own life, but to help others add meaning to theirs as well. It's such a fulfilling experience, and getting to know many other people and help them when they need it, to recognize people's difference and revel in their uniqueness, is a constant joy.
- great friends. They're there for me, and I love them all.
- having people in my life who care about me. This could be covered with friends and family, but it needed a separate bullet because I am so thankful for this aspect of them in particular. For a long time I felt like I didn't have many people in my life who cared about me, that I wasn't really needed or wanted in people's lives, and that made me feel like my life was meaningless. I know now that I needn't have worried, because there are many people that care about me a great deal, and I feel so loved. And now I know the secret: if you love people, and they will love you back. You can never expect people to love you if you aren't returning it.

I know, mushy mushy. But isn't that what Thanksgiving is about, giving back and being thankful for everything you have in your life? Well, I am.

THANK YOU. I hope you had a wonderful, food-filled and joyous Thanksgiving.

The Million Dollar Question

What came first, the chicken or the egg??

xkcd

I've loved the xkcd comics for a long time, and just started reading a lot of them again recently. Randall Monroe (the creator) is coming to speak at CMU in a few weeks, which I find appropriate and hilarious. Most of the comic speaks to students of science, especially computer scientists, and it has developed quite a following here, to the point where someone had actually made a large-scale copy of one of the comics and installed it onto the entrance window of Wean Hall. How funny we are.

Here are some of my favorites at the moment:

I live a teenage boy's fantasy

Well, sometimes, maybe. I suppose I do for one reason only: I see many naked women on a regular basis.

Before you get all shocked and surprised, read on, it's not really that unusual. I have recently, as in the last few months or so, really gotten into swimming as a medium of exercise. I really enjoy it; it's low impact, works my whole body, helps me increase my lung capacity, and is also pretty relaxing as far as work outs go. Because of this, I spend far more time at the gym than I used to, and by extension, the locker room. Initially, I was surprised to find so many women both shower and just walk around naked. It's something I'd never experienced in my small-town childhood and adolescence. I felt uncomfortable, and averted my gaze whenever possible because I felt strange seeing so many naked women "put it all out there".

However, I've gotten used to it, and have actually begun to respect women for being confident enough about their bodies to walk around a semi-public place without clothes on. Not that I didn't before, but I realize now that it is not something as shocking as I had thought. We shouldn't be so concerned to show a little skin, and feel or be made uncomfortable by nudity. It's only natural. Being "exposed" to female nudity through something other than a porn film or health class also gives women a healthier perspective on appearance. Most women don't have perfect bodies, and few will ever be able to attain the form they desire, but women are still beautiful anyway. That's what I've come to understand anyway. After years of an unhealthy self-image and an unrealistically high standard of beauty, I'm finally starting to accept and appreciate the way I look for what it is, and I like it.

The only caveat to this openness in the locker room is when you come across someone you actually know bearing it all. That has happened to me several times, and it has been rather uncomfortable each time. No matter what, sometimes you just don't want to see a professor, or a university staff member you've worked with, naked....

Check it

A friend sent me a link to this awesome map. It becomes readily apparent which countries give their citizens more freedoms than others, and one can also easily see how wealth correlates with them. Sad, but true.

From the website:

The World Freedom Atlas is a geovisualization tool for world statistics. It was designed for social scientists, journalists, NGO/IGO workers, and others who wish to have a better understanding of issues of freedom, democracy, human rights, and good governance. It covers the years 1990-2006.

Pretty cool, huh?

Dr. Seuss

To remember:

Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.

Kitty!!

This weekend I took care of a friend's cat while he was away, and I just needed to share pictures of this adorable girl! She's four months old, and has an usually strong attraction to water. If you can't find her, the first place you should look is either the bath tub or kitchen sink, because that's usually where she'll be. I don't know why, she's just strangely drawn to it.

I call her Wheezy, though that's not really her name, because she, well, wheezes. A lot. It's like a mixture of asthma and a cold, and every time she breaths it rattles like Darth Vader. Adorable!!

I can't sleep

From frustration, mostly. This week has been really stressful, primarily because of group project work that sucks my soul. However, right now I'm bothered by something else, and that's the more pressing reason behind my insomnia.

I'm getting frustrated and disillusioned by Soundbytes. My membership in this a cappella group for the last three years has probably been more life-shaping than anything else in my college life. I've dedicated myself to it more than almost anyone, and I've been musical director for over two years. There have been ups and downs throughout my tenure, miscommunication and tensions between myself and the group that haven't been altogether pleasant, but I feel like I'm hitting a roadblock sooner than I have before, and I'm worried that I won't be able to overcome it.

It's always been a mostly thankless job. Everything I do, and therefore every mistake I make, is visible to the whole group, and I'm held accountable. I always have to be on my A-game, and when I slip, I'm criticized, verbally or otherwise. I knew this going in, to an extent, and while I've always wanted more recognition for the things I do and the dedication I've had to the group for so long, I've accepted that I usually won't get it. Who will say, "Lauren, thanks for running rehearsals and constantly trying to improving our sound", or who will recognize and acknowledge that the only rehearsal I have ever missed was to break up with my boyfriend of over two years? I've scheduled my life around Soundbytes, ensure that every meeting I have is rescheduled around it if necessary, leave other meetings that are still going on to be at rehearsal on time, and never schedule any personal trip or event on the weekend that would make me miss it.

I've always thought that this kind of dedication should be shown by the director, and that it was necessary and "part of the job". I still think it is. But I'm getting really tired of the near constant feelings of disrespect I get when I come to rehearsal twice a week. Currently, these feelings are heightened by the fact that I every arrangement I have ever done has been criticized and ridiculed by at least one member of the group. I think this is completely unacceptable, and incredibly demoralizing and hurtful, because I spend a lot of time putting those arrangements together for the group, just as any other arranger, and I'd hope that my efforts would at least be appreciated, and most certainly not dismissed like they have been. But this is more of a personal issue than a director one. I know that sometimes I am late more than I'd like, and that's probably something that undermines my authority. But I don't think that's the main cause of it. Regardless of if I'm 15 minutes early or 2 minutes late, if I bring food and an upbeat attitude or if I'm stressed, I feel like I hit a brick wall. All of the things I do right in rehearsal and out of rehearsal for Soundbytes are negated by one misstep, one mistake, one minute of lateness.

Sometimes I wish I could have everyone run rehearsal at least once, to see what it's like to be me, to see how different you must become to be director. It often feels like I'm fighting an uphill battle to get people to concentrate, learn their music, and improve. And I've done it for two years. I often fail at it, and every so often the group talks about strategies to get us to focus better, or be more productive, and they resolve to be more personally accountable for their actions. So far, that hasn't really happened. And every rehearsal I have to balance my participation in rehearsal from being the enforcer and the "teacher", keeping people focused and in line, and enjoying myself as well. More and more I'm feeling that I have to be the enforcer completely, and that I'm not supposed to relax and enjoy rehearsal occasionally as well. I feel like I have to be the perfect version of myself for the group, which is something I haven't even mastered in the other aspects of my life. I can't do it, and I don't think I should be required to.

Yes, I make mistakes. I'm human. I'm late sometimes, I'm forgetful, I have a temper and can lose my cool when stressed, and I get sidetracked occasionally. While I'm working on improving myself, it's not going to happen overnight. I should still be able to dictate the ideal behavior of the group without necessarily having to live it myself. No one else does. I should be able to critique and "lay down the law" and falter sometimes without feeling like the worst hypocrite. It's what I feel like now, and I'm frustrated with it. I have sacrificed so much already, missed opportunities in other aspects of my life to be at rehearsal, to devote myself to a group whose members, for the most part, don't recognize it.

I'm not saying that because of this I'm the "best Soundbyte", or that no one else spends as much time working for the group than I do, because that's not the case at all. I love this group, and the members in it. I wouldn't trade them for anyone, and most of the time I wouldn't want to trade my directorship for anything else. But I do feel like my feelings are the least noticed when criticism needs to be meted out, and generally discounted because of my role as director. When faulted for the bad, I'm not thanked or respected for the good. And that's the most demoralizing thing of all.

To Contemplate

“Do you want me to tell you something really subversive? Love is everything it's cracked up to be. That's why people are so cynical about it. It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don't risk anything, you risk even more."

- Erica Jong

One of the Shouts

As you might have noticed, I changed the title of this blog. I've been thinking about doing so for a while now, but hadn't been able to think of anything good enough to replace what I currently had. The old title came from one of my favorite Emily Dickinson poems:

I SING to use the waiting,
My bonnet but to tie,
And shut the door unto my house;
No more to do have I,

Till, his best step approaching,
We journey to the day,
And tell each other how we sang
To keep the dark away.

However, in looking at it again, I realized that it no longer reflected what I feel or think (most of the time) and that I really needed to find a new title.

I've changed it to One of the Shouts for a reason. It comes from the short story "G.B.S. - Mark V" by Ray Bradbury, one of my favorite writers. The surrounding paragraph is thus:

"What are we?" he asked. "Why, we are the miracle of force and matter making itself over into imagination and will. Incredible. The Life Force experimenting with forms. You for one. Me for another. The Universe has shouted itself alive. We are one of the shouts. Creation turns in its abyss. We have bothered it, dreaming ourselves into shapes. The void is filled with slumbers; ten billion on a billion bombardments of light and material that know not themselves, that sleep moving and move but finally to make an eye and waken on themselves. Among so much that is flight and ignorance, we are the blind force that gropes like Lazarus from a billion-light-year tomb. We summon ourselves. We say, O Lazarus Life Force, come ye forth. So the Universe, a motion of deaths, fumbles to reach across Time to feel its own flesh and know it to be ours. We touch both ways and find each other miraculous because we are One."

I will let it just speak for itself, and maybe the passage will speak to you in the way it spoke to me. It may be a tad esoteric ^_^, and I'm not sure I'll keep it (I'm notoriously indecisive), but for the moment it does a good job in reflecting my current mantra in just a few words and also in explaining the purpose and goal of this blog in general.

To the Fullest

My grandfather passed away this Friday. My dad called me while I was at dinner to tell me the news, and the people I was with were somewhat shocked when I told them. I felt bad because I didn't want to make them uncomfortable, as the news of a death in the family is sometimes hard for people to respond to.

The emotions surrounding a death are often complex, and this is no exception. With my uncle's death last year, it was a whole lot simpler because it was so sad and fast (he was 60 and died of pancreatic cancer). My grandfather was 88, and had developed dementia in the last few years of his life, so caring for him was becoming more difficult and he hadn't really been himself, so his death is bittersweet. He lived a very full life:

He was born in 1919 in Youngwood, PA and lived his whole life in that town. He grew up very poor; one of the most memorable pictures of his childhood was of him and his siblings standing in their mud-filled yard, with two of them sitting on a horse. I've always loved that picture, it evokes so much emotion.

During the Great Depression he worked for the CCC, planting trees in eastern Pennsylvania and sending the money back home. When World War II broke out, he joined the army and was stationed in India as a mechanic. I honestly don't remember when he married my grandmother, I think it might have been right after the war ended, but they had their first child in 1946 (my Uncle Michael, the one who passed away last September). He was the first of eight. In order to make ends meet, my grandfather worked three jobs at one point.

He was very Italian; he loved to work in his garden, and every summer had a small field planted with corn and another field planted with a variety of vegetables. He loved onion sandwiches. He was also very reserved, and talked but rarely.

I wish I had learned more about his life, because there was so much he experienced. I love that I came from someone who worked so hard throughout his life, and cared so much for his family. I really value all that he did for my mom and her brothers and sisters, and thereby for me.

After I heard the news, my friends and I finished dinner and left to attend opening night for the Pittsburgh Symphony. They played Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 and Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique. It was spectacular, and during that time I had a lot of time to think. My life is so rich, filled with great friends and so much opportunity, and I am so lucky to be alive and have all the things I do. My grandfather's death made me realize that I'm already a quarter of the way through it, God-willing. There's so much I want to do, and so little time to waste. I don't intend to watch the years pass without spending every day doing something I love, and maximizing on the opportunities that surround me.

With that in mind, here's a list of things I want to accomplish before I'm 25. I'd composed it a few months ago, and it's still being added to, but I wanted to put it down here to remind myself about everything I have left to do. I've already begun on the list and have done some of the things on it, but I'll leave it up to you to figure out what those are. ^_^

THINGS BEFORE 25

- graduate college
- be financially independent
- find a job I love
- go sky-diving
- learn to love my body
- fall in love again
- travel all 50 states (only 20 left!)
- live in another country
- travel to a new continent
- move to an unfamiliar place
- read a biography of every US president
- give up something I love (probably because it's bad for me)
- volunteer for a cause I truly believe in
- learn to live without regrets
- realize my own self-worth
- dye my hair an unnatural color
- paint another oil painting
- learn to drive standard
- become somewhat proficient in another language
- share a favorite pastime with a friend (i.e. make the friend fall in love with it)
- send inspiring thoughts to a random address via postcard
- travel to see a favorite musical group in concert
- learn to be on time
- try marijuana while I can still get away with it
- try a food I would never normally eat (something outrageously exotic)
- backpack through Europe
- get up obscenely early on a weekend to explore the city I’m in
- start a tradition with friends and stick to it
- learn to forgive
- live with as little hypocrisy in my life as possible
- get a pet
- do something completely spontaneous that ends up being one of the best events in my life
- visit a friend who lives far away
- work on a political campaign
- stop procrastinating
- go on an extended backpacking trip with a friend
- run in a marathon
- audition for American Idol
- accept and revel in the unknown

If you have any suggestions of things to add, let me know. Some of the goals are really ambitious, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to finish them in four years, but where's the fun in making something easy?

This whole experience has made me really value life even more than I already did, because of the acute understanding of one's own mortality that a death brings . There's no use in fearing death, which is something that I'm still coming to grips with, because it's an end everyone comes to. The only true power we have to overcome it is to live life to the fullest and value each day we have. I intend to do so.

My, How You've Grown!

I started caring for plants a few years ago, and my collection has grown since then, both in terms of the number of plants I have, and also their physical size. I recently decided that repotting was long past due, which I was completely right about; one plant's roots had started growing out of the bottom of the pot, and the other had sucked so many nutrients out of the soil that it had turned white. Now their happily living in their new, bigger pots with fresh soil, and I'm hoping they'll grow even faster now.


Before

After

Arrangement Love!

I feel so accomplished! Today Soundbytes started learning "Wannabe" by Spice Girls, which I'd finished last night. They're excited about it, and so am I. I think it will be upbeat and absolutely hilarious, and hopefully a suitable replacement for the Funky Music medley crowd-pleaser. I also pitched a new song to the group that had people more excited about an arrangement in a long time, "Headlock" by Imogen Heap. It'll be really hard, but so worth it when finished, because it's amazing. I have a crush on the song at the moment, and have been listening to it nonstop, which sometimes happens with certain songs or artists for me. I've had a music infatuation with Modest Mouse for a couple months, and it hasn't really abated yet. I'd love to do one of their songs a cappella, but we don't have an Isaac Brock voice in the group, sadly. :(



In other news, I've been sick this past month, and just had a relapse for the worse. Literally most of the school is sick with same thing, and I'm really hoping I kick it soon. I hate coughing up a lung and being unable to sing.

Language

I've recently been rediscovering my love of language, and have decided that I'd like to try to learn a bit of some Asian language. Nan and Diana have been teaching me phrases in Mandarin and Cantonese, and I'm apparently much better at Cantonese pronunciation than Mandarin (it's hard!!). I think it'll be useful to know a little bit so I can start recognizing some words that people use, and just generally understand more of the world.

I learned a few funny phrases from them, and worked really hard to get them right. ^_^ I challenge you to figure this one out (my jyutping might be a tad off though): dim gāai ne m̀h júng ji ngoh?

Picture Overload!

I just uploaded a bunch of pictures from the last month onto my computer, some of them I had intended on posting here long ago. The first set are from the flooding in Pittsburgh in early August, and the second set are from Jen's wedding this past Sunday.



The wedding, by the by, was wonderful. It was so fun to road trip to Philadelphia with Rohan, Ashleigh, Lara, and Maria (Rohan had a lot to put up with, four girls being in the car and all). We spent Saturday night in downtown Philadelphia, ate dinner with Ashleigh's family at a great Thai restaurant, and met with Dwight (who I know will be reading this, and needs to visit more often :P) at a bar/restaurant in a really awesome part of town. Philadelphia night life is just... cool. Bigger than Pittsburgh, more low-key than New York, with a really been-there vibe because of the colonial-era buildings, it was great fun.

At the wedding and reception on Sunday we saw a bunch of old 'Bytes we hadn't seen in years. It's strange to think that three of the people in Soundbytes when I entered freshman year are married! I feel both old and young at the same time. It was a great ceremony, and a wonderful reception. Very Jen, of course. ^_^ She looked really, genuinely, contagiously happy, as she should. Part of the reception incorporated some Chinese traditions, like a lion dance, and Jen changed into a more traditional Chinese dress halfway through. Unfortunately, we had to leave early to get back to Pittsburgh at a relatively reasonable hour (2am), so we missed the majority of the dancing. Ah well. She and Jon are probably in Hawai'i by now, enjoying their honeymoon. Congrats again to them!