shreveport, louisiana

this past week has been a whirlwind. i was visiting friends in boston when i got a call for a job in shreveport, louisiana. the next day, which was this past thursday, i left boston; on friday, ran a whole bunch of errands that included an optometrist appointment for new contact lenses and involved walking over 40 blocks in manhattan (there was no form of transportation that's worth waiting for when walking from point A to point B takes only 15 minutes...i just had a lot of destinations to hit...); flew out to shreveport today, saturday. all happened in 3 days. i don't know ANYONE on this crew. the person who called is a friend of a friend. but i have a good feeling about this and think i'll get along with everyone. after all, my department consists of all guys, except for one person who does her own thing and doesn't sound like someone i'd interact with as much as the guys.

oh yeah, not to mention the unc-usc game last night. how awesome for unc to come back from a 16-point deficit and be classy about it, holding the ball during the last 7 seconds instead of scoring and hugging the other team as the clock ticked down to the final buzzer. for a moment there, i hid my face in my hands in disbelief that we were down by double digits in the second half: "why is this happening?!" my sister and i screamed so much that i wouldn't have been surprised if our neighbors had called the cops. after half time, the intensity was so high with the deficit that we were on our feet for the rest of the game. as the game played on, my sister noticed we were inching towards the television: "as if us moving closer to the television is going to help," to quote my sister. well, maybe it did. but more likely, thanks to roy williams playing the deep bench, we had the energy to take over as usc's endurance dwindled. our zeal came back, and two minutes into the second half, we dictated the game. this is why unc is #1.

need an iron...

but don't have one? try a tea kettle. i also recommend lining your kitchen countertop with a dish towel for an ironing board-like surface.

acc

so there was some talk about north carolina losing its dominance at the acc as a state. yeah, unc did get beat by virginia tech twice and also by georgia tech once out of two games. duke had no chance at the acc this year. wake forest...well, they're only a north carolina team by geographical default. but who made it to the finals? unc and north carolina state. those of you who had doubts about north carolina as the reigning state of the acc can shove it!

even though the tarheels won today, the wolfpacks put up a great fight. we had only played 2 games in the past 2 days whereas nc state had played 4 games within the past week, 3 of which were back to back. i wouldn't have been surprised had they been a little exhausted and sluggish as boston college had been, but they weren't. their energy and focus were on the game every moment and pushed the tarheels as a formidable and respectable opponent. (boston college, on the other hand, started yesterday's game by shoving unc around. within the first 3 minutes of the game, a bc player pushed the ball in hansbrough's face mask, probably unintentionally, like henderson from duke unintentionally gave tyler the broken nose at the match up on 3/4/2007. but i'm sure it still hurts like a mofo.) had unc not been playing as well as we did today, nc state definitely would've had a good chance of beating us. we wanted the championship as much as they did, however. it's only a shame that nc state, after taking out both #2 virginia and #3 virginia tech, won't be in the ncaa. both unc and nc state gave a phenomenal performance. but there can only be one winner, and that's the tarheels.

and now onward to the ncaa!

ann coulter

i'm a few days late on this subject, having been distracted with the need for sleep and cleaning my desk (those of you who's worked with me know what a chore that is for me), but i want to recap my initial reaction upon seeing the youtube clip of ann coulter's revolting remark on john edwards.

what a f-ing c---. rarely does the word "c---" come to my mind to apply to someone, but there is no word more apt for coulter considering her behavior. what's more disgusting is the applause and cheers she received from her proven ignorant, hateful audience. i can only hope that she and the rest of her fans believe in god as christians because, to quote my sister, "when [they] reach the gates of heaven, they will be denied entry because she's a c---" and her followers are hateful. they make christianity out to be such an intolerant religion that brings out the worst of human beings. i don't believe that it's the religion that's the problem. it's these people who have twisted the religion to support their own insecurities and narrow-mindedness. if christianity is a religion that touts this kind of behavior, then its beliefs are not going to survive as human beings progress.

please note that i grew up in north carolina in a low-moderate income household and thus bear partiality towards edwards. also, i am not religious but believe in human progress.

art

two of my friends from los angeles are in town for a few days, and i was able to make it in their schedule today. we went to the moma. it feels like forever since i've been to an art museum even though i visited the brooklyn museum only a month ago. not that i know much about art despite my 4 years of working at the campus art libary during college but i love it. i'm not big on the old religious art, but pretty much everything else appeals to me. from the rush of colors to the minimal brushstrokes that barely create an image, from documentary photography to optical illusions, it all adds substance to life.

maybe that's why i wasn't enthralled by the oscars this year. pan's labyrinth has won all awards in my book. there was really no point to see what had won in its stead with the oscars. i am glad that it got some recognition, but like all great art, it can never receive enough.

by the way, how can you accidentally/almost invade a country? according to new york times, the swiss apparently did. it's ironic since it has a reputation for being a pacifist and neutral country. go figure.