S'Wings, Screw, and siblings, oh my!

It's been a good past few days, minus managing to poke myself while unwrapping a syringe needle in chem lab and then having almost no product after the recrystallization. At least the needle didn't have any benzophenone on it yet =P My parents came up with my sister for her interview so she got to see campus (again), attend classes, etc. while I got my "care package" of yummy Chinese food (for some reason I've had a craving for tsa sao bau lately) and more winter clothing. Though the way the weather has been lately - highs in the 60s every day - I won't really need such thick sweaters. The poor plants must be so confused by now, though the autum leaves are still gorgeous (as seen in the Swing Space courtyard).

Thursday night was also the entertaining preliminary competition for the S'Wings eating contest. Each college got to send 4 guys and 1 girl to the overall contest at the Princeton-Yale tailgate, but Silliman is so awesome that we had 10 volunteers. How else could we pick the best representative but have our own competition? I still can't believe that Kunmi ate 46 wings of varying spiciness levels: sissy, medium, and smokin'. Lulu is another source of amazment - she went for all smokin' since they're worth the most points. I tried just one of the "sissy" wings and had to run for a drink to cool down my mouth ^^; Our team didn't win at the game this afternoon, but I get the feeling that this just might become another Yale tradition. I would actually be somewhat curious to have an inter-school competition at the game, whether it's Princeton or Harvard...

Friday I came back from orgo lab and had a crash course in sari-wrapping from helping Atisha with hers - I wish I could have gotten photos since she looked so pretty, but my hands were full of turquoise chiffon and safety pins =P I'm also kind of sad that I didn't get to go to Roshni, the South Asian Society cultural show, but instead I had to help set up for "Screwed by the Bell," the 90's-themed Silliman Screw. Just goes to show that our college has no lack of spirit despite not having our own dining hall ;-) There were a few nervous moments...the DJ not arriving until 9:45 when it was supposed to start at 10:00, trying to figure out how to turn off the lights in the Stiles dining hall, only 7 people out on the dance floor (including me) until about 11:00...but overall I think it went very well. It was definitely awesome to see so many upperclassmen come with and without dates, just everyone dancing together. Perhaps deep down inside, we all have a soft spot for the likes of 'N Sync, Ricky Martin, and the Macarena.

Today has been extremely hectic but quite worthwhile. My schedule from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm looked something like dance practice -> brunch with Zimo and Liubin to discuss funding for Phoenix -> running the folk dance workshop for the Chinese Adopted Siblings Program for Youth (CASPY) -> performing my ribbon/metal fan solo at the CASPY talent show -> back to my room to take off makeup, shower, and change -> run down to the medical school to see the new baby capuchin in the lab -> dinner with Yale Scientific Magazine masthead to discuss the e-print and other ideas we have for community outreach. Didn't get to go to the awesome Silliman tailgate or the Princeton-Yale game, but at least I didn't see the football team lose a 14-point lead (-_-) and there's always the Harvard-Yale game tailgate next year.

CASPY was adorable as always...every time I see these kids, I can't help but think of how fortunate I am to be born in the United States to parents who love and care for me, though some of these children's parents may not have had any choice but to abandon them to the orphanages. Still, they're also some of the more lucky ones with such caring adoptive families. These foster parents are incredible; they care so much about the kids' retaining their cultural heritage that they send them to Chinese school, take them to wushu/Chinese dance/kung fu lessons, and make the trip here twice a year to participate in this program. Some of them even learn Chinese along with their kids!

Tonight was quiet: doing a bit of work and watching The Little Mermaid with my roommate...now I know that whenever I need to relax, all I have to do is watch a classic Disney movie =) But for now I think I'd better go to sleep and prepare for catching up on work tomorrow...one more week until Harvard-Yale game and Thanksgiving!