darren916's Xanga

Tuesday, August 03, 2004

Tue, 03 Aug 2004 12:34:01 GMT

My last night in Albi...

Finally everything is done - research, report, presentation - except for some more packing. I didn't realize how much I missed being a student and working in a real lab. It definitely is a lot of fun. Perhaps I missed out on some of that enjoyment in college because Cooper life was... was more hectic at times. Indeed I felt more inspired while writing my final report and preparing my presentation here than I think I ever was at Cooper. I didn't feel any pressure to make the grade because I wasn't being graded. Instead I was motivated by the potential of my research and the quality of work of the other stagiaires.

I would have liked to stay longer if things stayed the way they were but they aren't: all the stagiares have either already left or will be leaving shortly, mon maître de stage is going to work at U. Delaware of all places and Albi - like many French cities - turns into a ghost town in August. And I need to get my med school apps done ASAP. It's my time to leave.

New York City. The United States of America...damn. Haven't been away that long but still gonna experience some serious culture shock when I get back. Who knows... I may decide to continue writing these blogs to wean me off of living in France seeing as how I started writing them here. Scary. But I'll be home.

To all the Americans reading this: see you soon.

Thursday, July 22, 2004

Thu, 22 Jul 2004 13:23:22 GMT

Comment on Ms. Yu's blog:
It's too easy to be racist. Everyone stereotypes and prejudges - some more than others obviously. It's been easier for me to notice it in the French because I'm the only American I know in Albi and because of the many international students here. I've noticed that even in myself. You see a slight difference in someone's culture or habits and it gets you thinking - " he/she's different..." But we don't let that get in the way of things. We find ways to move on as we always do.

Friday, July 16, 2004

Fri, 16 Jul 2004 04:50:53 GMT

Hey Joe & Amy, I'd like some red snapper please (for free of course)...

75% of fish sold as high-priced red snapper were other species, found U. of North Carolina scientists in a review of stores in 8 states. Some ersatz red snapper came from the Pacific or Atlantic; the genuine article lives in the Gulf of Mexico. Besides defrauding consumers and breaking FDA rules, wrongly labeling fish also leads to wrong estimates of stock size, the scientists said in the journal Nature.

Random-

Women who give birth after they reach 35 have a 58% lower risk of ovarian cancer than women who never have a child. Women who had a child before they were 25 had a 16% lower risk, said U. of Southern California researchers in the journal of Fertility & Sterility.
But what happens between ages 25 - 35?

Monday, July 12, 2004

Mon, 12 Jul 2004 05:00:01 GMT

Spent the weekend in Toulouse but didn't really do that much. Did a few things that got me thinking (sorta):

Saturday
- Went to an English Pub called The London Town for a few pints at 5pm. A bit early in the day to start drinking but the weather was a little rainy so we didn't feel like walking around. As you can imagine we were the only people in the pub when we arrived. Chris and Dass said the place was pretty similar to a traditional pub in London.

Thought: Never seen a pub like this before. Need to get out more often.

- After the pub we still had an hour to kill until the Indian restaurant we wanted to go to opened. So we went to a bar around the corner called La Maison. The pitcher of 'punch' we ordered was pretty good and so were the giant roasted peanuts w/ skins still on them, but the highlight was the curried olives.Yum.

Thought: I never really liked olives until I came to France. Need to learn the recipe for Curried Olives.

- Had Indian food for the first time in nearly a year. Really enjoyed it. Afterwards we went to the Frog & Rosbif pub that served its own microbrews made onsite. I'd had enough to drink already but apparently everyone else had room for much more. These three guys - 2 Californians + 1 French/Jew/wannabe American - sat down with us. We started talking but about 5-10 minutes into the conversation I didn't want to talk to them anymore. I realized I didn't like them very much at all. Johnny was an ok guy. It was just that he had a cynical sense of humor that wasn't funny and he seemed a bit too proud of the USA at times. Jesse was way too proud of graduating with an MBA from NYU and being a bond trader in New Jersey. He acted as if he was so knowledgeable of the world because he "lived and died by The Economist." The French guy was just weird and really drunk.

Thought: I really hope I'm not like those 3 fools. Is that what America has to offer? People who don't realize they're telling lame jokes and just keep on going? Johnny told some jokes about the English vs. French and Chris told him they weren't very funny but Johnny didn't believe him. Arrogant people who think they know so much more than they actually do? The Economist is a good magazine but there's more to the world than one magazine. I was really disappointed.

Sunday
- Woke up late and ate a really tasty kebab for lunch. The pita bread was way different from those back in New York - toasted, caramel color on the outside with a few sesame seeds. The meat was shaved directly off the huge block of meat and not preshaved in a bowl.

Thought: Good

- Saw Fahrenheit 9/11. It was the first movie I've seen in English in a theater since I've been here. By the end of the movie I forgot I was in France and was a bit confused when I heard people speaking French.

Thought: The documentary was pretty convincing though clearly slanted. Michael Moore has his heart in the right place, fighting for the underdog and such but I don't trust him completely. I thought he was a bit misleading when he suggested the Bush administration was tipped off about the 9/11 attacks well in advance. He didn't discuss the intelligence briefing he referred to but if he had it would have shown there were no specifics in the report. Also, while Moore did a good job in showing how ugly war is he ignored the good things that have come out of the war - building new schools, homes, utilities, etc. and how the majority of Iraqis are in support of democracy. But perhaps that wasn't the point of Moore's documentary.

Monday, July 05, 2004

Mon, 05 Jul 2004 15:00:21 GMT

I usually never pick up the weekly bulletin after mass (even at Trans) but I did this week and found a rather inspiring prayer. It's actually a bit generic but the fact that it was in French made it seem more meaningful somehow.

Seigneur, mon coeur est vide...
Je voudrais te parler,
je ne trouve pas les mots.
Je voudrais t'adorer,
les distractions m'assaillent.
Je ne peux que t'offrir mon désir de t'aimer
et mon impuissance à le faire.
Viens allumer dans mon coeur
le feu de ton Esprit.
Et tous pourront alors venir s'y réchauffer.

It doesn't exactly reflect how I'm feeling right now because I'm feeling pretty good. Summertime, learning, working, France - a nice combination.

I hope everyone is enjoying the July 4th weekend. The football (soccer) season is over so there's one less distraction. Watching the Euro 2004 final wasn't as fun as expected, especially since Greece won. My English friend Chris said,"It's a sad day for football" because he couldn't believe Greece was the best team in Europe.
Fact: Greece outplayed Portugal in the final.
Fact: During the regular season most of the Greek players play on lower division teams that are less competitive and play fewer games than top tier teams like Arsenal, Man. United and Chelsea.
Does that mean that the Greeks were better rested? Maybe.
Is that why the Greeks won? Hard to say, but no one really cares about European football in the U.S. so i'll stop here.

Tuesday, June 15, 2004

Tue, 15 Jun 2004 04:27:49 GMT

For all the jook sings, here's another reason not to forget your Chinese:

Older adults who grew up bilingual showed fewer signs of mental decline than the monolingual elderly, a study in Psychology and Aging found. Researchers theorize juggling 2 languages keeps the brain elastic and may help prevent some age-related mental slowing.

If you didn't grow up bilingual, sorry you're outta luck. But don't sweat it. You still have a few good years before you go crazy.
As for the rest of us, I think we should recognize the gift we've been given.

Saturday, June 12, 2004

Sat, 12 Jun 2004 12:17:58 GMT

I’ve been reading a good amount on Ronald Reagan this week and about the successes and failures of his presidency. It’s been interesting and rather confusing at times because of all the different viewpoints on history. So I’ve decided to do some research to hopefully find a little bit of truth. It’s mainly for my own understanding but I’ll share what I find on my blog if anyone is interested. Perhaps it’s not so wise to dwell in the past but the point of learning history is to be able to make good decisions in the future (e.g. the election in November).

I wasn’t smart enough to keep up with current events as a kid during Reagan’s two terms in office so I’m relying mostly on the Op-Eds and editorials published this week. To make things easier I’m focusing on two areas: Reagan’s stance towards communism and his socio-economic reforms.

Yeah I feel like I'm 50 years old or something for wanting to research history all of a sudden. But for some reason I got interested. Must be getting old.

Tuesday, May 25, 2004

Tue, 25 May 2004 04:21:02 GMT

Thursday thru Sunday was a four-day weekend so I decided to head up to Paris again. It was a fun few days- a bit more adventurous than the first trip though.

- Had dinner with Ellen, David, Kathy & Pierre twice and had a fun time as well as some great food. Visited Le Cimetière Père Lachaise and la Canal St-Martin and watch the boats pass through the canal locks.

- Was accused of shoplifting. Friday I went to the Tang Freres supermarket in the Paris Chinatown to buy stuff I can't get in Albi i.e., cream noodles and instant noodles. Saturday after checking out of my hotel I went back to the supermarket to pick up some dried mushrooms. After I paid at the checkout counter, the cashier asked to check my backpack. Inside were the noodles I bought the day before. I showed her my receipt but she didn't understand why I didn't just leave the noodles at home. After explaining that I was a visitor she still didn't believe me. Then the manager came and took me outside and asked me the same questions the cashier did. She started speaking too fast for me to understand so I had to explain the rest to her in Chinese. She finally let me go but what a hassle for a bag of noodles that was worth maybe $4!

- Went to the Sacré Coeur to pray for a bit. While waiting for the funicular I started coughing and couldn't stop. It was crowded and I think people around me were getting weirded out by the Asian guy who might have SARS. But when I got off the funicular and went into the basilica my coughing stopped. I lit a candle, said a prayer and when I walked out I didn't feel particularly better than before but much more relaxed.

- Went shopping at Haussman Printemps - a big department store. Inside were a bunch of small boutiques for each designer - Gucci, Chanel, Ferragamo, etc. At the Louis Vuitton boutique I saw a whole bunch of Chinese tourists. Inside there were a bunch of people buying bags, etc. I walk past one counter where the sales rep is helping three Chinese guys who are buying 3 LV bags each. Each bag had to be 500€+ and these guys were buying 3 each. Rich bastards. Probably buying a bag for each of their women in China. Rich bastards. Or maybe they're gonna copy them and make fake Louis Vuitton bags. Bastards.

Vin du Jour: Chateau Miramond - Cuvée Antoine. A 2001 Gaillac that was excellent. Quite smooth and flavorful. Rating: 9/10. Price: 19.50€ (Restaurant Price)

Random: "Dance Dance Revolution" helps users lose weight, the Univ. of Tenn. found, noting it promotes exercise without being marketed as a fitness tool.

Thursday, May 13, 2004

Thu, 13 May 2004 17:15:39 GMT

Not getting much work done in the lab. I've been testing a new experiment design but things have been taking much longer than expected with little to no positive results. Hopefully I can end the week with some good results so I decide whether or not to move on to something else.

I played tennis with this new stagiaire from Russia today -Dennis. It was his first time playing ever and it was my first time playing in a while so it wasn't pretty but it was fun to get on a court again. I want to buy my own racket but I also want to buy a bike. Something's gotta give.

Vin du Jour: Côtes du Rhône Réserve 2002. A pretty generic name so it might be hard to find in the States. A Côtes du Rhône that's drinkable with food. Used it to make coq au vin and it came out quite good. Rating: 6/10. Price: 2.60€.

Interesting but not necessarily useful:
The Australian government is battling the effects of an aging population and declining birth rate by paying all new mothers $2,100. Treasurer Peter Costello said couples should have 3 children: "One for your husband, one for your wife and one for your country."

The warming Earth is getting wetter, building a cloud cover that blocks greenhouse gas-boosting solar radiation, and helping plant growth that will absorb greenhouse gases and blunt environmental damage, Australian scientists said.

Last Saturday May 8th was Liberation Day in France celebrating the end of Nazi occupation during WWII. What country celebrates getting saved by someone else because they could never win a war or even a fight?

I can't believe it's been nearly a year since I graduated. Don't have much to show for it though. Congrats to the the Class of 2004. Do something interesting and don't be a bum like me.

Tuesday, May 04, 2004

Tue, 04 May 2004 17:40:24 GMT

So I think I'm scrapping my old experiment but my research has gotten a lot more interesting because I get to design my new setup. However I've already gotten stuck - I calculated the minimum height of my extraction column to be about 100m. If you know how high that is then you realize how ridiculous the design is so far. If I built it according to the current design, the column would be the tallest structure in all of Albi.

Wine of the day: Courteleau la Vigne 2002. A Gaillac red that's not too sweet not too dry and decent with food. It was the first wine I tried here so I had no previous ratings on which to base this one. Price: 2.79€ Rating: 6.5/10

I have a feeling that many of the wines I've tried are not available in the States. If that's true then my ratings will only help me decide on what to drink while I'm still here.