Finishing from scratch.

Somewhere between not posting, attempting to keep up with grad school and work, and completely forgetting about the existence of this blog, I've gained 21 followers - how awesome.

Two months, two never-before taken whirlwind trips - to Calcutta and NYC - and way too many updates to summarize in one post. In an effort to blog smarter and not harder, here's a very brief recap of choice memories from 2010 thus far:

1) Favorite street side snapshots from abroad:

Missionaries in a foreign field

Trying to change the city's infrastructure is like Chasing Pirates.

2) Favorite places/eats in NYC:
- Westville, between Bleecker and West 4th. Try the veggie burger with bacon on a Portuguese muffin... the best contradiction you'll ever consume.

Red Velvet Cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery

- Mamoun's falafel in Greenwich Village
- And, of course, no NYC trip would be complete without a visit to... the NY Public Library!

3) Noteworthy developments & accomplishments:

Finished with PhD apps... in pre-interview, post-interview, & post-acceptance stages for various schools now.

- Checked a couple things off the iconic "should've done this in college (or just earlier in life)" list: ice skating for the first time, brunch at Rise & Dine with an amazing group of Emory students (see above photo), and dinner at Mary Mac's in Atlanta (the closest I'll get to real Southern food until I visit home again in a few months)

- Last, but not least...

The adorable bridesmaid dress for Nick & Emily's wedding!

So what will your legacy be?*

On the day before the presidential inauguration, I saved a quote from an article by Tony Rhodin, an editor for a local Pennsylvania newspaper (The Express-Times Daily). What he wrote was surprisingly simple, but true:

Obama's early legacy will be based on his actions, not his rhetoric. He has a huge majority in Congress and has huge public support. He is positioned to do great good. The real question is if he can.**

I think it was Gandhi who said that action expresses priorities. If the Senate is ultimately successful in passing the health care reform bill this week, then we'll not only have concrete proof of our government's political priorities, but also a poignant preview of the presidential legacy that Obama is poised to leave behind.***

*Lyrics from Wakey Wakey's "War Sweater".
**Rhodin, Tony. "Barack Obama's legacy will be one of action -- or lack thereof." LeHigh Valley Express-Times. 19 Jan 2009.
***Read more about the current developments & some of the basic reforms included in the health care bill here, on the NY Times: "Health Bill Passes Key Test in the Senate with 60 Votes".

An island made of mud (and med students).

Better late than never: An Update from Fall Break

Memphis (a.k.a., my escape from the monotony that ATL has morphed into as of late) - was exactly what I needed: a chance to get away, relax, and recuperate with good food and an even better friend. Not to mention, I was unusually productive during the four days that I spent there.

UT Memphis Medical School

Aside from spending quality time on Mud Island with my friend on the week of her birthday, a few other highlights from my fall beak trip include visiting the UT Health Sciences Center and Medical School (and sitting in on a 2-hour anatomy GI lecture!), meeting some genuinely engaging UT med students, having an amazing meal at Papa Pia's downtown, and dining out at Pei Wei for my first time.

The "Cinderella" carriage

True, I didn't partake in the usual "tourist" activities, aside from my drive-by tour of St. Jude Children's Hospital, my brief encounters with the Memphis trolley line, and a couple glimpses of the Cinderella-like horse-drawn carriages downtown. But I'd trade the comfortable company of an old college friend for all that Memphis jazz any day.

(Techincally, Memphis is the birthplace of rock 'n roll and the "home of the Blues", but I was just using a euphemism to prove a slightly belabored point.)

Oh, and something cool to amaze your friends with your current political and pop knowledge: If you haven't heard, Kalpen Modi (a.k.a. the "Kal Penn" of Harold & Kumar, The Namesake, and the TV Show "House") recently started working at the White House as an associate director in the Office of Public Engagement, formerly known as the Office of Liaison.
And Penn Masala even performed at President Obama's Diwali celebration this week! If you've never heard them sing live or listened to a recording of them, prepare to be blown away by their unique synthesis of Eastern and Western musical elements.

What's mine is yours, and what's past is present.

Yosemite National Park (the first title image for A Lifetime in a Fist*)

I won't have time to update for the next week or two. But, since a couple new friends have started reading my blog recently (a fact that I absolutely adore!), I thought that I'd share links to my six all-time favorite entries - primarily for their benefit, but also out of personal nostalgia.

So, enjoy reading and click away (I tend to overload my entries with hyperlinks to interesting sites/sources). Hopefully you'll be well-entertained, or, at the very least, well-informed!

Atlanta Skyline (the previous title image for my once colorless blog)

Descriptions & Links to (Re)commendable Favorites [in chronological order]:

1. Humble beginnings (food, photos, and musical talent)

2. Pure debauchery in the form of personal commentary

3. 5 things that make me happy (more music, food, and artistry)

4. One entry, among many, from my travels in Paris

5. Money, savings, and more (tips, a movie rec, and a book rec)

6. Latest but not last or least (music rec, food fav, and health care)


*Original Yosemite National Park photo taken by my dad; click the photo to view it in its optimal quality.

Econ 101, with a musical twist.

We might be in an economic recession of monumental precendent (check out Paul Krugman's NY Times article - it's been on the "Most Popular" list for the past 5 days), but some high school kids are still willing to pay exorbitant amounts of money for a concert ticket to hear their favorite electronica/pop band.

It's all about supply and demand.

Case in point: Tickets for the Owl City concert in Atlanta were sold out about a week ago. In other words, supply was limited. And, as common sense (and Graph 1 below) might tell you, when the quantity of a product goes down, the price goes up because people are willing to pay more to get what they want. In fact, it wasn't long before tickets started selling on $30 or $40 on Craigslist - even though the original cost of the ticket was only $12. In financial terms, that's called a price mark-up (though, in this case, it didn't really cost the seller anything to "produce" the ticket, so a profit was made without expending any services).

Graph 1: Relationship Between Supply & Price

By 8 pm on the night of the concert, demand had shifted to an all-time high (see Graph 2 below). Desperate, antsy teenagers were huddled in small groups outside the entrance to the venue, willing to pay upwards of $50 for a ticket. One kid actually offered my friend $70 (that's about 580% more than the original price of the ticket!), though my friend was nice enough to sell it to him for $40 - still a solid profit of $28. I'll omit the pseudo-verboten details, but a few of us (myself included) ended up selling our own tickets at a similarly substantial profit and we managed to make it into the concert.

Graph 2: An Upward Shift in Demand

Owl City's overall performance - and, in particular, Adam Young's unfiltered/unedited vocal performance - wasn't nearly as amazing as the ritzy recordings. By purely musical standards and substance, then, my first live U.S. concert wasn't quite what I'd hoped it would be. But the night itself was made memorable by virtue of my friends - the financially-loaded, ticket-seeking "friends" I temporarily made on the corner, as well as the more permanent, financially-savvy friends that I went to the concert with in the first place.

I'm beginning to see how my (currently limited) knowledge of financial accounting and health economics might actually be beneficial when combined with some street smarts; and with friends like these, well, who needs enemies?*

*"The Bird and The Worm", Owl City.

A club worth joining.

I don't know who came up with this idea, but the fact that a site like this can be informative and entertaining is pure genius. Check it out here*.

My favorite is fancy parking method no. 4. I'm willing to bet that most drivers secretly (and, sometimes, openly) relish the opportunity to use this parking method, if and when the stars (/cars) properly align themselves.
Definitely much more fun than obsessing over "generally accepted accounting principles" in financial and managerial accounting class or understanding PPCs (product possibility curves) in health care economics any day. Though, don't try any of the fancy parking methods at too high of a speed, especially if you don't have health insurance.

Some additional entertaining (/entertainment) news - I'm going to hear Owl City perform live in concert tomorrow night!


Granted, Owl City consists of just one guy (Adam Young) on vocals and, well, everything else (though he occasionally features a female singer, Breanne Duren, on a few of his tracks); and most of the songs have super-artsy lyrics that deal with seemingly nonsensical topics that are generally unheard of in most mainstream music (like dental care) and/or rather conventional topics that are described in unconventional ways ("Cheer up and dry your damp eyes and tell me when it rains/ And I'll blend up that rainbow above you and shoot it through your veins").

But, surprisingly, that's part of what makes his songs so fresh and oddly compelling to listen to.

The real inventiveness in Owl City's music, though, is in its instrumental arrangements - the way that they have the ace ability to envelope you in an amazingly idyllic atmosphere wherever you are and transport you away from the commonplace. And, especially when you've been cooped up in your car during a painfully long commute or you've self-sequestered yourself in the stuffy stacks to study for hours upon hours, isn't that exactly what you want in the music you listen to? Feel free to let your own ears make the choice.

*Props go to the guy who commented on the most recent post in Ramit Sethi's I Will Teach You How To Be Rich blog.

A flu, by any other name, would make us retreat.

H1N1, a.k.a. the "swine" flu, is really nothing to freak out about. Just wash your hands, quit picking your nose so much, and keep your distance from others, especially if they're sick. And if you do have a fever or start feeling ill, skip the crazy Labor Day raves this weekend and stay at home instead, because the surest way to recovery is resting more and drinking lots of fluids. Seriously, what's new?



(And if, for some reason, you don't agree with my advice, hopefully you'll at least believe the CDC's credible health information.)

Whether you're staying in because a) you're already sick, b) you don't want to get sick, or c) you're somewhat of a social recluse and you actually read my blog, here are a few of my most-recent favorite things and a couple reading recs that might keep you occupied for the time being:

Boyce Avenue
I've been listening to their covers (and original songs) for almost two years, but I'm sure there are still tons of people who have never heard of them before. They're pretty mainstream as far as music goes, but that doesn't mean they're any less talented or entertaining than most popular artists on the charts right now.

• My favorite cover/acoustic medley of theirs (doesn't have the most views on YouTube, but I like it best, nonetheless)
  
• An original of theirs, Change Your Mind.
  

Chipotle Hummus with Sundried Tomatoes
Unless you're allergic to chickpeas (sorry, friend), there's something terribly wrong with your taste buds if you don't appreciate the amazing flavors in this recipe.

2 lengthy but insightful and well-written articles on patient care in the American health care system:


One lazy autumn afternoon, when you're semi-stealthily siphoning free Wi-Fi from a local coffee establishment and you happen to have some free time on your hands, start reading one of these articles. You'll not only be able to maintain a semblance of intellect & academic superiority, but you might also learn something that's new, interesting, and useful - a critical reader's trifecta.

• "How American Health Care Killed My Father" (David Goldhill, The Atlantic, Sept. 2009)

• "The Checklist" (Atul Gawande, The New Yorker, December 2007 - not as recent, but still worth the read)

... or, if you really don't have the time, and you still want to feign being knowledgeable about current health care issues in casual conversation, just read David Brooks' recent article in the NY Times, "Let's Get Fundamental".

In other, more personal news, I officially received my college degree about a week ago. I walked across campus in the sticky summer heat and picked up my diploma from the cramped registrar's office. Sadly, it was anti-climactic - no enthusiastic applause, cheering crowds, or pomp and circumstance of any sort, for that matter. At least my name was spelled correctly, though, and the lady behind the desk gave me a 3-second smile and a lukewarm "Congratulations on graduating." Not like it cost me $120,000 and 4 years of my life or anything...

Post-script/Update: If reading pages upon pages isn't your cup of tea, here's a documentary that Bill Moyers recently featured, based on Maggie Mahar's book, Money Driven Medicine: The Real Reason Health Care Costs So Much. Granted, one of my grad school professors showed a clip from it in class so it's not nearly as edge-y or controversial as Michael Moore's Sick-O, but it still does the trick and manages to hold a viewer's attention.

I fall asleep in hospital parking lots.*

*Lyrics from "Hello Seattle" by Owl City (my new favorite music addiction).

For the next two weeks or so, I'll be floating on the virtual corner of health care reform and health care debates, and physically residing near the corner of the public health school and the health sciences library.

Also, I'll most likely be using the word "health" at least once in every written sentence.

A snapshot of my daily "commute" (i.e., my walk across the street).

Lastly, just for clarification's sake, I don't actually fall asleep in hospital parking lots - but a lot of med students and residents do fall asleep on the exceedingly comfortable leather couches in the health sciences library.

Looking forward to health-related raucousness, pedestrian travel, and, if I'm lucky, well-deserved naps on the library couches in the near future. Read me on the flip side.

Knew you, new me.

Today is the first day of a new month, and the last day of an old era - I'll soon be moving out of my last-ever dorm room and settling into my first-ever apartment. My past four years in college have been, in many ways, much more than I could have ever expected, despite the occasional youthful indiscretions and the sometimes unpredictable ups-and-downs. All things considered (not to be confused with the amazing news coverage by NPR every weekday), I made it through without any major injuries, barring one badly-broken toe and a few memorable bruises during a recent game of frisbee in Lullwater Park. To keep the post concise, I'll leave out all the rest of the sappy and/or overly emotional events.

A snapshot of my brand new digs

It's about time I shed the safety nets that undergrad has so graciously provided (for a mere $46,000/year, give or take a few thousand dollars...) and learn to become my own guide to gaining grad school success. Goodbye to dorms (err, "residence halls"), outrageously expensive on-campus parking, and my undergraduate past; and hello to a freshly-furnished apartment, free resident parking, and my grand graduate future. Been there, done that, know the old version of who I used to be - and now it's time for the new me.

10 years or so.*

Tonight, I was scheduled for a desk shift from 10 pm to midnight - basically, sitting in an office and answering the phone, if it happens to ring. So far, not much has happened, outside of one or two pizza deliveries and a lot of small talk about logging onto the internet, delayed flights, and dinner plans. But, every now and then, my soundscape has consisted of snippets of discussions that seem like windows to my future, if I were to become a clinician, that is. It's odd how your professional aspirations can catch up to you in the places you least expect.







I did a little research, and, apparently, the group of physicians in the lobby have come here from around the country for an event on "Therapeutic Targets in CMD". For the less clinically-inclined, CMD stands for Congenital Muscular Dystrophies - they're basically a group of muscle disorders that strike early in development and cause generalized muscle weakness, among other symptoms. You might have heard the phrase on television before, since Jerry Lewis is the national spokesperson for the organization that raises money for CMD. The underlying cause of disease is a genetic mutation, so rest assured that you probably don't have a CMD if you weren't diagnosed with it at birth.

Emory Commencement photo from Emory Alumni Association albums

Summer's a little more than half-over, and most of my friends, all recent college graduates, are poised to start their first year of medical school or graduate school in different cities around the United States. A few others are about to dive into the intimidating field of entry-level business internships or philanthropic teaching positions like Teach for America, both of which pay modest salaries but offer the possibility of life-changing professional experiences.

I wonder where everyone will end up in a decade or so - it would be ironic if I ended up at a conference like Cure CMD, especially since pediatric rehabilitation is the specialty that I've always been interested in pursuing.

*10 years is an alternative rock band from Tennessee that released a digital bundle of their music about a month ago. I haven't had a chance to hear all their songs, but a few of them, especially their singles "Beautiful" and "Wasteland", are pretty good.

Fin.

La dernière semaine/The last week:

I meant to post updates on my last week awhile ago, but I got miserably sick as soon as I returned to the States - hence, here's the entry about my 5th and last week in Paris, finally, two weeks after the fact.

Some major highlights from the week include sitting on the sidewalk of Rue des Rosiers and eating "The World's Best Falafel" from Chez Hanna on Tuesday afternoon and celebrating the last day of neuroscience classes by having my last Parisian gelato (stratiacella et mangue) and then shopping for French books, presents, and clothes to take advantage of all the discounts during the Soldes (insane sales and bargains that all the stores throughout France have during a select period of the summer) on Thursday. Our entire group had a pretty fancy farewell dinner that same night, at Café Viaduc, where I indulged in my first burger made of foie gras and my last mousse au chocolat. Afterwards, a few of us spent one last night outside of our dorms at Cité Universitaire, laying in the grass and staring at the night sky, before getting busted by campus security for having alcohol on campus and lamenting the death of Michael Jackson - some things never change, whether you're in the Atlanta, Georgia or in Paris, France.

I spent Friday resting up for Saturday (Solidays concerts!) and finishing off the last things on my to-do list for Paris: finally finding a French version of the Unbearable Lightness of Being (La légèreté insupportable de l'être), spending hours reading the book and sipping the best and most authentic chocolat chaud in Paris (a sinfully rich, dark chocolate concoction with heaps of fresh whipped cream, known as "L'Africain") with my brunch omelette at the famed Café Angelina, and then relaxing at the Jardin du Luxembourg before having one last crêpe dinner at Rouge Pomme. If you click on the link for "L'Africain", you'll find a post about Café Angelina's hot chocolate, as well as the recipe for the drink, compliments of an Australian blogger who can actually be followed on Technorati!

Solidays concert program design

I won't go into too much detail about my experiences at Solidays on Saturday, but I think it'll suffice to say that I've never been surrounded by so much energy - the crowds (think Bonnaroo, but with even less regulations and thousands of Europeans), the musicians (5 stages of concerts at this immense camping festival venue in Parc Boulogne of Paris), and the cause (Solidarité for SIDA/AIDS awareness) definitely created an amazingly memorable atmosphere and a fantastic finish to my time in Paris. I didn't last long enough to hear Girl Talk perform at 4:30 a.m. the next morning, but Stephanie Mckay and La Phaze are just two of probably a dozen or so incredibly entertaining talents that I heard during my eventful afternoon/evening at Solidays.

A few of us in front of Fontaine St. Michel (at the beginning of the trip)

After reconvening with a few friends at the St. Michel fountain (ending the trip like it began) and being entertained by street performers/break dancers there, I had my last cup of Parisian chocolat chaud at a small café, right after midnight, and took the last métro back to Cité.

I don't have any brilliant phrases to succinctly sum up the time I spent in Paris, and I can't even begin to find the words to name all the things I loved and will miss now that I've left. What I do know is that I had an absolutely amazing five weeks in France and I'll definitely be going back again some time in the near future, maybe for a public health internship next summer or a graduate semester abroad. I miss Chipotle burritos, barbecue ribs with hot sauce (e.g., Fat Matt's), and Bruster's ice cream sundaes, among all the other random foods and food-related memories with friends that make America so awesome, and it'll be good to get back to those things once I recover from being sick. Happy 4th of July, everyone!

Get busy.

I've been doing so much lately that I haven't had a chance to post a quality blog update. So, here's something - it's not optimal, but, it's better than nothing.

My 21st birthday (June 20):

Le Bon Marché/La Grande Epicerie de Paris
(how I spent my birthday morning)

Spent the first part of my day at the amazing Bon Marché and La Grande Epicerie (the French equivalent of Whole Foods, with a huge selection of gourmet French pastries, desserts, and chocolates in addition), and met up with two people from my study abroad group for a low-key lunch at a nearby café. Afterwards, I explored yet another breath-taking French church (Chappelle Notre Dame de la Médaille Miraculeuse) and visited the Rodin Museum nearby (for free, of course, because students between the ages of 18-25 get free admission to museums in France). Between escaping the intermittent rain showers and making friends with two American college students to take my photo in front of "Le Penseur" (The Thinker) because my camera died on my way to Musée Rodin, it was a pretty decent day...

A picture of me in front of Auguste Rodin's "The Thinker"
(I'm wearing the birthday dress I bought in Paris!)

... but the evening and night were the crème-de-la-crème of my 21st. After stopping by Palais de Tokyo (again, to see the exhibits for free), I met up with a few others at Centre Pompidou to go to Le Soufflé for dinner. For dessert, I had the most amazing, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate soufflé with hot melted chocolate sauce on top. So much better than a regular old birthday cake with sticky frosting.

Earlier during the day, I read in a Parisian newspaper (the Direct Matin, given out daily and free-of-charge to everyone at and outside of métro stations) that there was a free, live concert to reign in the Fête de la Musique; so, without really knowing the exact location of the park where the performance was, my roommate and I headed out, hoping to stumble upon the concert by pure luck... The concert was supposed to start at 10 pm, and we didn't make it out till after 11, so we were pretty sure we would miss the best performances (e.g., Sean Paul and Kelly Rowland). But, fate must have been on our side, because after walking on mostly empty streets rather aimlessly for over almost half an hour, crossing a dimly lit bridge through a park, and transversing a rocky gravel path, we heard the first beats of "Get Busy" in the near distance. I won't go into the minute details, but minus hilariously heart-attack-inducing run-ins with two different French police officers, the concert and the sketchy walk back were the most fun I've ever had on a birthday.

La Fête de la Musique (June 21):

Short and sweet, I rather serendipitously stumbled upon some really great musical talents and amateur performers throughout the course of the day (like Versión Originale and beat-boxer/rappers outside of Eglise Saint-Eustache), and then hit up the massively popular venue of Denfert-Rochereau to hear more popular French musicians like Alexis HK. It was really great discovering new local artists and just being part of such a huge, collective music event. Then had a late dinner with my roommate at Rouge Pomme, a restaurant near my dorm at Cité Universitaire, where the food was as delectable as the adorable French waiter.

The flyer for the Denfert-Rochereau concert

My cadeau/present to all you faithful readers: the link to the new Girl Talk album, for a pay-what-you-can price! Thought I'd share, since I'm a maven and not a connector (read Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point and you'll understand)... and since I'm going to hear them perform tomorrow night in Paris, as part of the Solidays concert series (for AIDS awareness) this weekend!

Updates on week 5/the last week in Paris are soon to come... expect copious amounts of description on purchases for the annual Soldes d'été (when stores all over Paris offer amazing sales for shoppers) and summaries of the must-see/must-do things that I finished off of my Parisian wishlist.

Et si s'aimer ce n'était pas regarder dans la même direction...

... mais fermer les yeux et voir la même chose.
- Quote in one of the ads posted in a métro car on the RER B

Belated updates from Week 4:

Monet's Gardens in Giverny

Sorry, I've been a bit M.I.A. lately. Here are a few brief and noteworthy recaps from this past week (a.k.a., the week of my 21st birthday & the amazing Fête de la Musique!)

On Monday, after classes, I saw my first movie (Sunshine Cleaning, with Amy Adams) in a French movie theater. Even though the film was in English, it was definitely a different experience because the French viewers in the audience didn't always react as expected to moments of irony or particularly comedic scenes. Wouldn't really recommend the film to anyone, though...

On Tuesday, I was thanked for the creation and subsequent success of Slumdog Millionaire. While I was getting dinner at the cafeteria on Cité Universitaire's campus, a jovial, middle-aged French man came up to me in the dessert aisle and struck up a hilarious conversation, in French, of course. After announcing his disappointment because "il n'y a pas de mousse chocolat!"/there wasn't any chocolate mousse left, he asked me if I was Indian. I responded a bit hesitantly, because I didn't understand why he was talking to me - and then, in rapid-fire French (i.e., what sounded like gibberish to me) he exclaimed something about "Slumdog". At first, I started blankly at him, with a confused look on my face, and then he asked, more slowly, "Tu n'as pas vu cette film?" (Haven't you seen that movie?). I realized he was talking about Slumdog Millionaire, so I said, "Oh, oui, Slumdog Millionaire." And, then he said that it was a fantastic and moving film, and he thanked me for the movie. Great end to an otherwise uneventful day.

What I do when I'm bored in class (which happens often... click on it for the best view)

On Wednesday, I bought a cute new dress from a boutique near our classroom location. The place, called MiM, is apparently a UK chain that recently expanded to international markets in Belgium, France, and Ireland.

Thursday afternoon was spent muddling around Palais de la Découverte with the rest of my study abroad group and then buying some cool artsy postcards (a new collection that was just released in Paris) from a newstand near a métro stop on the way back to my dorm. I'll try and post pictures soon, if I can get my camera to come alive again...

A bee in a flower in Monet's garden in Giverny

On Friday, our group took a trip to Giverny, where Monet's gardens (the classic water gardens with lily ponds and amazing floral scenery) and home are located. The entire area was incredibly picturesque, so much so that every photo I took looked as though I used Photoshop to enhance the graphics. We had a huge lunch at a really nice restaurant (Les Nympheas/The Lilies), and then I had my first pain aux raisins (instead of my usual pain au chocolat) from the boulangerie near my dorm. The best part, though, was ending up at the Seine after dinner that same night and celebrating my 21st birthday precisely at midnight. We met a few French business students who had studied abroad in the U.S. - all the people we met were genuinely interesting, witty, and charming, and we had a great time with them - and, exactly when the clock struck minuit, they all sang "Happy Birthday" to me in French and English. Everyone decided I should try something new and fun on my birthday, so one of the guys in the French group playfully pulled me over to the part of the river bank where musicians were performing and Parisians were dancing. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), he was gay and a really good dancer. Those two facts may or may not be inter-connected...

Dancing by the Seine on my 21st

... recaps of the rest of the weekend (complete with entertaining stories about birthday escapades and Fête de la Musique events) are to come...

In the meantime, here's a fantastic and classy music video to keep you entertained! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1_CLW-NNwc

Post-script: It's been brought to my attention that the link probably won't work if you're not in France... so just YouTube "Ok Go A Million Ways" and watch the first music video that comes up in the search results!

C'est un peu plus qu'une antenne.*

Updates from Week 3:

Monday through Thursday was mostly filled with all of the normal activities - my two classes each day, with the occasional pain au chocolat for breakfast and a crôque monsieur or crêpe for lunch or an afternoon snack. One of our classes had a huge midterm exam on Tuesday morning, which drained most of us, but luckily, someone from Emory's senior class, Nick, was visiting Paris (since three of his frat brothers are on our trip), so a few of us got to look forward to having fun with him.

Most of Tuesday was spent recuperating at Galeries Lafayette in the afternoon (shopping around the district) - I bought purple low-top chucks at H&M, my first personal purchase in Paris (with the exception of food, of course). A picture of them is below. And I got good use out of them on that same day, since Nick and I walked around the area near the Cité Universitaire (where we're living) and explored the scenic park nearby.

My Purple Chucks!

On Wednesday, before classes started, a few of us ventured out into the area near the Châtelet metro stop, since we transfer at that stop every day. We browsed around a few stores and had a quick luch there. In the evening, we went with the rest of Nick's friends to meet up with other study abroad students (different people, different program) under Le Tour Eiffel, for dinner and drinks. The weather was pretty insane - intermittent downpours of rain and huge gusts of wind - definitely turned half our umbrellas inside-out at one time or another (and walking in all the water and dirt broke in my shoes, too). After dinner, we briefly stopped by the Seine and Notre Dame and then headed back a little early to finish our work for classes.

The Peace Memorial and Le Tour (de Gustav) Eiffel

Thursday, though, was the creme-de-la-creme for the week. After classes, a small group of us spent the afternoon at Musée D'Orsay, then went out for a real night out in Paris. On the way to Le Club Mix, we had dinner at a nice restaurant and then most everyone bought wine or beer and we hung out in front of a small church in Montparnasse (there's something just iconically French about drinking in front of churches). Then, we went to the club - no way to put into words how overwhelmingly exhilirating the entire atmosphere was - the music and the intense techno house mixes of the DJ (check out the song "Day 'n' Nite" if you get a chance), the video graphics and lighting, and all the international crowds - it was all absolutely, unbelievably awesome. About five of us stayed the entire night (till 5 AM the next morning) so we could take the first metro back - we almost thought we wouldn't be able to make it, but we survived and it was definitely well-worth it. We looked like zombies by the end of the rave, but it was, hands-down, the most memorable night out I've had thus far in Paris.

On the moving walkway of the metro at 5 am

Friday was much more laid-back and spent recuperating (we didn't get back till almost 6 am, and we all slept most of the day away): having a quick dinner at the cafeteria on campus, and then relaxing on the banks of the Seine and stopping by a French karaoke event in our building upon returning to Cité.

The Glittering Eiffel Tower
(It lights up every hour, on the hour, for five minutes, between 10 pm and 1 am)

Yesterday (Saturday), though, I made up for an uneventful Friday by finally doing some of the random Parisian things on my to-do list: having an éclair chocolat and a sandwich from one of the infamous Pomme de Pain shops all around France, eating dinner at a classy and charming restaurant near Le Tour Eiffel (Le Bosquet) - the place had great ambiance, highly commendable waiters, and an even better culinary expertise. I ate every last bite of my "big" salad and finally got a tarte tatin aux pomme avec glace vanille (we'd wanted to order that at the restaurant the night before, but they were out). Another plus was that the food was decently priced and I got the chance to practice my French with my waiters. I ended the night by spending it around the liveliness of Le Tour Eiffel, surrounded by hundreds of Parisians and tourists, picknicking, drinking wine, just having a blast, celebrating everything and anything.

Convivial crowds surrounding the Eiffel Tower on Saturday night.

I've known this for awhile, and, at this point, I can definitively say that the French are not as rude or disagreeable as the stereotypes make them out to be. True, they don't have (fake) smiles plastered on their faces every time they go out in public, which might lead outsiders to think they're unhappy or unfriendly; but, during my short three week-stay in the city, I've noticed how most, if not all, of the Parisians I've encountered are incredibly helpful and clearly know how to have a good time. Le Tour Eiffel is "un peu plus qu'une antenne" (a little more than just an antenna) and Paris is definitely un peu plus qu'une ville stéréotypique de France (a little more than a stereotypical French city).

*Half of the ad for 1664, the Bud Light of France (will try and take a picture sometime and post it).

Art, religion, and disbelief.

Day 5, finally, as promised. A little lengthy, again, but definitely worth the read.


Day 5: "A blessing in disguise."*

First Friday in Paris - no classes. Instead, a trip to the Louvre (picked up pain chocolat on the way at a croissanterie), which was intriguing and overwhelming and tiring. Had lunch at a sandwich shop on the street near the Louvre (Rue de Rivoli, also the location of the famous Chez Angelina/Angelina's Place, a restaurant that serves the best hot chocolate in Paris, according to countless guidebooks and the Parisian man who gave us recommendations when we were in a café near the Seine, sipping our hot chocolate a few days before). The picture above was taken at one of the exhibits in the Louvre.

Lunch was interesting. Not the food, but the ordering. While ordering and waiting for my sandwich to be grilled, the Indian guy at the counter kept hitting on me (with his French words, his English questions, his creepy eyes...) At first, I made a cardinal "American" mistake and answered his question - in Paris, actually turning, making eye contact, and responding to the question of a man who is interested in you is code for, "Oh, I'm in love with you, too," - even if the question is something as simple as, "Where are you from?" Then, he asked me more questions in English and gave me more compliments in French (while my friends were all standing there, waiting, half-laughing inside because of the awkward predicament I was in, and half-concerned that I wouldn't be able to get myself out of this awkwardness) - "So, what part of India are you from? You speak French well. You're very pretty. What's your name?"

To all of that, I gave a resounding, "It's okay, I would just like my sandwich please."

SCORE. On my first Friday in France, I mastered the Parisian art of ignoring a man who hits on you in a public place.

Part 2 - the second half of the day.

After the Louvre, we were supposed to celebrate the birthday of a girl in our study abroad group, but three of us got separated from the group. We ended up at Montmatre, though, just as planned, and ate a dinner of four-cheese pasta at a quaint little restaurant at the top of a steep hill, after climbing a number of steps (it wasn't until later that we realized the hill was leading up to Sacre-Coeur, of all places). We kept climbing up the stairs after dinner and stumbled upon the church - they were having services when we entered, and it was absolutely breath-taking. There's no way to describe how intensely different it was from everything outside of it, how unbelievable it was to enter such a beautiful, peaceful, and pristine place after having trampsed around from one metro station to another and rushing through traffic-filled city streets.

The three of us outside of Sacre-Coeur

But the night was just beginning... on the hill outside of Sacre-Coeur, overlooking the entire arrondisement of Paris, were at least a hundred Parisians and tourists, picnicking, drinking wine and beer and everything in between, eating ice cream, listening to the live musicians perform - a complete contrast to what was going on inside the church. We walked around the area for awhile, bought a bottle of red wine (I tried the very last sip, since, according to the two friends I was with - "the last sip is the best"), and then explored the Red Light District of Montmatre, discovered hilariously entertaining musicians performing American songs (and tourists drunkenly singing every word of those songs) at Le Chat Noir and stopped by the Moulin Rouge - all part of our original plan with the group that we had split up from. Then, we picked up some mango ice cream and went back home, hanging out, talking, and listening to music till 5 am. We never did find the rest of our group, but getting separated from them was definitely a blessing in disguise, because we stumbled upon better things and ended up having a great time, all things considered.

*Quote from a friend after three of us were split from the group and went exploring on our own instead.

Sometimes beginnings aren't so simple.*

College was good. College was bad. College was easy and college was difficult. College was crazy and apathetic, exhilarating and boring, surprising and predictable, painful and reassuring. It was nothing and it was everything.

As humans, we have an often-unrealized desire to define our experiences with labels, to assign singular categories to pluralities, and to endeavor to simplify incomprehensibly complex phenomena. Classifications bring about a superficial sense of stability, but they often fail to provide a truly accurate representation of the events in our lives.


I remember freshman year like it was just yesterday: the boys crowding into our iconic Smith 114 room, never ceasing to exasperate, entertain, enlighten, and, ultimately, endear us all through the unpredictability of their actions; the late-night conversations about love long-lost and life lessons learned and all that the uncertain future might hold; and, most of all, the ways in which we allowed ourselves to fall, to tumble to the ground in uncontrollable laughter and collapse into each other’s arms in irrepressible tears, because we knew we had a family of friends that would find a way to pull us back up in the end.

And, yet, at the very same time, it feels so long ago.


It’s as if yesterday was both a recent present and a distant past – composed of a million unforgettable, undeniable memories – memories that continually resurface when I least expect it. The nostalgia hits when I unconsciously breathe in the pages of a newly-published book in true Namrata-fashion, when the off-key recordings of Ashwin’s guitar-playing and singing randomly come on my iTunes, and especially when someone yells “EXPECTO PATRONUM” in a Harry Potter movie.

For me, the smallest things have always held the strongest meanings; and now, more than ever, they give me something to hold onto until we see each other again. College was more than the sum of my classes, and definitely much more than my GPA and my GRE or MCAT scores. It was four years of intricately intertwined, unquantifiable moments – moments that defined me even though I can’t define them.

In the meantime, I can look forward to detecting honesty in games of mafia, spending an amazing six weeks in Paris, and adjusting to new modes of communication to keep in touch, regardless of where we are or what we end up doing post-graduation.


*"Shadow of the Day" by Linkin Park (Minutes to Midnight Album)

Tonight's the night the world begins again.*

A graduation update, complete with nostalgic descriptions of college memories and photographs of friends and family, is coming soon...

But, in the meantime, here's a preview of how I'll be spending the first half of my summer - in PARIS. Although it's probably obvious, dates are in bold and semi-elaborate explanations and/or descriptions of events and places are italicized.

A sample of what's already on the itinerary:

May 26 (The day after we arrive in Paris)
Afternoon boat ride down the Seine

May 28
Cimetière du Père-Lachaise/Père Lachaise Cemetery
Chopin, Jim Morrison, Jean-Dominique Bauby (see my blog post from Feb. 26th: "Three months of winter and wealth"), and Oscar Wilde (recall the short film on the XXe arrondisement in Paris, Je t'aime) are just four famous individuals who are buried there.

June 2
Cité des Sciences et d'Industrie/The Science Museum of Paris
Exhibitions and interactives that highlight absolutely amazing scientific discoveries; my favorite as of now is the "current" science exhibit that has all things scientifically relevant to our lives today, "Science Actualités".

June 5
VERSAILLES

June 9
Musée Fragonard/Fragonard Museum
A museum within the National Veterinarian School in the Maisons-Alfort suburb of Paris

June 16
Musée d’histoire de la médecine/The museum for the history of medicine

June 18
Palais de la découverte
An extraordinary science museum in the 8th arrondisement, with exhibits on physics, astronomy, chemistry, biology, and everything and anything in between.

Other must-see sights/excursions for the weekends:

TBA
Le musée Rodin (Museum that houses the works of Rodin)
Two words: The Thinker.

TBA
Le château de Fontainebleau/The Fontainebleau Castle.
EIGHT centuries of royal history.

June 21st (a.k.a., the day after my birthday/the summer solstice!):
World Music Day/Fête de la Musique
It's almost as if the city of Paris knew all about my trip and decided to reward me for living 21 amazing years by further propagating my love of music, as well as my rarely realized desire to attend (free) live concerts.

Oh, and sometime in between all the sight-seeing and cultural excursions, I'll be taking (and occasionally studying for) two upper-level neuroscience classes - one on primary research literature in French neuroscience (with special topics like the impact of nationalized healthcare on basic science research) and a second class on the molecular mechanisms of neurological disorders (e.g., Alzheimer's and ALS).

Hands down, the most memorable way to celebrate the end of my undergraduate career and my subsequent (legal) entrance into adulthood. Freshly-baked croissants, heavenly pastries, and made-to-order crêpes with fruit filling await...

*Title quote from "Better Days" by the Goo Goo Dolls.

"Just get back up when it knocks you down."

Maybe I should've joined a girl group at age 14 and then decided to be a theater major at Emory...

Because then I'd have a better chance at being more like Keri Hilson.


She's a 26-year-old singer-songwriter from Decatur, Georgia - her debut solo album was released about a month ago, and four of her songs ("Hero" from Nas's quickly untitled album, "Energy", "Turnin' Me On", and "Knock You Down") have been on the Billboard Charts in the past year or so.

Since it's too late and too unlikely that I'll ever get close to being more like her, let's hope she might be a part of Emory's "Art of Songwriting" panel again in the future, so I could at least meet her one day...

I'm feeling knackered right now, but, I think I may need to re-figure things out soon. In the words of Keri Hilson's songwriters (Louis Biancaniello, Rico Love, Sam Watters, and Wayne Wilkins), "I can't afford to slip much further from the person I was meant to be."


*Lyrics from Keri Hilson (ft. Kanye West and Ne-Yo)'s "Knock You Down" and "Energy", respectively.

You could be happy.*

5 Random Things that Make Me Happy...
... because writing out 100 things would take too long, and no one would want to read all of them. But mostly because grand endings and amazing new beginnings call for a little bit of nostalgia.

1. 1 psuedo-made-up word: imeem. It's the concept of YouTube (by the public for the pubilc) combined with the intuition and originality of Pandora - a.k.a., a music lover's heaven. It's where I found Elliott Smith's cover of Jimmy Eat World's "Half Right", one of my all-time-favorite songs, and Leona Lewis's cover of Snow Patrol's "Run".
2. Discovering new music. Recent favorites: Adele, Laura Izibor (I found her and her songs before VH1 did... her song, "Shine" was in the credits for the movie The Nanny Diaries about 2 years ago), and acoustic versions/covers of popular songs (sometimes they sound better than the originals - like the piano version of "Pokerface" and Lily Allen's cover of "Womanizer").

3. Celebrating noteworthy occassions with friends and food. Some memorable and delicious places from this year (and previous years): Baraonda, Chow Baby, Fogo de Chao, and Sun Dial (they have a live jazz trio on Wednesday nights!).
4. Finding answers to questions. If there's a problem, I like figuring out a solution. If there's a blank crossword puzzle, I have this unstoppable urge to write in all the correct answers... "soupcon" was definitely a soupcon.
5. Doing (or making) nice things for other people. There's an argument that no one's truly altruistic and all of us just do nice things because charitable acts make us feel better about ourselves. Sometimes, it's what you do, not why you do it - if it makes me happy to make you happy, why question the motives? (See photo collage below as an example. Also, if you have access and/or a subscription to The New Yorker - or Google Scholar - check out "The Gift" by Ian Parker, from August 2, 2004. The first time I read the article was in high school, but it's still just as mind-boggling today as it was then.)

*Purposeful reference to Snow Patrol.