There is Nothing Quite Like Chicago

You know you are a true blue, dyed through and through city gal when you love Chicago.

And I LOVE Chicago.
I even like the rundown, dilapidated train system, though I think it's more the idea of public transportation rather than the Chicago train system itself that I like.

Side note: Why is America's public transportation systems in huge metropolitan cities so horrible?! I don't get it... I can understand if lesser money is invested in transportation systems in smaller cities (e.g. SLC or Columbus) where everything is so spread out so everyone drives anyway. But what about NYC? Or DC? The public transportation systems in these cities are terrible! *shake head*

Another side note: Did you know that OSU students get to ride the buses in Columbus for FREE?! Just swipe our ID card and we're good to go! How AWESOME is that?! 

Alright, back to Chicago: a few weeks ago a friend (I shall call her... Miss B) and I drove to Evanston, Illinois to attend a conference at Northwestern University (more on this in another post). Chicago is right next to Evanston, and let's be honest, the conference was really an excuse to go to Chicago. Chicago is only about 7 hours away from Columbus, so it's not too far away.

We arrived there Friday afternoon, and my heart started fluttering upon sighting these:

Be still, my heart... Seriously though, the sight of Skyscrapers got me super excited. There's such a special "vibe" when in a large city! 

I think it helped too that Chicago played a huge part in modern American History, especially from the time period of 1877 to 1920, and coincidentally, I had just finished reading a book on Chicago before we arrived, so I was already intrigued by the place before we got there. Too bad we didn't have enough time to visit some historical sights... oh well, next time. 

Man I am such a city nerd.

We only managed to drive around the city , but the next day (Saturday), we went exploring- ooh! I'm so glad that we made it to an early morning temple session at the Chicago temple. 

Gorgeous temple! This is probably one of my top choices to get married in if my favorite one doesn't work out. This is the back view- the front view is just as pretty. I don't know what material the grey walls are made of (granite? stone? graphite?) but it sure is unusual.

Then at night we went to party! Well, "party" as much as two mid-twenties Mormon ladies could. Single ladies unite! We each bought a whole day train pass, and rode the metro in.

Based on the metro map, you get a glimpse of just how huge Chicago is:

First stop: 

Oh yeah, Chinatown baby! 

Too bad the Asian grocery stores were close, but we did manage to eat these:

 
Pretty yummy. I was just happy to eat decent Chinese food again. To my utter despair, Columbus lacks good Chinese food.


Next, we took the train to downtown Chicago, and walked among the skyscrapers to get to the John Hancock Tower.


Funny story: Miss B's friend had recommended that we get dessert atop the Hancock Tower because of the view. We arrived there, stood in line, then took an elevator to the 95th floor (it took less than a minute- wow wee!). We got out... and was greeted by full-house, bustling restaurant that didn't seem to have that great a view of night time Chicago. Confused, we asked a staffer for help, who told us that we needed to go all the way down, walk to the back, take an escalator down, and then take another elevator back up to the observatory.

So we did. Only to discover that he thought we wanted to go to the official John Hancock Observatory where tickets cost about $18/ person- NO WAY!

Knowing that it would be way cheaper to eat dessert, we went back up the escalator, walked round to the front, stood in line, and got into the elevator again. This time though, there was an usher who crammed as many people into the elevator as possible, pressed the 96th floor button, and activated an automotive voice that welcomed us and hoped we enjoy our visit. Apparently we weren't the only ones who knew how to get around the "system."

After arriving on the 96th floor that opened up to the very very very busy and very very very noisy lounge (more relaxed atmosphere than the restaurant), we stood in line again for a pretty long time. Once seated, we each had to order a dessert - no sharing!- before we could finally relax and enjoy the view. I ordered a chocolate mousse cake, while Miss B got the cheesecake. Delicious though nothing extraordinary (I was satisfied but a little disappointed as well).

However, the view from above was ABSOLUTELY STUNNING.


Wish my phone camera was better. The view made the waiting and wondering worth the trip.

Funnier story: After admiring the view and eating delicious-cum-disappointing dessert, I went to the bathroom and found THE EXACT SAME VIEW, only perhaps with a little more reflective glass. UUUURRRRGGGGHHHH! If I had known I would have skipped the waiting line, gone to the bathroom and simply admired the view from there- for free. *Annoyed*

Sunday morning we went to church at the family ward that Miss B's friend attended (the same one that recommended the Hancock Tower) at the University of Chicago. Driving into the city in an overcast, gloomy day:

I loved the ward! It's been a long time since I've been to a family ward with lots of children, and I was enamored by all the cuuuuuuute babies! I was also very impressed that quite a few sisters took the initiative to introduce themselves. The Relief Society and Sunday School meetings were also very uplifting, and provided lots of new insight. Maybe that Sunday was an anomaly, but the quality of their meetings really struck me.

Miss B's friend cooked us a delicious lunch, and we had a nice visit with her, before finally leaving to go back to Columbus.

There's so much more to do there but we just didn't have time- Millennial Park, Sears Tower, Hull House, Jazz clubs...


Driving home... *sob* Goodbye Chicago... till next time!

"Fireworks of Leaves"

I NEVER thought I would say this, but I have fallen in love... with the Midwest. Well, maybe not Kansas, but certainly Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri. 

Photo taken from http://www.lib.ku.edu/eastasia/calamwrg/MidAmericaStates.asp

Why?

For one, Chicago! I love Chicago and that is in Illinois (IL).

For another, it has Lake Michigan , which is so huge it looks like the sea! Lake Michigan is that body of water touching WI, IL, IN & MI.

 However, my top most reason why I love the Midwest is because

IT'S SO GREEN! 

And I love green. I miss the mountains A LOT- if I could cut-and-paste a mountain onto the Midwest, I would (minus the desert of course). But if I really really really had to choose, give me flat-land greens over mountainous desert brown anytime! No offense to my friends from Utah, but BYU campus is very beautiful because students are hired to plant flower beds. However, outside of BYU, you have to drive into the mountains before you can find natural breath-taking landscape. The green of the Midwest is more accessible and naturally endowed with more green, just like how the desert is endowed with more... brown. 

Ohio isn't even the prettiest state there is. Northwestern University, a school right outside of Chicago in Illinois (IL), borders Lake Michigan and has stunning landscapes and cathedrals dotting the campus. It is one of the prettiest schools I've ever been to. I plan to post those pictures along with a future post on Chicago and Lake Michigan, but for now, here is a sneak peek of how beautiful the Midwest is, and the pictures were all taken in Ohio.

This photo was taken from my bedroom view. Aren't the colors amazing? The leaves also change color in Utah, but there is just so much more in the Midwest, plus it is more intense.

This picture was taken at my apartment complex. 

There are also trees lining the road on both sides of my route to school, and I sigh with pleasure every time I drive on that road. Even the name of the street, Olentangy River Road, seems appropriate.

Columbus itself is not that pretty, but once you get outside Columbus, the scenery is beautiful! These photos were taken on the way back from the apple picking activity with CGSA.

 FYI, some rural roads do have roller-coaster roads like these- it's actually fun! Highways tend to be more level though, so don't worry about encountering these roller coaster roads if you are simply driving through. 

One of the reasons why it is so green is because it rains A LOT A LOT A LOT! 

Which is why I am extremely puzzled that the drainage system here for the roads is HORRIBLE. You would think the city officials would know how to plan for it better right? Nope. As a result, the roads in Columbus are hole-y, and made worse when it pours. *scratch head* Doesn't make sense... But that seems to be mainly a Columbus city problem, and not the rest of the Midwest.

One thing really quirky about the Midwest though, is the squirrels.

Remember this post where I speculated that there has got to be a family of squirrels living on my campus? Just two days ago, I saw 3 squirrels under one tree on campus. Too bad they scattered before I could snap a picture. Told you there was a "family" living there! 

I've sort-of gotten used to their presence and usually ignore them, but when I was in Chicago, my jaw dropped when I saw this: 

The squirrel was eating A SANDWICH. That's right- a freaking sandwich! Can you spot the two slices of bread? Unbelievable... 

When Life Gives You Apples...

Make apple chips!

A few weeks ago the Christian Graduate School Alliance (CGSA) of OSU organized an outing to the Lynd  Fruit Farm at Pataskala, Ohio (about 30 minutes outside of Columbus).

CGSA is an organization for Christian (non-Christians welcome too!) graduate students that meets weekly to discuss how we balance our religion and graduate school life. I was a little apprehensive when I first joined because I wasn't sure how they would react to the fact that I'm a Christian-Mormon. Totally unfounded fears! Everyone there was friendly, even after some of them found out that I was Mormon. Plus it is reassuring to find a community of non-Mormon friends who have faith in Jesus Christ and are striving to live good moral lives as well.

 Anyway... I had a lot of fun! The apples were big and yummy :) You can eat as many apples as you pick but you have to pay for any fruit you take home (they sell them by bag though). I shared a bag with 2 other friends so it didn't cost too much.

Question: What is the first recipe that pops into your mind that uses apple as an ingredient?
Let's see... apple pie? Pork with apples? Apple jam? Apple cider? Apple bread? Apple turnover?










For me, it's APPLE CHIPS! It's my favorite "chip" in the world, not just because they are healthy but extra bonus- they taste delicious as well. They are VERY expensive though, so I decided to try and make them myself. I modified Alex Guarnaschelli's recipe and...

Looks pretty good huh?! However it is extremely time consuming, especially if you only have 1 (albeit large) cookie sheet like me because I am too poor to afford another one for now, and also especially since the fruit slices shrink LIKE CRAZY- 3 apples only yielded about enough to fill a sandwich size ziploc bag... I wouldn't mind making this again but next time, I'm going to make sure I have at least 2 baking trays and a mandolin food slicer.

I also received a pleasant surprise while at the farm- Asian Pears were opened for picking as well.

YAHOOOOO!!!

These Asian pears turned out to be teeny! But oh well, beggars can't be choosers. They were even sweeter than the apples though, and I really enjoyed these pears.

The best thing about Asian pears?

Chinese pear (and apple) soup. Taste of home.

One more thing:

Guess how much this giant baby costs? (yes it's a real pumpkin)

$80!!! 

What do you even do with this?!

Panda BEARS and Samantha Brown

Samantha Brown, host of Travel Channel's Samantha Brown's Asia, Passport to Europe, and Passport to Latin America visited OSU last night, and it was super fun to hear her speak. My school hosts some  really cool programs!

In case you do not know who she is, you can click here for her website. She is one of my favorite t.v. hosts. in the world, and here are some reasons why:

1. She is bubbly and down-to-earth both in reel and real life, and not condescending at all! Not only was she friendly and funny, she patiently answered multiple questions posed to her by the audience even though she is 6 months pregnant with TWINS and STOOD THE ENTIRE TIME. @_@
2. She has a great sense of humor! Scroll down to point 9. 
3. She encouraged students to travel the world- yeah! Not everyone can afford to travel overseas, but she stressed the importance of traveling even within the United States. The Grand Canyon in Arizona, dog sled rides of Montana, and the world's Largest Aquarium in Georgia are some of her recommendations. 
4. She is not afraid to admit that she gives in to the occasional McDonald burger cravings while travelling overseas- yup, the very burgers full of "chemicals" because that's how she had it growing up. 
5. On the other hand, she tried to give traveling tips of how Americans should act when overseas, such as learning a few simple phrases in the native language to facilitate communication and show non-Americans that you are trying, phrases like "Hello" and "Thank you." And she also reassured Americans that even though the rest of the world may hate American politics and foreign policy, they still love Americans. 
6. She loves Southeast Asia, and recommends this relatively unknown gem for travelers looking for a  cheaper vacation destination. The plane ticket to Southeast Asia may be expensive but once you get there the cost of living is very cheap (well, except perhaps for Singapore)! 
7. She loves Asia. Of course she loves the rest of the world too, but being an Asian, I naturally perked up whenever she talked of Asia. She especially loves the Great Wall of China and the scenery of Vietnam.
8. She is open minded and unafraid to dip her toes into new cultures, even if it entails eating food that revolts her, like duck tongue- how cool is she?! 

Here she shared an experience when she was in Singapore (yeah!), and was given the eye of the fish in the fish head curry as a token of honor. Surprisingly, the eye turned out to be very flavorful (though she gave the other eye to her host).

Oh I miss fish head curry!



This is Samantha's all-time favorite picture. She and the orang asli indigenous children of Malaysia are holding apples she brought as a gift. Initially the children were afraid of her blond hair until she told them that she is the only one in her family with this hair color as well! Aren't the expressions of the children simply precious?!

9.  Mainly however, I love her because SHE TAUGHT ME MORE ABOUT PANDAS IN HALF AN HOUR THAN I LEARNED MY ENTIRE LIFE!!!

Yes, she is hugging a panda bear. How freaking awesome if that?! Seriously she is so cool. Here are some things I learned from her about pandas.

Fact 1: There is a research center that studies the breeding of giant pandas in Chengdu, and  visitors can pay to hug a panda bear for 2 minutes, hence the above picture. Aww... Her husband once observed that his cimputer desktop background was their wedding picture, while her desktop background was her hugging the panda. *chuckles*

Fact 2: Male pandas have very weak libidos. Yeah... and females go in heat for only two days, so you can imagine if the male panda was like, "Sorry I'm watching a Buckeye football game now so don't distract me..." (Samantha's joke). That's why breeding pandas is extremely difficult, why destroying their natural habitation is extremely devastating, and why a successful birth of a panda is a HUGE DEAL!

Fact 3: To... "heishu heishu" (*wink* Singapore fans of "The Noose") or increase the libidos of male pandas, the hind legs need to be strengthened first. Pandas have very weak hind legs, and it does not help in... you know what I mean. Visitors at the Breeding Center in Chengdu can help strengthen these muscles by (under supervision of course) holding a bamboo high up in the air and letting the panda reach for it. Well, anything to help the natural copulation process.

Fact 4: Panda bears may let you hug them, but when provoked, they become just that- BEARS.

Fact 5: Should you find yourself stuck in a situation of Fact 4, either run or pray that someone very strong is with you. Why?

Samantha related how she was allowed to film a segment for her show in the panda bear enclosure for 10 minutes. She eagerly followed the animal keeper, until she heard him say "Keep moving" just as he turned the key to unlock the metal gate of the enclosure. Surprised, she asked him what he meant by that (via interpreter)

"Keep moving."
"Why?"
"Well, they are still bears." (see Fact 4)

AAAHHH! She started freaking out, but it was too late to back out though and how rare a chance to be in an enclosure full of pandas/ bears! So she moved on, terrified out of her wits. Once there, she tried to "keep moving," only to have her director, who was on the other side of the enclosure and using a telescopic filming lens tell her to "hold still."

"Keep moving."
"Hold still."
"Keep moving!"
"Hold still!"

Back and forth, back and forth, and all Samantha could do was pace back and forth in the shape of a little square. Finally she decided to just hold still for a few seconds. She did, and then to her horror, saw
One male panda
lock eyes with her.

Basically, by standing still she had unwittingly signaled to the panda that this was her territory, and this male panda was very very very upset.
Next thing she knew, the panda bear was CHARGING AT HER! No more cute cuddly animal (hard to picture this huh?!). The animal keeper then shouted the only other English word he knew-

RUN!!!

So she did. And then the most amazing (and hilarious!) thing happened. Just as the panda bear charged across, the animal keeper grabbed it by the neck and

FLUNG IT ACROSS THE ENCLOSURE.

Oh my word. I almost died laughing.

Love this woman!

"Don't boo, vote"

Being a voter in Ohio has it's ups and downs.

The downside is that

• there are a million political advertisements inundating Youtube and television- SO ANNOYING! You can't watch any video/ show without watching the same obnoxious political ad at least 3 times. 
• my email is flooded with pleas to donate, donate, donate. "Be automatically entered to win a chance to eat a meal with Romney if you donate $3 today." "One lucky donor will meet Obama if you donate $5."

I can't wait for the election to be over just so that I can start watching "normal" ads again ;)

On the other hand, Romney and Obama  are campaigning hard in Ohio, and it's great to be "courted."
Remember this post when I first mentioned the politics in Ohio? Well, it gets better.

About 2 weeks after I arrived in Columbus, I attended a Romney rally at Powell, Ohio, and snapped this:

Yup, both Romney and Ryan were there. It was a treat, especially if you know how much I like Paul Ryan. In fact, I managed to take a picture with him as well! But that's another story... I circled both R & R (heh heh...) in yellow, but notice the purplish-pink circle- that's one of the snipers providing security for the duo. Thought it was cool to point that out. I know, I'm weird like that. 

Then yesterday (Oct 9), guess who came to campus?!

The President of the United States, Barack Obama.

Oh yeah! POTUS at The Ohio State University. No matter how awful you think he is, he is still the President of the United States who campaigned on my campus! How cool is that?! This is probably the closest I'll ever get to him physically. Obama is usually a pretty good speaker and he did not disappoint. Other than his dig against Romney for trying to "kill" Big Bird (oh Romney, why why why...*), his other memorable line was, "Don't boo, vote" and there were buses lined up to take unregistered voters to register and vote early. 

Seriously, it is great to be a voter in O-H-I-O! 

*FYI, Romney isn't planning to ax Sesame Street, only deregulate federal funding for the Sesame Street's channel, PBS, meaning that PBS can still survive through private investors and advertisers. I, however, am against this move. Federal funding for some programs needs to be cut down, but PBS is an excellent public good and should be supported. Besides,  cutting down funding for PBS is only cutting down less than 1% of the federal deficit. Don't attack the itty-bitty minion when the real mafia bosses of the deficit are Health Care and Defense Spending. 

Two Momentous Happenings During (1st Session) General Conference

1) Young men in my church can serve a mission when 18 years old, and (more significantly) young women can serve at 19 years old.

Whaaaaaaaaaattttttt?!?!?!?!?!

OH YEAH! 

[For my non-member friends, the minimum age for missionary service in my church for men was 19 years old, and for women, 21 years old.]
I've wondered why the minimum age for young men was 19 years old, since most American young men graduate from high school at 18 years old, and it wastes time when they have to wait till their next birthday. I believe this is a beneficial rule change for young men.

Rather, I'm actually a teeny bit apprehensive about the new minimum age for young women, mainly because of safety and maturity issues, but I'm willing to "experiment" and "try the word" first before passing judgement. If anything, the WRONG stigma that young women serve missions because they cannot get married will be eradicated- now this will be awesome.

Plus since young women may go on a mission when 19, they will return at 21, and this will eliminate another stigma which is that return missionaries sisters are too old to attract return missionary elders.

*roll eyes* It's shameful how such derogatory stigmas/ stereotypes exist in the Church.

And, if the new age limit policy backfires, the Church will simply revert this age policy. But let's hope... NOT! :)

2) Today marks the day that Rosie officially likes me. Prior to this she would only follow me if I was in the kitchen, and run away from me the rest of the time. Today though, I sat on the floor to watch the first session of Conference, and she crawled between my legs and slept there!

Ta dah! 

And I just realized a few weeks ago who she reminded me of...

Puss (in Boots) from Shrek!!! Even her coloring is the same!

Puss is male though, while Rosie is female. Oh well. Doesn't detract from their cuteness!

Life is Full of Paradoxes & Ironies

Today I attended the Department of History Presidential Symposium of OSU, and had the opportunity to listen hear a panel discussion on the idea of a "university" and its purpose and goals, given that now there are so many options (e.g. online college). Gorden Gee, president of OSU, and a few other current and ex-presidents of respectable universities around the nation were on the panel. It was a very informative session and opened my eyes to some of the challenges universities (and presidents of universities) face, such as FUNDING. It's always about the $$$...

However, what struck me the most was this question posed to the panel about the value of a college/ university education. An ex-President of Harvard (can't remember his name) complained in a book that graduating students still could not write or think critically, therefore why go to college?

To which Gordon Gee quipped, "Well he's talking about those from Harvard..."

Ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Seriously though, this isn't the first time I've heard this complain. Fellow grad students in my office complain about the same thing. Obviously this isn't just a "Harvard" thing (:p) So what is the cause of the problem of college students' lack of communication skills?

I believe one of the huge contributing factors is America's K12 (kindergarten to Grade 12) education.If you don't learn to read, write and think critically in school from a young age, it won't translate at the university level either. Of course there are a few other reasons, but K12 education is probably the biggest one.

So here is the first paradox: America has a struggling K12 education, but also produces many of the best institutions of higher education (universities/ colleges) in the world. Hmm... isn't this interesting?

On a lighter note, I think Ohio's treatment of animals is another paradox.
This is a common scene here in Columbus:

 This picture was taken at my apartment complex. Do you see it?! That squirrel on the tree. I saw a brown hare near some bushes too a few weeks ago, but it ran, pardon me, hopped too quickly away before I could snap a picture of it.

And then let me introduce you to the squirrels that live on the grounds of my school at what is called "The Oval":

There were too many sightings for me to snap pictures of all of them. Maybe I just keep spotting the same two squirrels, but it sure feels like the entire clan (cousins and all) live on OSU grounds! They aren't tame because students (are smart enough) not to feed them, but since the squirrels don't bother us, we don't bother them either.

What is so paradoxical however, is the fact that I HAVE ALSO NEVER SEEN SO MANY ROAD KILLS IN MY ENTIRE LIFE SINCE DRIVING IN COLUMBUS!!! I dare say that on average with every 3 drives, I will spot one poor dead, ran-over animal. I have never seen so many animal carcasses in my life, not even in Utah!

The differential treatment of animals has truly puzzled me. *scratch my head*

Life is funny.

"What do you like to do?"

Someone asked me this question the other day, and usually my automatic response is "I love to read, and etc etc."

However, my response that day startled me, even as I blurted it out- "I used to love to read..."

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!! (That's me howling in protest, trying to stop this "used to" nonsense from happening)

I still love to read, but I have never been so tired of and from reading, and it's only halfway through the semester- urgh! It's one thing to read for pleasure, and another thing to read for school, but to read for graduate school is a whole different ballgame. I don't know  about other graduate programs, but history graduate classes are NO JOKE, especially under the semester system where I take 4 classes in a semester (conditions of my fellowship). Basically I read about one book per week per class. Do the math... ta dah! I read on average, oh you know, only 4 scholarly historical books per week.

Can you blame me for being tired of reading?

I've developed the skill of learning to read different books quickly:

•  For most books you read the introduction closely especially where they go "I argue... chapter 1 (summary)... chapter 2 (summary)..." then skim the rest of the book. [YES! These are the books I love] 
• Other books don't have such a nice introductory outline, so the next best thing is to read the beginning and end of each chapter. 
•  The rest you have to read the first few chapters before you figure out how to read the remaining chapters quickly. 

I've come to the point where I can read about one book a day, and that's not even the fastest speed. (Apparently you are suppose to read one book in about 3 hours... CRAZYFREAKING NOWAY)

On the other hand, I am having the time of my intellectual life. I love most of what I'm learning from my readings, though there is this class I... this is for another post.

Phew! I didn't mean for this post to be about my reading habits, but I was just so sad that my love for reading has... "evolved."

I Have the Coolest Friends

I just discovered that my desk partner was a contestant on

WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE

last year! Isn't that cool?!

I SHARE A DESK WITH A MINI CELEBRITY! 

After finding out that I had at least one friend who sang in the choir during last week's Relief Society General Conference, I feel like I'm surrounded by mini-celebrities every where! I have the coolest friends. (Don't worry, this includes those who don't make it to national television- you guys are awesome as well!)

Me at my desk. I know, kinda pathetic to have to share a desk but sigh, at least I have a desk

By the way, my desk partner (you can spot his last name in the picture) managed to get into the "second half" of the show (for those of you are unaware of the new format, the show now splits the questions into two parts. It's a little complicated so I won't explain it, and only mention that the "second half" of the show is where the big $$$ comes in).

He skipped the $100,000 question, but answered the $250,000 question wrongly.
Booooo!

FYI, the $250,000 question was:

Considered incorrect today, which of the following misspellings appears in the U.S. Constitution?
A. Masachusetts
B. Pensylvania
C. Conecticut
D. Rode Island

What do you think?

Correct answer:
B.
His answer:
Sorry, won't tell. He got it wrong and that's pitiful enough.

But because he managed to get into the second half, he still walked away with a couple thousand dollars. Yeah!

Only now he has spent it all because graduate school pay alone can't support his family (he and his wife have a cute young daughter).

Told you being a "professional scholar"/ grad student is an impoverish-ing career to have!