www wednesday #3: blast from the past.

it's come to me to do another www wednesday on multiple occasions, but it keeps happening on a non-wednesday and then i forget by the time the next wednesday comes around. it's actually quite frustrating...but then i'd forget about that too.

but now it's wednesday!!! and i remembered!

+ what are you currently reading?
the wind-up bird chronicle / haruki murakami
so i really should have finish this book by now. i just keep getting distracted by long nights of work and busy schedules. it's actually been quite good. aside from the more apparent quirks of reading a book so obviously translated from a different language, there are definitely notes of differing cultural characteristics. i'm not sure if that's just how it got translated or the genre itself, but murakami's writing style has made it an interesting read. it's almost a softer way of writing. not so aggressive about pointing out and explaining every aspect of what's happening. it's actually somewhat like tolkien's works, another translated pieced, in that a lot of the language is more imagination provoking than direct guidance of what the reader should be thinking at any given point in the story. current plan: finish it.

+ what did you recently finish reading?
catching fire / suzanne collins
really getting ready for the second installment of the hunger games trilogy coming to theaters over thanksgiving 2013. super excited! already can't wait. :)

+ what do you think you'll read next?
the very hungry city / austin troy
this is my nerd read for the season. "urban energy efficiency and the economic fate of cities", the very hungry city is an analysis of urban civilization today and the rising levels of energy demand in the many growing metropolises around the world. troy expands on such issues by explaining what such rising demands could mean for people in the future, and what potential solutions could be, instilling the importance of early action in order to cut off any negative effects for civilization before it's too late. perhaps not the most positive of reading options, but i have to say that the basis for this kind of analysis definitely sparked my curiosity. i'm all for green planning, but also admit that i'm probably lacking in knowledge of the arguments to back up the why. very much looking forward to this read.

"good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life." - mark twain

who let me become an adult?!

so this may have been a slow realization on my part, but who the hell let me become an adult?!

seriously. i gradually came to the realization the other night that, pretty much since i started my job, i have now been paying my own way through life. obviously, there was some residual help from my parents just until i got my feet under me and could actually get on my way, but otherwise, everyday finances like rent, bills, shopping allowance when i've felt the need for it has all come from my own pocket. what?!

what happened to the days of my mom checking in every semester to make sure i had enough money for food?? what happened to the begrudging process of having to contact my parents consistently throughout the school year to inform them that they would once again have to help me shell out cash to pay for more even more art supplies and textbooks? what did i mean i needed even more money for more cardboard and hot glue sticks?!

then there are the ultimate expenses, aka. the wonderful club sports budget at cmu. oh, you guys are driving to god-knows-where for a tournament? here, just use the school club sports budget. oh, the next tournament bid is $375? club sports budget. though some ultimate funding did come from the parents: oh, your cleats have blown out halfway through the season and you need to make an emergency run to get new ones? yea, turns out no one told me that the days of "...oh, that's okay. thanks for letting me know. just put it on my card..." are over.

i don't actually remember the last time i asked for pocket money because i wanted to go to the mall with my friends on the weekend. maybe high school? college was more a semester-long budget situation for daily necessities. what i got was what needed to last until i went home over christmas. anything shopping money or cash for non-essentials was earned from any on-campus jobs i could scrape up. the more i think abut it, i actually approve of and appreciate that whole situation. it was a smoother way to transition me into paying for my own extraneous shit without immediately dumping me into the deep end of dealing with all of the financials that being a college kid living off campus with a certain level of freedom entailed, which surely would have given me a heart attack five times over...per year of college. i wonder if there was a record for the most heart attacks endured within any given period of time. i bet i could've beaten it. thank god i didn't have to do that. i'm pretty sure i came close quite a few times and that was enough for me.

now, instead of checking in with the parents, the situation is more base on the concept of "let me check with my bank account". oh, you'd like a new pair of shoes? let's check to make sure your bank account is having a good day first. oh, you need to pay rent soon? better make sure your bank account is happy with more of that whole "getting paid" business. these happy levels predictably now fluctuate on a two-week schedule defined by every other thursday, as my personal financials slowly work their way up to "real person status".

the realization that this transition had happened pretty much came when i was time to buy plane tickets to fly back to hong kong for christmas. after chatting with jess for awhile, it came up that i felt bad that even after i had graduated and started my new job, our parents were still paying for my plane tickets home. my ever-so-level-headed sister then smartly pointed out that even though mama and papa kwan were covering the $1750 for roundtrip tickets between boston and hong kong, they were, in fact, no longer shelling out approx. $50,000/year for school now that i had finally graduated from my five-year program with a professional degree. so really, i cut down on my expenses for them by a solid $48,000. i'll take it! the goal now is to hopefully be in decent enough shape next year to be able to afford my own plane ticket. y'know, on top of that extraneous stuff i had previously mentioned that i plan on being able to purchase with my big-person money.

going christmas shopping today, i had a moment of "oooh...i want this! should i get this?...", in response to which, i got the somewhat standard answer of, "...::shrug::...it's your money."

it is my money.

that. is. terrifying.

"oh, you're going out for brunch?...yea, that one's on you too."

giving thanks.

job.
B.
home.
family.
friends.
ultimate.
health (ish).
kitties.
bunny.
boston.
madison.
mudderburn.
cmu.
mellons.
food.
socks.
hugs.

thank you.

:)

thaaaAAAaaank yOOOouuu, siiIIIiiiIIR!

something in my office building...sounds like a whale...

wp8

i can't wait to get a new windows phone. unfortunately, my options are either to shell out $200 now and have a ton of fun immediately, or wait until I'm eligible for a Verizon upgrade in March and get some of those $$$ knocked off the price (but have to keep staring at that sad crack that goes across the entire screen).

also, the more i read about the new surface, the more i want one. is that sad? like...i really want one. and theoretically, i can totally afford one. i think i'm going to challenge myself though. wait at least until after christmas. if i still crazy-want it then, i'll reevaluate the situation then.

also, i can apparently upgrade my laptop to windows 8 for only $40. worth it? even more to consider.

blamo. kudos to microsoft. i want all of the things. all of the things that just don't come across as quite as gimmicky as similar products from different brands.

all of the aminals! :)

we got kitties!!!

Meet Pistachio, or just 'Chio for short.

And Basil! :)

as you can probably tell, chio is significantly more outgoing and friendly compared to basil. we were originally only going to get one kitty, but then realized that since we'll be travelling sometimes, especially when ultimate season rolls around again, it'd be good for two kitties to be able to keep each other company. also, these two were just such a good pairing.

chio had been living on the street, but was being fed by a local taxi driver. unfortunately, the taxi driver couldn't take him home with him and take care of him, so he was brought to the shelter. basil was also a stray, but he just showed up on his foster mom's back porch one day. basil didn't warm up to anyone or any of the other cats much until he found chio's crate. he apparently sat in front of his crate until he got let in, and he never left chio's side after that. since it looked like chio was helping basil come out of his shell so well, we very well couldn't separate them. plus, chio was just SO friendly! so now we have two kitties! and basil has slowly been getting better and better around us. he doesn't just hide in the dark anymore. he comes out for meals, and explores the apartment with chio. he's even started playing with the toys and knickknacks lying around the apartment.

the best moment so far has been when i woke up one morning with a strong urge to turn over in my sleep, before realizing it was harder than normal to flip over. in my groggy state, i slowly realized it was because there was more weight than usual on my legs! i just figured it was chio so i paused to see if i could move without waking him. then the weight started shifting...there were two weights on my legs! basil had come up to snooze in the crook of my knee! and chio had snuggled up on the other side of my leg. alright. it was decided. i didn't move and proceeded to lose all feeling in my right arm. then mr. aaron "fidgety-when-sleeping" magil briefly sat up to turn himself over. this apparently scared the shit out of basil, who then bolted off the bed and god knows where...dammit, magil. le sigh. oh well...here's hoping they do it again soon. :)

for now...more kitty pictures!

chio: "what....what are you..? and what are you eating??"

look who's curiosity outweighed his scaredycat-ness!

chio + basil | sitting back and observing.

"any idea what that is...?"
"nope...also, your butt smells..."

most adorable snapshot to date | kitty snuggles!!!

he actually fell asleep like this...on my hand...