Refreshed

As I've learned from one of my best friends, Pat, there's nothing better than sitting down at a cafe and working on your writings. Well for me, it was editing some of my essays and concentrating on draft #4 of my Pickering. Ideally, I would love to type up things on my laptop but the B&N didn't design their cafe area well and there are no outlets for my battery shot laptop. I can only dream of a new portable laptop until I can afford a new one. Ideally before this summer.

Perhaps I've gotten my hopes up going to Italy for my grad school summer program but it isn't difficult to dream of warmer locations being in the northeast. However, I haven't gotten my hopes up to the point that I already bought a Naples & Caprii guide, I decided I'd buy one after getting the official word whether I've been accepted or not. After browsing the lovely guides in the travel section, my mind was already seeing blue skies and feeling the warm sea while taking pictures of all the artifacts left behind from Pompeii. It was better than anything right now in New Jersey. And speaking of suburbia, land of overweight and mediocrity in educational standards, I reenter the world of community gossip.

Being that I've been living in DC for the past several-ish years, I've learned the art of observing human nature. In the capital of politics, amidst all the alcohol and schmoozing, you tend to see how well to read people, and the ironic part, how people read others. By the time I end up home for the holidays, I have perfected my smile with beer or plum wine in hand, and answer all the blatantly fake questions/concerns people throw at me to make conversation and enhance their network of gossip.

It's really sad, the circle of asian family friends parents that have amounted from my childhood only look at me as a comparison to their children's goals and my value of prestige in competition to their childrens'. After they have weighed and valued my worth with pointless questions and "concerns" of my future graduate education, they finally drop their interest in me, either finding my unwavering answers to be of bore or incomprehensible, they go back to their faux party of food. It's a little bit of a pity, these family friends I grew up with, though they walked the path they do now, had once been questioned for their career choice (of course unless they wanted to be doctors of lawyers). I was amongst those ostracized because who in the world let's their kid study abroad in Japan??? Who lets their daughter backpack Europe?? Ah yes, then they hushed their criticisms after realizing its resume benefits of having an international career as opposed to being booksmart. And the other realizing I won't privy any gossip.

Then there are some genuine people who do invite me to places because they enjoy my company and not the need to delve into other people's unfortunate events. It's really interesting to differentiate these types of people from the purposeful gossipers through mere observances. What's also amusing is seeing how people understand each other and perceive what the other is thinking of the other. Especially the psychology majors who make it even more dramatic than it is. Haha, aawwwkkwarrrdd.

It's interesting to observe this community of people, the kids that I grew up with, and the different paths we've paved for ourselves. Then to study their roots, the psychological parenting behind these achievements or hindrances. The high and low context cultures of these communities are fascinating to call as a study, which I wonder how eerily they would perceive and despise me if I told them they were mere observances of social interaction and my findings.