V-day

There should be a snow storm on every Valentine's Day.

Earlier today, Rob's professor asked the class why private school students do better than public school students. One student suggested that private school students must keep up with their grades, unlike public school students who only had to maintain a GPA that is way below average.

Let me continue the story by saying that we go to an university in Long Island (suburb). As a result, our student body is half-half between city kids and suburban kids. There is a very distinct difference between students who are from Long Island (the spoiled brats), and those who are from the city. So, in class, a city girl defended that it is extremely easy to get kicked out of public school. Other city girls agreed, citing ongoing examples of how students and friends were suspended from high school for crimes such as assault, weapons, etc. The non-city kids looked at each other, eyes wide, wondering if they were kidding or not.

I thought I have been to some ghetto-est part of New York City. That says a lot. I remember walking around with dozens of eyes on me in Jamaica. I remember a girl raped in my school district.

Boy, I was so wrong! A few months ago, someone broke Rob's window to steal his GPS. Today, one thing led to another, we got lost at an unfamiliar neighborhood while we were going to an auto shop to install his new GPS. After one right (or wrong) turn, I thought we weren't going to make it back in one piece. It definitely can't be described in words. We had to drive slowly because of the incredibly poor road condition - 3 feet deep puddles, 2 feet deep potholes, and rocks that spread across like sands at a beach. Every 5 feet we drove, there were 5 new strangers waving, looking in, tapping on our windows, persuading us to go to their auto shop. Never have I seen a street with endless auto shop, and ALL of the workers standing outside to recruit customers at once. Because of the amount of people and the conditions of the road, we couldn't make an U-turn until another hundreds of feet or so. We were so desperate to get out of there!

For me, the idea of having metal detectors in schools was normal. However, after meeting Rob, going to Japan, and staying mainly in Long Island, I have become to be so afraid of things. My silly honey makes me call him to make sure I am home, when he SEES me going in 40 feet away! He escorts me every where. So, I've become spoiled and sheltered. With that said, you can all imagine that I probably would have peed my pants if we were in that streets a minute longer.

Career Fair

We went to the career fair at our campus. Boy, it's hopeless. Recruiters included those that were from Target, Walgreen, Motorola, etc. Okay, I'm exaggerating.

In the end, I only spoke to the recruiter from the foreign exchange market. I rejected the idea immediately when I found out that associates have to be opened for any given shift, including one that is from 12am-8am.

The one other person I spoke with was a random recruiter asking where I got my suit jacket. *sigh* I went there with 12 copies of my resume, and came back with 11. At least, I got to shop and play "dress for success." Heh.

Yummy in the Tummy

Random pictures of yummy food from San Francisco. I wanted to post recent pictures, but I kept staring at these food!

Naturalization

It must have taken me more than 2 years to finally have an appointment for an interview at the end of this month. I was supposed to have one in October, when I was studying in Japan. Since I couldn't make it, I had to petition to change the date of the interview. I must have written them 6 letters total for the petition and to check my status. The USCIS would only respond by mail, and of course, they never "responded" to my 6 letters.

So, I finally got an appointment letter for an interview. This is after a really long application, a fee of $400, fingerprinting appointment, and a long wait. I finally get to claim my name back!

After coming back from Japan, I have been using "Hiu Ying Tang" because there were discrepancies with my identity in the financial aid office. (Long story how I have used Stephanie and not my Chinese name, despite all of my legal documents state my Chinese name.) So, for the past 2 semesters, I have introduced myself to classmates and professors as Hiu Ying Tang. I feel like I am enunciating every syllable every time I say my Chinese name in English. I think it all started because there were other Stephanies in my classes, and I was too lazy to tell others to call me Stephanie.

After 2 semesters of awkwardness, actually 2 years (considering that our Japanese reading professor called me by my Chinese name), I can claim my name back. Also, I can finally convince them to change the middle name that I put on my application. I think I was on crack, but I put "Selena". Yuck!

Technically, my name can be ANYTHING I WANT! (Not that I intend to change my name.)
Most importantly, I am having such a problem applying to jobs. About 75% of the jobs require the applicants to be a citizen. =P

Blogging Again

I have decided to start blogging once again. So, Rob and I were watching a drama called 鬼嫁日記, and I was inspired to be just like the wife in the drama. I have also decided to change the name of the blog.

I am graduating in May! Currently, I am working in an office at the university's hospital. They pay considerably well. Or, I was too used to being paid only $7-$8 an hour. Well, that has all changed, because the minimum wage is raised to $7.15. I work about 13 hours/week in the office. However, the job also allows me to work at my own time in my room. So, I racked up 25 hours/week for the past 2 weeks. My first paycheck is in a week. I'm so excited to be finally making money again, and not being underpaid.

Earlier in the year, Rob and I visited San Francisco. It was extremely fun, and I will post pictures later on. Then, we went on a snowboarding trip. This time, I didn't bang my head onto the ground!

We watched 着信あり Final yesterday. It was almost as disappointing as the second one. It brings back memory though. Rob and I were scared sh*tless at 着信あり attraction in Odaiba last year. In attempt to catch up with my Japanese, we have also been watching various dramas. I haven't watched any good ones though. So, if there are any suggestions, please let me know! Otherwise, we would be watching Lost and a number of reality shows. I refuse to catch up with Rob on the show Heroes. I'm so far behind.

A few weeks ago, we went to the Colbert Report in Manhattan. It was interesting because it was my first time to go onto a TV show. Otherwise, it was okay.

In other news, we each got 3-4 wisdom teeth pulled. It was the funniest things. We have both captured each other on videos, using our cell phones. While I was sedated, I had a dream that I was coming back in a rocket/rollercoaster. Rob said he was underground. Haha.