odds and ends

07-07-10

Evening

Alas, I’ve waited too long to write about this past weekend and now I’ve forgotten all the charming details I wanted to remember. So in no particular chronology as I remember them:

• I fell off my bike; my glasses were falling off and I tried to catch them. Due to my advanced dodging skills, I escaped with pretty much just a few bruises.
• However, Shirley has thoroughly beaten me in the falling and crashing department. Let’s count the times:

1. Riding on Drew’s bike, and getting her skirt caught in the wheel
2. Trying to ride Katherine’s bike and crashing and severing both brakes
3. Yesterday night she wasn’t paying too much attention and turned to talk to Rob and Sophia and rode directly into a wall. The resulting crash was terrific, but she (and her bike!) wasn’t hurt.
4. The day before, she nearly rode off a flight of stairs on PKU campus. Katherine and I were following her out of campus, and I probably would have cycled straight down the stairs if she’d kept going.

• Zang and I took Katherine to the hospital on Monday because of her eczema; consensus: the Chinese medical system is awful. Zang waited in line from 6-7AM just to get Katherine an appointment; the hospital, at 8 AM, was packed solid. We were essentially moshing in the entrance to the hospital, all hallways, and the Dermatology and Gynecology waiting areas; somehow we managed to avoid contracting scabies or gonorrhea. Literally moshing! Packed as solidly as a clown car or the subway at rush hour— at one point I was cornered and pressed against a woman with her armpits in my face. I wasn’t too pleased with the treatment room either—there was no privacy, as people randomly would walk in and out of the room where they were examining her.
• The AC in our lab was broken. But wait, Allison, I thought the lab had no AC? Turns out that there is one after all; it keeps the lab at ‘uncomfortably warm’ as opposed to ‘death valley,’ which it has been for a few days now. I sweat buckets.
• I’ve found the perfect gift for one of my brothers. I think. No more spoilers here.
• We went to Houhai on Saturday- a bunch of restaurants and pubs alongside lakes. It was pretty, but overpriced and not as fun as Sanlitun.
• Tuxedo Mask sat next to me at lunch the other day and said, “I have something for you.” Oh boy. “Something” turned out to be a bag with some of the most gorgeous fabrics I’ve ever seen, apparently paintings. He suggested I go back to his dorm to learn to hang them/see what they looked like. I thanked him, said they were too beautiful to accept, closed the bag and gave it back to him. I think he got it. Today, he sat next to me and didn’t mention the paintings. I made a point to talk about lots of football (which he dislikes). Goal deflected