Have you experienced the true hungriness of hunger?

After being hungry for some time, you're supposed to stop feeling hungry (even if you don't eat). Today, it seemed like that feeling wouldn't go away.

Some people take up too much physical space.

I don't think I'm one of these people - I'm not overweight. I don't mind tall people taking up more space, because by nature they should have a bigger frame than shorter people. But, for some reason, it gets on my nerves when there are people shorter than me that are very round that wear thick jackets and take up too much space on the subway or the sidewalk. Part of the agitation stems from there being less space for me. A lot of times on my commute I can't hold a handle in the subway because there isn't one I can reach (which isn't entirely bad, since I get to practice and improve my balance). But, I also feel that these people shouldn't be so overweight, they shouldn't be taking up so much space. I guess it gets on my nerves that they aren't taking care of their health and are also probably patrons of the fast-food industry. Another reason for my feelings might be because I grew up in South-East Asia - people on average aren't as tall there and they don't have a tendency to put on much weight.

What does it mean when your department is on the top floor of the office building? Does it mean that it's among the most important or valued departments? Does physically being above others mean or represent that you are valued more than them?

One perk of being on this floor is that it has the best view. However, the flipside is that it's the furthest away from the company cafeteria (2nd floor), and it takes the longest to get to and from this floor (since people keep getting on from and off onto other floors).

FINALLY!!! There's one thing in this country that I have a one-up on over US citizens! I pay hardly any taxes on what I make at my internship.

You know you're busy when Jan 16 is the day you finish opening Christmas cards.

In response to the US government fingerprinting and photographing all visitors from other countries that enter the US, the Brazilian government has decreed that all Americans visiting Brazil be fingerprinted and photographed (and their travel be delayed for hours).

It's refreshing to see that people don't lose their childishness completely, even when they grow up and work in governments.

FYI it took me just about 2 hours to get out of JFK last week, largely because of the 400+ foreigners in line for immigration in front of me.

It is well known in the realm of psychology that extrinsic rewards undermine intrinsic motivation. I am in the peculiar situation of having a paid internship, which provides extrinsic rewards ($), which is supposed to reduce my intrinsic motivation, but also having the extrinsic rewards reduced. I have to pay my college to receive academic credit for this internship, as that was the only way to get work authorization in time.

Reduced intrinsic and extrinsic rewards... what a predicament. I'll still pursue it though. If life hands you lemons, make lemonade.

ya sei

15 days of blog silence for the approximately 150,000 killed.

Events like that really change our perspective, not to mention the Earth's rotation.

Do not order black spaghetti for dinner at a dark restaurant. It looks like something that could be served on "Fear Factor"...

Never before have I considered that being able to turn over in your sleep, pain-free is a luxury that I should be grateful for. How low can I go?

I think I'm a little dyslexic. I read "... wish you a happy and prosperous 2005" as "... wish you a happy and preposterous 2005."

What is my neck telling me?

Getting fragments of facial hair in your eyes sucks. You should close your eyes when using a beard trimmer. What seems very odd, but by no means is a complaint, is that when there is a fragment of hair or an eyelash in my eye, it prefers to stick to my fingertip than my eyeball.

I now know why one of my shoes breathes. It has a lung.

When it comes to art, there's a thin line between genius and garbage. Last night I watched a number of pretty modern dance pieces. One piece, "6th Street (In)n" was quite psychotic, it's hard to describe it in words. I'm sure many didn't get it, but I was amazed. It's unusual for dance to evoke such feelings inside me, but this was much more than dance. Or rather, it barely seemed to be dance. It seemed to be something else. In the program, the dancers were refered to as "passengers." The piece was to "Sixteen Reasons" by Connie Stevens and "Twilight Time" by The Platters. It was quite haunting.

In New York if you get arrested for assault and you possess a black belt in any martial art, the charge automatically becomes assault with a deadly weapon. Trained people can be dangerous. In that case, why has no one suggested banning martial artists or people with combat training from airplanes? It's quite an insult to consider that a nail clipper is viewed as more dangerous than I am. Ensuring safety by making sure people don't carry tweezers on board seems a farce.

May is when I have my "deadly weapon" (aka black belt) exam.

Can you see the forest from the trees?

New York has 17% of nation's HIV cases, and in parts (like the Bronx) certain STD rates are 5 times higher than general population.

NY just has a lot of EVERYTHING - noise, traffic, culture, crime, people, money, pollution, languages, cuisines, theaters, rats, public transport, historical/tourist landmarks, museums, lights, concrete, etc, etc.

What does it mean when you often dream of fighting against a person who doesn't seem to get hurt or injured, someone with limitless energy? Someone who won't drown, someone who's eyes keep coming back to normal after they are pressed in... ok, I think I just gave too much detail...