Hairless Panda

So Movember is finally over, and now your little baby panda angel is going to reveal the fruits of her hairy labor!

Okay, so the hair really wasn't that bad. At least I can be grateful that my Asian heritage left (or didn't leave me) with one thing. Although because I didn't handle a razor for so long, I didn't really know how hard to shave to get all the hair off. So I did some slight razor burn on my legs:

Don't mind the marks on my calf; those are just from the REALLY TIGHT H&M pants I bought (apparently European sizing is not as forgiving) and tried to live in over Thanksgiving break in order to stretch them out. Not sure if they got smaller, I got bigger, or my body fat just re-accumulated elsewhere (PLEASE BE BOOBS OR BUTT SO HELP ME GOD).

Also, we have started Thursday TIGHT NIGHTS! Instead of going out to a bar, we have resorted to the 50 cent wings at Chilis in celebration of football season. Obviously I don't care about alcohol or sports, so the great deal in my mouth is really the highlight here. And I even got a chance to take a picture with the VCU mascot, Rodney the Ram! (In my Penn State apparel, nonetheless):

Also, I am currently surviving the woes of being black pump-less (referring to the shoe, not the gasoline, of course). Having the misfortune of my heel discombobulating in the conference elevator while in Atlanta, I had to wear flats and run the risk of being assaulted by the conference fashion police (of course in academia, we have none; I only pretend to make myself feel better). Now in the midst of Christmas shopping season, shouldn't there be so many great deals on free shipping and shoes, especially in the classic and timeless black pump style? But alack! I am doomed to raiding eBay sales without gain...and what is the deal with these so called "peep-toe" shoes? Showing toes of any kind is completely unprofessional, not to mention making "peep"ing sounds with your feet. Leave the peeping to the marshmallows during Easter!

Please, if you can find a classic, black, leather pump, LET ME KNOW! Also, it must be $20 or less...I may be willing to pay for shipping, if they are Jimmy Choo or something. Otherwise, I shall forever remain in the shadows of the department store bargain bin. The joys of finding a shoe sale!

Finally, last Friday was the GRAND ILLUMINATION! Where many Richmonders came outside in the freezing cold in order to watch a Christmas tree light up, and then go to the Governor's mansion to shake ole'  Gov'nah Bob McDonnell's hand for an uncomfortable, extended period of time and be wished a "Merry Christmas" even if you are an Islamic Democrat (Obama). Aside from the awful, awkward political nature of this event, the lights are quite nice to have outside and make the streets look safer and filled with holiday cheer!

And speaking of Obama...MANDELA! The passing of a great man. And it was nice to see President Obama shake Raul Castro's hand. Truly the things that can be accomplished after death and happy to see Mandela's spirit live on, although sad to think that one must die before his dream can be achieved. Rest in peace, Panda Mandela.

Pirate Panda

 I tried to go for a run at Huffnagle Park this morning, but there were PEOPLE there (what do they think it is, a park?!) and I had to run around Quarryville instead. Which is worse, because then 100x more people can see me. Although I did find out that there are a lot of mini creeks and bridges in town, which is something I should have already known earlier. Quarryville is so quaint…I wish I had time to just walk around and see the…quarries?

Last night a customer (young, male, attractive? – who are you? Please come back!) deposited SIX DOLLARS in the Peking tip jar! That’s only a dollar less than the tip Hair and I gave to our waiter at Applebees the night before! It is also two dollars more than the black, leather, pointed-toe Nine West pumps I purchased at the consignment shop next door that are a size too small (it was just such a good deal; I’ll fit into them somehow!) I don’t think anyone has ever given six dollars as a one-time tip at Peking, so I am assuming he was drunk or extremely wealthy (young, male, attractive AND single?  The Boyf better get his game on). Padre says he kept raving about our chicken lo mein and dropping the Washingtons into the jar. So the moral of the story here is: ORDER THE CHICKEN LO MEIN! I’ve had the lo mein, too, and it’s good! 

Today was also egg roll frying and roast pork day! My favorite day of the week! Every Tuesday, Peking makes roast pork in the oven, and it is so delicious. I always cut myself a slice when it comes out of the oven. I wish more people knew that we make everything from scratch…I mean EVERYTHING! There is so much prep work that goes into the food, even/especially the fried foods. I kept telling Hair that we needed to advertise more, since business is terribly slow during the summer. I wanted to make t-shirts for us to wear and perhaps to sell (it works at Penn State, but then again the median age of Quarryville is probably 72, so t-shirts might not sell so well). Hair had an ingenious idea of putting himself on the tshirt, riding a horse, and marketing it as the Polo Ralph Lauren brand. He said that we would make so much money because people would love the great deal of buying a Polo shirt for only $10 that we could retire from the restaurant industry and live off tshirt profits alone! 

Our idea for a promotional Peking tshirt – you can’t even spot the difference! What are your thoughts? Maybe I’ll get some done for the holidays!

I came home in the afternoon in order to start reading chapter 9 (the last chapter!) for BLOCK 0, but instead got caught up with packing and making a cover of Adele’s “Someone Like You.” I repositioned the camera so it is further away from my face (so you don’t have to see me scrunching when I try and fail to hit the high notes) and I think it sounds better this way, although The Boyf thinks it still sounds the same. In my head when I’m singing, I think I sound great, but when I listen myself recorded, my voice is always so whiny and high-pitched. Sad panda. =(

Packing is almost done! I fit the clothes that I wanted to bring into two large suitcases, and a bunch of shoes into a carry-on roller. I’ll need another suitcase or large roller to fit my binders and books/laptop/other miscellaneous items. I’ve also been siphoning off some old clothing and stuff in my room to donate to the consignment shop. I ran across a bunch of old cards and letters from many years ago while I was cleaning out my room. Among them were a graduation card from the pastor of my old church, a thank-you card from my high school hall monitor, a 19^th birthday card from The Boyf’s little siblings, and tons of letters from my penpals B-dog and Mona Lewis. I’m also starting correspondence with a new penpal, Weather Ballin’, so I’ll be keeping busy!

I did read about 6 pages into chapter 9, so I’m not THAT far behind. I might read a little bit more tonight before I go to bed…I should at least make it to page 10. That leaves about 24 pages tomorrow, which will take 2 hours if I’m lucky (the text is so small! 10 pages per hour is so excruciating), and then I can start typing up the answers to the end-of-chapter problems. Also, I need to pop into the library to print out the (NOT coupons this time!) flight confirmations for Padre’s and my flight to Hotlanta on Saturday. 

Tonight I was also invited to my first party at graduate school! I am really looking forward to starting school now – it seems like a very social bunch of students. It is a PIRATE PARTY! I wonder if showing up as a pirate panda would be too overwhelming – I wouldn’t want anyone to call animal control on me the first week of grad school. Then how would I update this blog!?