Empire State of Mind

It's a good thing to be passionate. About a hobby, a person, a cause. Sure, it can be disappointing when you do not do as well as you had hoped, but it can be all the more exciting when you DO.

I absolutely adore our Science Olympiad members. I think they deserve all the best things in the world. I've laughed the hardest today since... months, to the point where my voice is eight octaves higher, my sides hurt, and tears are streaming down my cheeks. Today was the best, and I thank you all who made it what it was.

I AM SO BLISSFUL RIGHT NOW! Just got back from eating until we became pregnant, racing down and leaping along the sidewalk, and dancing in the street. It's so simple, but it means everything.

Try and knock me down.

Wise words from my father

"The SAT is a test for test-takers. That's what the Chinese are trained to do: take endless yes/no, black/white tests; your mom is very good at tests like the SAT cause she's been trained. I am not. But you Americans learn the maybe/depends, gray-area tests, so I love American tests.

You know, Caroline, the area of China near the Russian border is very cold, so I went to the library. The library was always warm. After dinner, I would tell my friend to save me a seat at the library and I would go there after I eat so that I could sleep. I slept until closing time, then I went back to my dorm to play. I played all day."

Wow, thanks Daddy. Those are some great genes you gave me...

Contemporary

"Driven Out: The Forgotten War Against Chinese Americans," by Jean Pfaelzer, and "Compelled to Excel: Immigration, Education, and Opportunity Among Chinese Americans," by Vivian Louie, are two relevant and fascinating books. Some parts of Chinese history in the U.S. is heartbreaking, a lot more so than I had thought. But in the "Compelled to Excel" book, it's interesting to see a scholar's view on the Asian phenomenon in the U.S.; a lot of facts and statistics about the Asian experience apply to my family and families that I know.

I am getting disgustingly lazy. I have plenty of motivation, but it's hard to translate motivation into action. And I have returned to my terrible habit of biting my nails. I think I got it from my seven-year-old brother, cause he just started last month. I'm actually biting my nails right now.

"96.7902%" is good enough for me, haha. YAY :)