Friday, November 26, 2004
brrr finally the real weather is coming to Madison. Can finally wake myself up fully without resorting to the hot shower; i'd just have to open the window, take in two breaths of ice, stop myself from screaming and carry on.
Ram's sister came over for Thanksgiving and we (me, Ram and her) went trotting out in the cold onto State Street, which by now resembled a ghost town. Everything and everyone was closed and gone for the holiday except the pizza place, so we had pizza for dinner. On hindsight, I don't think I'd have missed much on the food aspect of Thanksgiving, and I don't the norte americanos celebrate this occasion just by the food alone. If they did, well, it would be a farce.
I had a de facto Thanksgiving celebration at the dorm today, where the manager, in an uncharacteristic fit of generosity cooked the standard Thanksgiving fare for us. To be frank, the fare resembled the same kind of junk that passes for edibles on the dinner menu when turkey meat is served during normal cafeteria dinners. The turkey, as usual tasted like old tired hen; perhaps the farmer slaughtered it as an afterthought when the old bird ceased laying eggs. The taste reflected it. It was, well, tasteless and tough to bite into, as though the flesh was still rebelling and contorted and in a fixated state of rigor mortis (*squak* i don't wanna die dammit, why did u kill me dammit!). The cranberry sauce, well, reminded me of jam preserve and the mashed potatoes were ho hum ho hum.
I suppose I just went for the free grub. Not really much in the spirit of Thanksgiving, whatever that spirit is. I suppose I still see myself as an explant (to flog a dev. bio term to death) to this foreign land. Never had a chance to integrate nor to assimilate for the want of time. Sure, there was and still is a huge chunk of learning and formation of a new and separate worldview, but half the time, I still thought in terms of us vs. them. In other words, I might be a neutral and bemused observer in a foreign society, but there were not many times I could be an actual participant myself. Books, ideas and theory might be good, but there is no substitute for real life interactions. Sadly there wasnt any Spemann organizer inducing me to turn into an americana infused chink. (apologies, another dev. bio term). I don't think the rest of the buggers here are like me, so I guess its just me. I'm just an antisocial chinky who still speaks in a weird brit/singaporean accent. I don't think that disgusting midwestern inflection will creep up in my speech soon. And I would be probably ashamed and alarmed if I did.
Anyway, my personal Thanksgiving will be a month away, when I'd be finally be replanted into my home society doing what I do best: terroizing hawker centers and drinking beer with my similarly antisocial muggerlots.
Ram's sister came over for Thanksgiving and we (me, Ram and her) went trotting out in the cold onto State Street, which by now resembled a ghost town. Everything and everyone was closed and gone for the holiday except the pizza place, so we had pizza for dinner. On hindsight, I don't think I'd have missed much on the food aspect of Thanksgiving, and I don't the norte americanos celebrate this occasion just by the food alone. If they did, well, it would be a farce.
I had a de facto Thanksgiving celebration at the dorm today, where the manager, in an uncharacteristic fit of generosity cooked the standard Thanksgiving fare for us. To be frank, the fare resembled the same kind of junk that passes for edibles on the dinner menu when turkey meat is served during normal cafeteria dinners. The turkey, as usual tasted like old tired hen; perhaps the farmer slaughtered it as an afterthought when the old bird ceased laying eggs. The taste reflected it. It was, well, tasteless and tough to bite into, as though the flesh was still rebelling and contorted and in a fixated state of rigor mortis (*squak* i don't wanna die dammit, why did u kill me dammit!). The cranberry sauce, well, reminded me of jam preserve and the mashed potatoes were ho hum ho hum.
I suppose I just went for the free grub. Not really much in the spirit of Thanksgiving, whatever that spirit is. I suppose I still see myself as an explant (to flog a dev. bio term to death) to this foreign land. Never had a chance to integrate nor to assimilate for the want of time. Sure, there was and still is a huge chunk of learning and formation of a new and separate worldview, but half the time, I still thought in terms of us vs. them. In other words, I might be a neutral and bemused observer in a foreign society, but there were not many times I could be an actual participant myself. Books, ideas and theory might be good, but there is no substitute for real life interactions. Sadly there wasnt any Spemann organizer inducing me to turn into an americana infused chink. (apologies, another dev. bio term). I don't think the rest of the buggers here are like me, so I guess its just me. I'm just an antisocial chinky who still speaks in a weird brit/singaporean accent. I don't think that disgusting midwestern inflection will creep up in my speech soon. And I would be probably ashamed and alarmed if I did.
Anyway, my personal Thanksgiving will be a month away, when I'd be finally be replanted into my home society doing what I do best: terroizing hawker centers and drinking beer with my similarly antisocial muggerlots.
