A busy week

This past week has certainly been one of my busiest in a very long time.  Classes started, I clocked over 50 hours at my two jobs, and I was sick through all of it.

Let’s start with that second job: I recently got a job at Starbucks, which I’m doing on top of TechCalling (rent to pay and all that).  It’s a LOT of fun, surprisingly.  The other baristas and my boss are great, and the whole atmosphere is very inviting.  I’m an opener there, which means I’m getting up at 4 am four or five mornings a week.  Jeez! But while I wouldn’t call myself a “morning person”, I have really enjoyed waking up at that early so far.  I finish a shift at work, and I still have the whole day ahead of me.  That’s a very invigorating feeling.

As for TechCallers, things are hectic, to say the least.  I have a new boss, who only just started 2 weeks ago.  That’s problematic because he hasn’t yet been totally trained up, and we started recruitment and training a week ago.  Which means my co-student-supervisor and I have been very busy.  We’ve been interviewing, revising forms and training materials, copying and stapling en masse, and setting up the call center.  Calling starts Monday night, and we also have several more training sessions to get through.

Just for the record, colds suck.  It started with a sore throat last Sunday evening, which developed into a stuffy nose and worsening sore throat Monday, along with a fever.  While the fever broke during the night, it returned Tuesday afternoon, while I lost my voice.  The next few days were an interminable stuffy nose, mild coughing, and a voice that sounded hoarse and sickly. Today, Saturday, I am finally, finally, feeling somewhat better. I’m not nearly as stuffy, and while my voice still sounds funny, I’ve begun the “cough up gunk” phase of a viral infection, which means the end is near!  All in all, it was pretty much the worst possible week for me to get sick.  C’est la vie, n’est pas?

And another semester has begun! This year I’m taking Biology and 3 French classes:  Writing (Like the) French, Intro to French Culture, and Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Contemporary French Society.  The French classes are all great and I’m looking forward to them immensely. Biology – not so much; but I need to pass it, so here’s hoping.

That’s the update on my life at the moment.  I’ll have more posts soon about cooking a delicious meatloaf and my trip to Nantucket, but I’m tired now and need to rest up.  À bientôt!

Spinach balls, Haircut, and French!

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French, haircut, spinach, spinach balls, summer, UMass Boston

Hello long-neglected blogosphere!  I have no excuse for my neglect, simply that I’ve been enjoying my summer.  A lot has happened!  The Fourth of July weekend was incredible, with my mom and brother visiting Boston for it.  The weekend of course included shopping, wonderful food, and a phenomenal fireworks show on the Charles River!

Then my French class at UMass Boston started.  It’s not too difficult, which is great, since I’m hoping that means my French is getting better, n’est pas? We’re reading L’Étranger by Albert Camus – a truly mind-boggling experience.  I’m enjoying it, but analysis is a bit difficult when you’re already trying so hard just to understand what’s going on.  And my legs are in fantastic shape thanks to my daily commute on my bike:  Cambridge to UMass and home is a total of 12 miles!  Four times a week = 48 miles!  Plus I bike to work, the grocery store, etc. etc.

I’ve recently made the infamous Spinach Balls again.  In fact, I made a double batch for the 4th of July weekend!  So I’m posting my tweaked recipe here:

Spinach Balls

1 16-oz. package frozen chopped spinach

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

4 eggs, well beaten

2 1/2 cups *seasoned* bread crumbs

1/2-3/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

1.  Cook frozen spinach in a pot of water on high for 10-12 minutes.

2. Strain the spinach and get out as much water as you can.  After the first strain, wait a few minutes then try squishing water out again. Spinach should still be moist when you’re done.

3.  Dump the spinach into a large mixing bowl and break it up so it’s not one big clump.  Add all the remaining ingredients and mix well to combine it all.

4.  Preheat oven to 325° F.  Line one or two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Roll the spinach mixture into balls (about 2-3 T in each ball) and place on baking sheet.  Pack them as tightly onto the baking sheet as you can. Place on the middle rack and bake for about 16 minutes.

These are delicious served warm and fresh, but can be stored in the fridge and reheated for several days.

My final bit of news is from today:  I got a haircut!  My hair was getting pretty ragged, and I wanted an update on my layers, this time with longer hair.  Supercuts to the rescue!  I’ve never understood paying $60 for a haircut when I can get one that’s just as good for $20 – plus a wonderful relaxing shampoo!  So here’s my cute, layered look (it’s longer in the back), complete with pink hair clip:

And let’s not forget about the truly fantastic teal nail polish I snagged for $2 in Rite Aid yesterday:

That’s all for now. I need to get back to studying and doing my French homework!

Poem

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poem

This is a poem I wrote well over a year ago.  I just felt like sharing.  Well, honestly, I’ve been going through all of my documents on my computer and “cleaning up” from past semesters and whatnot, and I found this.  So I thought, why not share?  Here goes:

Terror

knowledge doesn’t make the unknown less frightening

Fortitude

one candle is still fire

Helplessness

I am bound

Desire

it is always there, inescapable

Trust

time was treasured

Pain

intensity brings awareness, feeling

Devotion

hearts never obey

only I do

Tumblr!

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tumblr

I have a new Tumblr blog!  I’ll probably just keep posting random quotes and videos/pictures to it, but it’s been fun to do quick little posts like that!

So just wanted to share:

http://christina2011.tumblr.com

Enjoy.  Hopefully I’ll have a post about “healthy-food” brownies soon, I keep meaning to try making those…

Minuteman Bikeway

Tags

biking, Minuteman, nature pics

Wednesday was an absolutely gorgeous day!  I went for an early morning bike ride with my awesome boyfriend.  We had breakfast at Bruegger’s in Porter Square, and from there biked up Mass. Ave to the Alewife station, where the Minuteman Bikeway begins.  It isn’t just for bikes, though.  There were people walking, jogging, biking, rollerblading; some alone, some with other people, with dogs, with babies in strollers.  It was amazing and fun to see.

We didn’t bike the entire trail (which is 11 miles one-way, from Alewife to Bedford), but by the time we got back to my boyfriend’s place, we had clocked in at just over 13 miles.  By the way, when we did get back, I promptly showered and passed out for about an hour and a half. 🙂  Naps are fun.

Here are some pictures from the day (we both had our cameras with us, and stopped a few times to take pictures):

I’m curious: Where would you want to go?

Book Recommendation: Shanghai Girls

For one of my classes I needed to choose from a list of books that emulated “Communicating Across Cultures.”  Knowing very little of East Asian cultures, I chose Shanghai Girls by Lisa See.  To get to the main point:  I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a good read and a plethora of knowledge and philosophical questioning.

The book is about two sisters, Pearl and May Chin, who are sold into marriage to two sons of a Chinese man living in Los Angeles.  They must make a perilous journey to escape Shanghai after the Japanese invade and go to America, even after they tried to avoid leaving in the first place.  Once in America, there are many cultural issues that come up, particularly around raising Pearl’s daughter, Joy, and how Americans view the Chinese immigrants differently throughout time (the book is set from 1937-1957).

The most interesting part of the novel for me was the relationship between the two sisters.  The novel is narrated from Pearl’s point of view, and one can’t help but agree with her reasoning most of the time.  At the end, there are great revelations between the sisters about how they truly feel about their lives, their families, and each other.  Yet through it all, the sisters stick together to battle life.

I need to write a book report, as well, and one theme I found was the constant struggle the women face to keep their Chinese roots while embracing American culture.  Is it possible for them to have roots and wings?  This seems to be a central theme in the book, and a question that is never truly answered.  By extension, is it possible for anyone to have both roots in one culture but be able to embrace and succeed in another, completely different, culture?

Bottom line:  read this book.  It’s a truly great story and actually has a good deal of depth.

How Not To Be A Slacker

1.  Utilize iCal, Google Calendar, the planner you got for Christmas with the puppies on the cover – something – where you will write down every tiny thing that needs to get done:  writing the rent check, studying for an exam, buying groceries, calling your aunt for her birthday, etc.

2.  Actually look at that calendar once in while to make sure you’ve covered everything on your To-Do lists and you’ve made it to all of your meetings.

3.  Set up meetings with friends and/or professors to discuss your progress on a project or to go over a rough draft of a paper.  This forces you to have some part of it – hopefully even a pretty good working draft – done in advance of the due date.

4.  Set aside time each day to do anything you’d like:  read a book (for pleasure!), watch T.V., go for a walk, go shopping, blog, etc.  Surprisingly, this will prevent you from stalling when it’s “work time” because you can’t use the excuse “I haven’t had any me time.”

5.  Dress the part.  If you wear sweatpants 24/7 and rarely wash your hair, it won’t help your expectations for yourself.  Try sprucing up your outfit every once in a while.  It will honestly help you feel energized all day.

6.  Put your iPod in its charger and set it to play a long loop of music.  A short loop, and you’ll have an excuse to play with the music choices every half hour.  Play music from your computer and the temptation to sort through music is constantly at your fingertips.  You get the idea.

7.  Download JDarkRoom.  It’s free shareware that is excellent for writing papers and reports.  JDarkRoom is a minimalist word processing software that goes full-screen so that other parts of your screen aren’t distracting you as you try to focus on your writing task.  When you’re done, simply copy and paste into your word processor to proofread and format.

8.  Maybe you should sign off AIM, Yahoo Messenger, Gchat, and any other IM service you have open…

9.  Reward yourself for finishing something on time.  Eat a piece of chocolate, read another chapter in a fun book, or see a movie the next weekend.  You’ll have time to do those things because the work will be done!

10.  Don’t blog when you should be studying.

Bonjour!

Je m’appelle Christina.

My name is Christina.  Most call me Tina.  It doesn’t matter much what you call me, since I am the same person either way.

I’ve created a blog.  Marvelous.  What I shall use it for precisely, I cannot say.  I want to write.  I’ve heard it’s a wonderful stress-reliever, and since stress is prevalent in my life, a blog seems like a good idea right now.

As a French major, I may randomly decide to record my innermost secrets (viewable by the entire world) in French.  Feel free to correct the grammar – it is my second language, despite my love of it.

Alors, j’ai besoin d’aller à mon cours.  Alas, I need to go to my class now.

À bientot!