Tuesday, October 30, 2007
More shameless advertising:
Club Singapore, Club Sri Lanka, Hong Kong Students Association, and Japanese Students Association jointly bring to you...
Halloween Costume Party @ Han-Wool
a night of costumed debauchery and fiendish fun
Who cares if its after the official Halloween date? We know you didnt get the chance to wear that awesome costume you really wanted to put on last week.
So come out for your last chance to don those outrageous/scandalous costumes and have a wickedly fun time. Yes, you heard me right: Its a costume party, the weirder the better, cross-dressing included.
Come party it up with other witches and ghouls, superheroes and foes, pimps and hos, with beats provided by Bassline Productions.
And make sure your friends don't miss out, either.
18 to trick, 21 to treat.
$7 pre-sale, $9 at the door.
Email spore-exec@dolphin.upenn.edu for presale tickets.
And join our facebook event!
he rocked the party at 12:22 PM |
So last weekend was sacrificing Halloween/Funk to head up to Stamford, Connecticut for the 10th American Lindy Hop Championships with the Swingers!
Admittedly, I was more than a little apprehensive going, since my swing social dancing still leaves much to be desired, and the very thought of dancing from 7pm all the way till 4am was daunting, in the very least. I mean, forcing myself to go social dancing every tuesday was bad enough, as a newbie lead I was terrified of leading other more experienced dancers.
But I had nothing to worry about: ALHC was a blast. The bigger dance floor meant that I didnt have to worry about people staring and criticizing, real or imagined. And the more I danced, the easier it became, and pretty soon, it was just so easy to ask just about anyone to dance and actually enjoy myself without worrying what moves I should execute next. Plus the music was awesome: we had the Broilermakers, Jive and the Jump play live for us.
Mornings would be spent sleepily dragging our butts out of the comfy hotel beds (where we'd spent last night cuddling - when you squeeze a troupe of 30 people into 4 hotel rooms, thats what you get) to classes which woke us up immediately. Taught by the world's best instructors, we learnt charleston, dips, the big apple, lindy.. and those were just the ones I attended.
Afternoons and evenings provided the opportunity to catch some of the most amazing competitions I've seen. (The one that took the cake for me was this dude who wore a head-to-toe Spiderman costume and swingdanced with his partner to the theme song of the same superhero. At one point, she even lifted his mask and kissed him, just like the movie.)
Interspersing the contests were social dances where the massive dancefloor was opened up. I loved it. Even though I probably didnt know what I was doing half the time, I loved it all the same. Its been awhile since I've been able to dance in a non-sketchy environment. (haha) It went on all the way till the 4+am in the morning, and some old fogeys were STILL dancing when I dragged myself back to bed. Do this for both Friday and Saturday nights and I end up with sleepy eyes and sore thighs.
You have to give it to this crazy bunch of Swingers: they really know how to have a (oh no thats so corny) swingin' good time :)
(apologies for the lack of photos, cameras weren't allowed at the competitions, so I sneakily took the one at the top of this post)
he rocked the party at 1:25 AM |
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Nothing makes a girl more attractive than her ability to carry out a good conversation.
he rocked the party at 12:11 AM |
Monday, October 22, 2007
Every time I see them, my heart dies all over again.
Their latest stage appearance left me staring wistfully up, watching the moves as if in slow motion, all the while thinking "there's nothing there that I CAN'T do, so why am I not up there with them?"
Because, young padawan, maybe your time hasn't come yet. But the anticipation, the crushing rejection, the excruciating wait and the painful reminders, like last saturday, and the whole of this week.. stabs me deep, baby.
This isn't an ego/ambition thing. I think I've quite outgrown that after first semester. Its more a (and there's no other word for it) hunger, that omnipresent urge to live, breathe, dance that genre that I've grown accustomed to for the past 7 years or so.
Perhaps I should be devoting this semester to improving myself? I am determined to give it maybe.. one last try.
he rocked the party at 11:34 PM |
Monday, October 15, 2007
So Fall break was spent at ACE Adventure Center, West Virgina, for a weekend of whitewater rafting, camping, and all round all male testosterone together with Zhengyan, Martin, and Kendrew.
Trivia: apparently, the Upper Gauley we navigated is ranked the 7th most dangerous river to navigate in the world, and 2nd in the United States.
Friday:
We arrive at ACE after 8 hours of driving, exhausted, and collapse into one of these:
Its more comfortable than it looks. They actually have beds with pillows inside the tents, but it was freezing (literally close to 0 degrees) at night so I slept in my sleeping bag anyway.
Saturday:
We conquered the Lower Gauley with our really cool guide Ken, who did all these crazy stunts with our raft, like making 2 people sit backwards, or rowing with our eyes closed.. it was freakin amazing. So whitewater rafting involves going through a whole stretch of river which is flat in some parts and punctuated with these spots of reallyreally fun rapids with funny names, like "Fuzzy Box of Kittens" and "Woods Fairy", which are deceptively cute till you actually encounter them and they threaten to capsize your boat or pull you into the water.
And there was one point when we actually DID fall into the water. Happened at Hippo Falls when our raft banked sharply up towards the right, causing martin and i to collide against zhengyan and kendrew and sending all 4 of us tumbling into the swirling water, with Ken giggling away at how dumb we looked.
We spent the night camping by the riverside of the lower gauley together with 3 cops who told us amazing stories about their professions. Our guides Ken and Jay cooked an amazing dinner of steak, which was so much better than the shit I got for restaurant week:
We then spent the rest of night chilling by the campfire, guzzling cheap american beer and soda, telling stories of girls, cop adventures, crazy things to eat, and looking at the brilliant night sky lit up with billions of stars. I saw like 3 shooting stars that night. Amazing.
Sunday:
We conquered the dreaded Upper Gauley with its Class 4 and 5 rapids, and the notorious Sweets Falls, with an inevitable 18 foot drop, and a narrow "sweet spot" gap you have to navigate through to avoid being capsized. Loved having lunch by the falls and watching other boats being capsized and taco-ed. haha.
We celebrated the end of the trip by splurging on an unnecessarily luxurious cabin for the night and cooking our very own steak/hotdog/fries/breaded fish dinner. And the kicker: a HOT TUB, under the stars. 4 guys, 2 bottles of wine, a 6-pack of beer, and uninhibited talk about the pretty girls. hahahahaha.
Adventure, alcohol, and azure waters behind the campfire.. I love it, I love it.
he rocked the party at 9:39 PM |
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
So my new policy in "I need to be more outgoing/sociable" strategy is talking in the elevators. In other words, I make it a point to talk to random strangers in elevators. Its really easy: you make some lame comment about the weather/complain about the management and its easy to get started. The only drawback is that the conversation only lasts for less than 60 seconds.
Still, its a nice non-threatening way to meet people, and possibly that cute girl that lives on the 4th floor (that's just a generic term, btw, I dont actually know any cute girls that live on the 4th floor. - except you gina, because I know you're reading this. hahahaa) Already, some good has come out of this elevator talking: I got into the elevator with this nice old lady who was carrying a humongous reproduction of Fredrick Douglass' "Family Grace". I said, "nice painting!" and she explained that she was an artist who bought it only for the frame, and didnt want the actual painting, so she gave it to me. (and got off on the 3rd floor with me just to prise the painting from its frame!) Yay for random acts of kindness :)
Speaking of random acts of kindness, thank goodness for the one single kindhearted Chestnut Hall manager who replaced my key for free after I lost it last friday and was praying like mad for it to be returned. Really, if you want to make someone's day, just show a little mercy and a little help, and it'll go a long way. I'd gladly buy him dinner for that little good deed he did. Prayer helps mucho lots too.
I'm kind of undecided on what I should do about this.. situation I'm in. Damn my greed, my commitment phobia and my overactive social/intellectual needs. Am I falling back into my same past mistakes, or am I just being fussy? Bah.
he rocked the party at 11:59 PM |
Monday, October 08, 2007
Econ Scream: Where, on the night before the Econ 001 midterm, students gather at McClelland Balcony at midnight and collectively scream into the night, while approximately 8-10 streakers (ie naked running white boys) zoom around on the field below.
Other random updates:
I just saw RENT in new york over the weekend and it was awesome. I just downloaded the entire soundtrack (in a totally legal way, of course. haha) Loved it, loved it, loved it.
Summer plans are precipitating! Tell me if you think this is crazy, because I do:
4 days after finals - Penn-in-Beijing: a 4 week study on the Beijing Olympics and its impact on China's communication with the world.
2 days after that - Princeton-in-Beijing: an 8 week intensive chinese language drilling session, with 22 hours of class a week, and a language pledge that I'll only speak Chinese for 8 weeks.
Intense, intense.
he rocked the party at 11:35 PM |
Friday, October 05, 2007
So tonight, I decided that the one characteristic I had to add to my "Essential Characteristics My Girlfriend Should Have" list is a totally unromantic one: "proactivity". (wow, that's not even a word. I didn't know that.)
I think I'm more than likely to fall for someone who signals her intentions well enough. Probably due to some extent that I'm a totally dense clod who doesn't know how to read signals very well. (According to chrissy, when she was evaluating the sorry state of my nonexistent lovelife last semester)
But more than that, I think I'd be more likely to stay with someone who actively tries to make a relationship work, either through spontaneity, or captivating conversations, or good sportsmanship, or humor, or in her willingness to try new things. (in a totally non-sexual way, of course. haha) I think spontaneous midnight snacks, snowball fights, backpacking trips and crazy photo whoring are good signs of a perfect girlfriend.
Therein lies the paradox: I'm usually initially attracted to mysterious, elegant ladies who don't necessarily carry out the best of conversations. (my idea of a good conversation: if I have to keep thinking of ideas to keep the conversation going, it isn't a good one) No chemistry, no fun, no nothing, but oh-so-mysterious in a "i-wonder-if-i-can-flirt-with-her-enough-to-see-her-human-side" way. And then I get screwed over because she's totally not proactive, and I find myself doing all the work, feeling like some desperate loser, and lose interest.
Firm believer of the "If I have to work this hard for it, its not worth it." school of thought.
And now, now there's a certain possibility of an development in what was a previously non-existent love life, but practicalities, uncertainties, and just plain commitment phobia are preventing me from doing anything about it. Sigh.
he rocked the party at 12:09 AM |
