Phone update

So. I got an update on my phone, and it seems as if it from gingerbread to icecream sandwich update for Android phones. I must say... this is kinda cool. I'm still trying to get use to the system. A lot of things were changed....

First off, and it's a big issue I have after having this phone for over eight months. The unlock button, which I would have to swipe to the right, I now have to swipe to the left. I know it seems like a little thing but I have trained myself to swipe to the left. A little annoying, but I'll have to get use to it. 

Another thing that I really don't like, is the word list auto fill. See, I cannot spell. At all. Word has ruined me so having the option to scroll through a list of words, rather than the three most common words in relation to the letters I am typing is great... was great. And it wont auto cap "i." I am a writer! I text in full sentences and often send emails from my phone. I am currently writing this on my phone, and have had to fix over twenty words because my phone isn't as smart as mg last update. This is a three-hundred freaking dollar phone! The original system is so far better than icecream sandwich system! I love goggle, I do, but sometimes the smartest people can be the dumbest.

System update fail.

UPDATE
...on the annoyance of the word choice issue. If you hold down the mic icon you. Can change the input setting. I feel really stupid now... but, this was an automatic thing when I first got my phone, and I don't like learning new things that I have already trained myself on. Especially things that are supposed to make my life easier. Than you Google. Sorry about the previous rant. Guess how many corrections I had to manually fix in that last paragraph? None. It even auto caps my "I"... the "very aggressive" setting on this is awesome.

System getting better.

China 3: Communication University of China

Then we arrived.

Main Building

Giant pretty clock in front of the Main Building

The Communication University of China (henceforth "CUC"). This is the place that I would be living for the next three weeks. It is huge. People who visit San Jose State think it is big and is easy to get lost in. CUC is like having four SJSUs crammed together. Walking at a brisk pace it took me twenty minutes to walk from the front gates to the back entrance. Not joking. And I walk quickly for my little, stubby legs. It looks like this...

Communication University of China

That is the largest size picture I could insert on the blog. Yeah. Big. If you download/enlarge it somehow, I can walk you through an average day. We always entered through the south gate and "lived" in the International Building, to the right of the basketball courts. Our class room was in the Lecture Building (48), where we stayed for three hours: One hour of Mandarin and two hours of class studies. After class we would head on over to Cafeteria No. 1 and have breakfast/lunch. Then we would stop by the Supermarket (to the left of the Primary school), pick up some water and ramen (tastes even better there), go back to our dorms, pack our bags for the day (water, TP, sunscreen, passport, money, etc.,), stop at Cafeteria No. 2 (to the left of the Sports Field) to pick up what we forgot at the first one, exited at the South gate, and walked about a block to the subway.

Now, the road in the middle of the school, walking North from the Sports Field, if you go to the right, at the very end, they have these little shops that sell street food and beer, almost 24 hours a day. We were there a lot. On Dingfuzhuang East Street, all that is there are vendors: food, noodles, clothes, nick-knacks, fruit and others. It's kind of like a flea market that is open for 20 hours a day.

The cafeterias are... something else. Different. Neither good nor bad. We were given a card with 700Y (Y=yuan for future reference) on it, and when you want food, you tap the card and point to the food you want (there was a language barrier and only one person in our group knew Mandarin). Towards the end of our trip we could actually order our own food, but for the first part, we would just point and hope we were understood.

We didn't wait in a line. It was more like people pushing their way to the front and the first one to tap their card, was the person who was going to be helped. Boy, was that confusing. I waited for ten minutes before someone who spoke enough English explained the game to me, which was very nice of them. They had nothing that you saw in Panda Express or Mr. Chou's, and half the time I had not idea what I was eating, but it was Delicious! Fresh noodles that were made right in front of you, freshly steamed pot stickers and pork buns, and the best pork, lamb, and chicken I've ever had.

The campus was amazing, the food was awesome, and the other students were very kind and welcoming.

China 2: The trip and landing

My dad's girlfriend dropped me off at the airport. She came all the way up from Salinas to drive me to San Fransisco. I don't know how many times I thanked her, or even if I did, but thank you again. I had on my yoga pants, comfy t-shirt, and tennis shoes along with my pillow and luggage. After saying my good-byes and finding my friend Paulina (along with her mom and brother), I settled in for my flight and we waited for the rest of our group to show.

From SF to Beijing, is a twelve, 12, hour flight. My goodness is twelve hours a long time. The I was in the airport for two hours waiting for this flight, and the another twelve hours on the flight, plus two more hours before we got settled in our rooms. I was up for close to 30 hours before sleeping, including not being able to sleep well (if at all) the night before.

Back on track. SFO is... interesting, to say the least. Word of advice: just go through the damn machine instead of being patted down. I refused the machine (invasion of privacy hang-up), waited twenty minutes to get patted down, and then tried to go through the machine again. They said no because I refused it once, and now me and Paulina are waiting (sorry girl) for a female officer to show up and pat us down! Finally she arrived, and not only patted us down, but checked underneath our bras (the wiring), inner thighs, and checked their gloves for chemicals that could lead to explosives that I might have handled within the last couple of days. Apparently my deodorant set the machine off but it's OK, "it happens all the time."

The flight was long. Really long. And Air China doesn't have the screens in the back of the headrest for the movies. They only have it projected on the cabin walls, which sucked. But the views were amazing from the windows. I flew over Canada, Alaska, Russia, the Pacific Ocean, and (obviously) China.

I walked around a lot, did homework (this was a school trip after all) and tried to sleep but couldn't. Luckily they served beer and we all got excited about the trip. We were wondering what it was going to be like, but I had some sense since my boyfriend went a couple years back. He showed me pictures and tried to warn me about the heat, even though we were going in June and we went in August.

There were a lot of older Chinese people who kept doing (what we thought at the time) were weird exercises. An older woman was jumping up and down on the plane, holding on to the back of her seat. She would do this for twenty minutes at a time, every couple of hours, then went back to reading or watching the movie/show like nothing happened and it boggled our minds! 

Finally we saw it: Beijing International.

We clapped and cheered, full of excitement, grabbed our carry-ons and exited as fast as we could. Now, when I left the states, it was in the low 60's. When I arrived, it was 102. And humid. Very humid. My clothes instantly stuck to my body, I was sweating in places I didn't even know I could sweat, and groggily walked through the terminal. Remember the weird old woman jumping up and down on the plane? She beat us to the terminal, which was about a twenty minute walk away. Then it donned on us: she was maintaining blood flow to her legs and keeping her mind active. Who woulda thunk, huh?

We picked up our luggage, went through custom's, went outside and waited for our bus to pick us up. It took about an hour from the time we landed to the time we got on the bus. Once on the bus, even though we were all exhausted, we were in awe about what we were seeing. It was nothing like we expected. The city was completely modernized, and if you didn't know you were in Beijing, would look like any other big city, minus the Mandarin on the signs.

Most of us still didn't believe we were in China and were expecting to wake up at home with our loved ones. But that wasn't the case. We were in Beijing, and our adventure was about to start.

China 1

Like I mentioned before, China was too big of an adventure to have detailed in one blog posting. Therefore, I will be posting my trip details in multiple post, though I do not know how many yet. The smallest detail may take me several pages, where as one visit to a sight may be insignificant to me. So I'll start at the beginning. Not arriving in Beijing, rather the few days before the trip and the flight itself.

Here I go....

Before going to Beijing, China, I had to apply for the trip and find financial means to fund it. I asked my dad, and he willingly agreed. Now, when I applied for it, my GPA wasn't the best. I mean, I would be accepted pending the spring semester's grades, which meant I worked my butt off for the next eight months. Grades approved, plus knowing the professor who was going to teach on the trip, I went on to obtain all the medical paperwork and passport.

I am a hypochondriac. Ask anyone. I hear about a disease and start wondering if I have it or will I get it, or others I have been in contact with who might have it. Working in customer service, as a cashier, I sanitize my hands close to twenty times a day. Hearing about how "dirty" China was, I went on a buying spree of hand wipes, sanitizers, band-aids, Neosporne, napkins, individually wrapped toilet paper (moist and dry), bug spray, anti-bacterial body wash and repelling sunscreen. The whole shi-bang. I probably spent a couple hundred dollars on toiletries and shots to satisfy my nerves.

I also heard about how hot China was (an entirely different post) and went to REI to find clothes that would accommodate my needs. If you travel to somewhere hot and sticky, GO THERE! I found these AMAZING pants that zipped off into short that were both sweat repellent and UV protectant. Get wicking clothing and a good pair of shoes. Trust me. I would have suffered if I had not talked to somebody at REI.

Then came the packing. Again, paranoia took over and not only did I pack everything and then some, I had everything pack over a week in advance and continued to add items every time I thought I would need it. Word of advise: do not over pack; you may need to by another suitcase just to get everything you buy there home. Plus, you can find everything in China once you get there.

I barely slept the night before because this was the first time that I would have been away from my family for three weeks, halfway around the world. But I was still excited and couldn't wait to go.

I'm going to stop there. It's late, and I'm tired. Also, the plane ride and arrival should be in one post together.

Until next time...

Over and out.

Look who's back...!

Me!

Okay, so here I am again! I can finally write now because I am (mostly) graduated! YAY! I said mostly because there was a miscalculation in my credits. Turns out I was four units short so I have to take two online summer classes. I walked in graduation but the excitement was feigned, for I knew I would be back, and behold! Oh well, what's another six weeks when I've waited five years?

Let's see... I've been looking for a new job with my new found education. Nothing bad about Safeway, I just want to start a family and have a consistent paycheck every week. I don't think I would be able to start a family, buy a house, or pay off my bill while standing on my feet working between twenty-four and thirty-eight hours a week. Plus, not seeing my family on the weekend is no bueno. My dad only lives an hour away and I see him every couple of months due to my work schedule. Hence the whole "real" job searching.

I went to New York in December, and studied abroad in China last summer. Both of those will be entirely new blog posts, so excuse my blurr on them. They were amazing, and in both places, the vendors on the street corners had the best food ever!

Hum... work and school. School and work. Oh! I presented a paper at a conference this past April. That was fun. I plan on continuing my education in graduate school, but I want to take a year, maybe two, off to pay off some bills, find that "real" job, and figure out what I want to do for the rest of my life. I don't want to live to work, I want to work to live.

Until next time....

Over and out.

Musicals

Is it odd that I cry during musicals?

I've always had a fascination of musicals. There is something about telling a story through music that brings tears to my eyes. Most of the time it is the note being hit that causes me to shed a tear. That high, chilling note, that a small percentage of people can hit, accompanied by the amazing music; it is an ear-intoxicating concoction of harmony at its greatest.

Sometimes, though, the song itself is so touching, so meaningful, and the words are amazingly well written. At this very moment, I am watching (recorded on the dvr last night. It was on at 2am, I was tired) Les Miserables 25th Anniversary Concert, and the song "ABC Cafe" and "Do you hear the people sing?" is playing. Those two songs, I cannot listen to without crying. Not a little tear either, full blown "omg it's Bieber!!" tears. For the life of me, I can't figure out why.

Quick note on the 25th Anniversary of Les Mis: Nick Jonas is a good singer, but not on the stage. His voice sounds out of place compared to his fellow singers. Also the look on his face, he seems constipated. Just saying.... He is good, but not that good.

I've only seen a hand full of musicals live, but I've seen a lot of the live recorded versions. Wicked I have seen three times live, and every time I cry. If you want to hear the best note ever sung, pick up the original cast recording, and listen to Defying Gravity. If you don't get chills or tear up while listening to it, then I'm sorry for wasting your time, and money.

Kinect Review

For Christmas I received a Kinect. Those who do not know what a Kinect is, GOOGLE IT! But if you don't have the time or want to open a new window, I'll tell you what it is. Kinect is a sensor that connects (get it? I think it actually refers to the kinetic energy that's used when playing. More on that in a second) you to the world of Xbox 360. As its tag line goes, "you are the controller." When you move, the sensor track you and portray what you are doing to the game. You punch in real life, you punch in the game. You run in place, in the game you're doing a quarter-mile sprint. You kick the ball, well, I think you get the point. It's the newest gimmick (you know that's all it is, but we still love it) in the "get fit now while playing games" era of technology.

Now to the pros and cons.

PROS: It works. The sensor tracks your movement efficiently with about a tenth of a second delay. The games actually work you out and if you're a bit out of shape, like most, you're going to feel it the next day... or later that same day. My favorite game is "Rally Ball" on the Kinect Adventures (which comes with the sensor). You have to keep the balls in play while smashing the boxes. And you have to hit those balls hard. If you do a little limp-wristed smack, the ball bounces a little with no force to break the boxes, and slowly trickles back to you. When the boxes open, some of them contain other balls, and that's when the real fun starts. You do the oddest stances, sideways jumping-jack for example, trying to keep all the balls in the court. And it takes pictures when all the balls are flying at you, so you can see how much of a fool you look like.

CONS: Minimum of six feet from the sensor for it to work properly. Eight to ten feet is preferable though. I have a small living room, longer than it is wide, and I'm constantly stepping out of range when playing. From sensor to couch is about six and a half feet, so you can see the issue with that. Another con is how the sensor tracks you. In order to get the best game experience, the room has to be well lit, and the tighter the clothes, the better it can track your slightest movement. Also the pictures. Sometimes it takes one of you that is not flattering, down-right embarrassing, I found out. Word of advise, your shirt doesn't hide those love-handles, wear a longer shirt. If it takes one in an unflattering way though, you can always erase it or disable the feature all together.

Even with all the cons, the sensor is amazing. The games right now are limited, but many are coming out later this year, including a Star Wars one (Christmas 2011, cannot wait!), and several first-person shooters. The games they have out now are fun to play, just make sure you have enough room to play them.