Tied Down
October 20, 2009 § 2 Comments
“Let’s Kill Bluetooth” from Slate brings up a good point:
Why do my iPhone’s earbuds still have wires? Here’s a device that can stream YouTube clips of hits from the 1980s while I’m out in the middle of nowhere, completely untethered, yet the most convenient way to get “Take on Me” from the phone to my ears is the same technology that folks were using back when A-Ha topped the charts.
Why DO my earbuds still have wires? The rapid progress of technology seems to have largely forgotten about this inconvenience.
I use the earbuds that came with my iPod, and they literally bring me more frustration than any other object I own. When I’m listening to my music while moving around the kitchen, the wire gets caught on the back of a chair or the knob of a drawer, yanking the earbuds out of my head and the iPod out of my pocket [this may seem like no big deal, but it’s not smart to irritate somebody who is chopping food with a Chinese butcher knife]. Or, when I take my iPod out of my computer bag, the wires are inconceivably tangled even though I’m pretty sure I didn’t tie them in knots before putting them away.
Wireless earbuds! This seems like a genius idea that had honestly never crossed my mind.
A search for them, though, results in mostly wireless headphones instead of earphones. Either that, or they are they kind that hook over the ears, which is simply not feasible for people who wear glasses. Some places offer earbuds that connect to each other through a wire that goes behind the head, which may or may not be an improvement, but still not exactly what I’m looking for [besides, that does not accommodate every hairstyle].
MetaEfficient lists the Sennheiser MX W1 Totally Wireless Earphone as the best wireless earbud choice, and at $399.95 [list price: $649.95!], I don’t doubt that they are very good — those are also pretty much the only ones that I found online. Unfortunately for us common folk, effective wireless earbuds don’t seem to be available at an affordable price. The wait continues.
Little Little Lies
October 15, 2009 § 4 Comments
I can always find the perfect song to match my sentiments.
Inhibition
October 13, 2009 § 1 Comment
I sat down at the circular table for dinner on the second night of Fall Conference ’09, delighted to see that every placemat had a generous piece of chocolate cake — my favorite food [Beijing roast duck comes in at a close second]. While giving my baked potato to PN, I noticed a vacant seat at the table, which meant an extra piece of cake. After looking around to check that nobody else was eying it, I asked PN to hand it to me.
Later, it became apparent that one of the people at our table did not have a piece of cake, so I conceded my extra one to her, though not without playful jeers from our fellow male diners. [I don’t care if they judge; I will stay faithful to my gustatory love!]
SL, who sat to my left, kindly offered me his own piece of cake, claiming that he did not really enjoy sweet foods. I gladly accepted it, finishing both pieces and sitting in bloated satisfaction. I’m not exactly sure in how the subsequent events happened, but suddenly, a piece of cake arrived from across the table, followed by three more.
“Eat all of them!” JG urged.
“Yeah, JG and I have money on it!” JP yelled.
“You want me to eat a total of six pieces of cake?!” I responded incredulously.
The guys at the table goaded me while the women looked on in mild amusement. Full as I was, I could’ve done it — my stomach stretches to enormous proportions when I consume sugary foods — but I adamantly refused. The reason I gave was that I didn’t want to throw up my entire dinner, but in actuality I didn’t want to appear cheap. Sacrificing my dignity for a mere $15? Just the notion of it is embarrassing.
However, I couldn’t shake the thought that if I were a guy, I totally would have accepted the challenge.
Competitive eating is mostly a men’s world. At other camps and buffets that I’ve been to, only guys would attempt to out-eat each other in some ridiculous manner. The activity is rather barbaric to me; even though I am against gender stereotypes and all that, I am still at time subject to wanting to fit into the dainty mold into which women are supposed to conform. A guy would get lauded for finishing a huge amount of food, but I can’t imagine myself receiving the same level of accolades from my peers — especially the female ones. I’ve simply never seen it happen.
Encounter
October 6, 2009 § Leave a comment
On Friday night, I participated with a friend in a singing competition hosted by the Friendship Association of Chinese Students & Scholars — basically, the Chinese international students. I’ve never seen so many Chinese people in the same place at Mizzou before; there were probably more than 100 in the room total, and I believe at least 95% were FOBs.
I found it quite delightful to spend the evening among them, although my brain hurt a little from speaking so much Mandarin — I’m fluent, but it certainly doesn’t come as naturally as English. My partner in performance, YS, had the nerve to introduce me as an ABC to some of his friends as if I couldn’t speak their language or something. I WAS BORN IN CHINA OKAY & DON’T YOU FORGET IT.
After we presented our song [not without complications], he and I sat in the back of the room to watch the rest of the contestants as well as do a bit of socializing with some of our friends. I only actually knew a handful of people who were there, but that didn’t stop passersby from complimenting me on my singing as they walked past us. Their words warmed my heart.
I was talking to AY when somebody greeted me loudly from behind. I jumped, startled, and turned to see a group of four people gathered expectantly before me: three women and a man, who all seemed to be of grad-student age.
“Do you…speak Chinese?” one of the women asked me.
“I do,” I responded in Mandarin. They looked relieved.
It is difficult for me to describe the rest of the conversation [which continued in Mandarin] because it was so completely out-of-the-blue. Thankfully I had AY as a witness to it all, otherwise I could really convince myself that I hallucinated it all.
auradis 