there is more

NEW BLOG

2008-08-05T16:52:00.000-07:00

http://amandatong.wordpress.com

I have converted.

my email dependency is validated

2008-07-31T00:08:00.000-07:00

I don't consider myself to have an addictive personality. I also don't find dependencies on many things, but when it comes to email it is a different story. I know that personally, I check my email at every chance I have at school. I was contemplating getting either a BlackBerry or iPhone to help feed this addiction that I have. I am trying to hold off for as long as I possibly can. I mean, honestly who really needs to reach me that urgently. Who do I really think I am?

AOL conducted a survey to study email addiction. I feel slightly validated, especially after learning that Houston is the 2nd most addicted email city (second to NY, NY).

A few fun facts:
1. 73% of Houston email users say they’ve checked their email from the bathroom. Other popular email spots include in bed in their pajamas (78%), in a restaurant (75%), while driving (55%), while on a date (30%), at happy hour (50%) and from church (30%).
2. 15% have asked someone out on a date over email and 7% have broken up over email. Meanwhile, 13% have used email to share bad news and 6% have quit their job by email. Peter if you read this, don't you dare.
3. (55%) – the highest in all markets – of mobile email users keep their mobile device or BlackBerry on the nightstand so they can hear the chime of a new email arriving in their inbox.

This is exactly what is keeping me from getting a PDA. We'll see how long I can hold out

pet-peeves

2008-02-03T16:54:00.001-08:00

One of my biggest pet-peeves is when people are on the phone while working out. I will admit that I have picked up my phone once or twice while on the elliptical. I pick up make sure it's not important and then tell them I'll call them back. However, when someone actually picks up the phone to call their friend that's just unacceptable. If you can sustain a 10-minute conversation, you are obviously not working out hard enough. I also do not care what you why you're mad at your mother. I am one of the few that do not work out with an ipod, so I enjoy the quiet.

And also, please do not leave me voice messages. I especially hate the ones that say, "Hi it's me, give me a call back." Obviously if I see a missed call from you, I'm assuming you want me to call you back. Secondly, "It's me" helps me out zero.

I LOVE ROCK BAND! I'm a newly converted addict.. I played for my first time yesterday for 3 hours.. I really want to play it right now..

wiernerschnitzel with milk

2008-01-14T23:11:00.000-08:00

It's been 2 weeks since the new year, and only now am I coming up with my New Year's resolution. At the end of the year I always find myself with stacks and stacks of loose papers. I keep all the handouts in a stack but am too lazy to go the extra step and hole punch them. In addition to hole punching my handouts, I am trying to get over my aversion to 3-ring-binders (I guess the resolutions go hand-in-hand).

I tease my mom about believing almost everything that has stumbled upon her path. She is particularly trusting of "facts/ideas" that have been published. To her, if it's published in a magazine/newspaper is pretty credible, but if it is written in a book, then it definitely must have some truth to it.

On the last night I was in Houston, she shared with us that she heard of people remembering the past lives. There are even professionals who earn a living telling people about their past lives. Of course when I interjected my skepticism, she responded by telling me there was a great book out about this. I mean, she also tried to use the fact that it was written by a doctor to her advantage.

While I was home, I found a tape (yes, like the super old tapes that go in Walkmans) in my room entitled "Self-Hypnosis." It had a disclaimer warning the listener from driving while listening to the tape. I turned on the tape just long enough to hear a chilling monotone voice. Her voice gave you the uncomfortable feeling nails on a chalkboard echoing in a large empty room. I'm channeling images of The Ring. I'm getting chills just thinking about it.

Books I Actually Read Over Break: The Namesake and The Year of Living Biblically. I recommend both books. The Year of Living Biblically was absolutely hilarious - he chronicles his attempt to follow the Bible literally for an entire year. It's done in a way that it's also very tasteful and thoughtful in his process. His writing is so entertaining that I'm going to read his book The Know it All, in which he reads the entire Encyclopedia Britannica. May sound super boring, but he won me over when he described himself as Jewish "in the same way the Olive Garden is an Italian restaurant."

I also started Eat, Love, Pray. This list much shorter than my original ambitions, but I got a rush each time I completed a book (a huge sense of accomplishment for me). Next on my list is Final Exam: A Surgeon's Reflections on Mortality, How Doctors Think, and NYT The Essential Guide to Knowledge.

jamie lynn spears

2007-12-22T11:41:00.000-08:00

My sister and I decided to watch an episode of Zoey 101 to see the now teen-pregnancy poster child, Jamie Lynn Spears, in action. We watched the episode "Zoey's Ballooon."

In this episode, Zoey and her friends write a secret and tie it to a balloon for psychology class. Zoey's balloon gets stuck in a tree and someone finds it and blackmails her. Her blackmailer torments her and gets her to perform embarrassing tasks, but in the end Zoey reveals her secret. She revealed that she is actually the naked baby on the bottle of sunscreen. However, as we all know from her pregnancy announcement, that was not the only secret she had. Dylan has very appropriately renamed the episode to "Zoey's Ballooning Stomach."

I'm sure the viewer ship for this show has skyrocketed since she was on the cover of OK Magazine. I mean, why else would I check her out? While I respect her decision to keep the baby, but it's too bad she did not learn from Britney's actions..

show em your guns

2007-12-19T20:54:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that I've lived in Texas for 20 years and until today had never shot a gun. I thought it was part of the inauguration process along riding a horse for transportation or lassoing your first calf.

I am terrified of guns and the thought of having so much power in your hands frightens me. Although I would not personally purchase a gun, I think it is important to me to learn how to shoot a gun. I think the only way we can attempt to overcome a fear is to understand the thing that we are scared of.

Pat was nice enough to take me to the shooting
range. He bought a Glock last week and so I figured, why not go try it out? It was ladies night - no admission fee for ladies when you buy a box of ammo! Haha

When we first walked into the booths, even with ear protection, I flinched with every gun discharge. I was actually very surprised to see most of the people in the booths were in business suits (we went around 4:45, so about the time you would get off work I guess).

Pat suggested the The first few times I shot the gun, my protective glasses fogged up because I was nervous, haha. I had to stop midway through the round to wipe the lenses off. You could feel the gun get warm after a few uses. They had lots of different paper patterns, but I thought the generic "Bad Guy" would be fun. Seeing that this was my first time, I was happy just hitting the target at all.

I still would not purchase a gun, but who knows, maybe I'll go to ladies night next week.

2007-12-17T23:35:00.000-08:00

It's December 17, and it's not feeling like Christmas yet. Maybe it's because I have spent the past week in a library. Now that I'm home, I've been too busy catching up on sleep to really out outside and enjoy the mad shopping dash and outrageous Christmas decorations. Even after watching Love Actually about 3 times and hearing Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas" again for the __th time (I still sing along) I'm just not feeling it. The fact that Houston is currently 70 degrees.

In any case, I am very thankful to be home. A time to catch up with family, friends, sleep and reading. I want to read:

Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell
The Art of War by Sun Tzu
Eat Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan

Kathy and I were talking about starting a book club.

I rediscovered Baz Luhrmann's song "Everybody's Free (to Wear Sunscreen)." It's about that time of year where everybody goes soft and introspective. It starts out pretty slowly .. give it a chance. :D

What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Who Invited the Dog?

2007-12-13T07:49:00.001-08:00

You could argue that we value our animal companions as much as our human counterparts. I have known some people to dress their dogs in frilly outfits, feed them only bottled water, throw them birthday parties, etc. But how much is too much?

While they are cute, why would you possibly bring it to class? A barking dog would be worse than a crying baby in a movie theater.

2007-12-10T22:15:00.000-08:00

"Hate is too great a burden to bear. It injures the hater more than it injures the hated."

-Coretta Scott King

ode to helvetica

2007-12-10T11:08:00.000-08:00

There was an exhibit in NY's Museum of Modern Art about the font Helvetica celebrating its 50th birthday. It's used by the NY subway system (MTA), American Airlines, Energizer Batteries, and Apple (just look at your iPod). Since following up on it, it piqued my interest about Helvetica and it's supposed rivalry with Arial.

" It's been a very long time since I was actually a fan of Helvetica, but the fact is Helvetica became popular on its own merits. Arial owes its very existence to that success but is little more than a parasite—and it looks like it's the kind that eventually destroys the host. I can almost hear young designers now saying, 'Helvetica? That's that font that looks kinda like Arial, right?'"

read on here

How do you exactly spot the difference? The guide. The rivalry of these two fonts is manifested in this game. My roommate Kathy and I have been talking about even watching the movie.