Last week, I went to Borders to study for my neurobiology and my molecular & cellular bio final exams.
(As an aside, nothing has made me mentally curse over the past few weeks as much as thoughts of neurobiology do: Friggin’ hell! I understand that NPB stands for Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, but, friggin’ hell, maybe […]

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We have guests over at our place today, some relatives. They have three daughters, one of whom is an 8 year old named Somiyya. Somiyya is driving me crazy, and that’s a fact. The Human Development major within me can’t help but wonder if she has ADHD.
“So why does Somiyya dislike climbing up the steps […]

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“autochthonous” looks like a reptile, and “schwarmerei” sounds like shawarma.
So I’m sitting here in the computer lab at school, because this is where I spend my days ostensibly writing papers when I’m not skipping class and sleeping out in the university library courtyard or up on the third floor in what I call “the wine […]

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no pain, no political gain.
A few weeks ago, I went in to see my dentist for one of those every-6-months check-ups. He asked the usual grown-up questions about school and exams and my future career goals after graduation (”Sleeping,” I said shortly). “So I hear you’re going to become a politician,” he said, as he […]

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I’m not too easily embarrassed. But I don’t need the drama of trying to use a credit card when I know perfectly well that there is no money available there for me to use, and I’m not the type of person who’s so mortified that I will offer the cashier, my companion, and the other […]

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the eye of the storm meets the eye of the mind, sending it spinning
At the gas station late this afternoon, I swiped my debit card at the gas pump and shoved the nozzle into my car to fill up the tank. I was in the process of unlocking the doors to wait inside my car, […]

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borders, boundaries, blockades
and it’s the way that we will forgive ourselves
and it’s the way that we will for no one else
- Josh Kelly, Amen
I call my friend Z one morning to tell her that I am skipping all my classes and instead studying at the cafe of her favorite Borders Bookstore here in the East […]

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to get me through the day
Conversations I had while sitting in a downtown Sacramento lobby, waiting to be interviewed:
She: How old are you?
Me: 23.
She: Are you SERIOUS? I thought you were way younger!
Me: *grinning* Thank you.
Persian guy: Are you Persian?
Me: No. Why, do I look Persian?
He: *throws up his hands in confusion, laughing* I don’t […]

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too cool for school
So I’m sitting at my dad’s computer, plugging entries into Quickbook in an effort to reconcile my checkbook. Bored out of my mind, I decide that downloading sample biology midterms must be far more thrilling. Along comes my cousin, Ahbid, equally bored out of his mind after having spent the entire evening […]

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today is whatever i want it to be
I have so many stories to share with you – insights, conversations, observations, incidents, interactions, meetings – each playing an important role in my two-week hiatus from this weblog.
I don’t even know where to start.
I could tell you about my sister – whose final exams ended two weeks […]

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He’s a graduating senior. He’s very articulate, and passionate about diversity issues on our university campus. His family fled Iran when he was a child, soon after the revolution (Which revolution? cracked my father, when I came home and recounted my day to him. Iran goes through a revolution every few years.) He doesn’t consider […]

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nerd boy extraordinaire
H is devastated to hear I didn’t get a job I recently applied for, one where we would have been working together, thus ensuring that I could stop calling him and leaving threatening voicemails asking where he is and why he hides from his friends. He takes the news personally, even though I’m […]

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and words can never really help you say/what you want them to anyway
I had an idea for a Women of Color Conference workshop that involves a film, followed by discussion. The film is entitled The Way Home, and I saw it over a year ago, so the details are somewhat fuzzy, but I think it […]

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every time that i see your face,/i wonder what lies beneath your smile
I miss my cute little preschool kids.
And I miss Dennis the Menace, too.
I was reminded of both this afternoon because I stopped by D’s apartment to say hello and was pleasantly surprised to find myself greeted with such unrestrained joy. I’m always amazed […]

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conversations with (and documented by) my brother the artist
post-its are the funniest way to document a conversation, really.
DISCLAIMER, AGAIN: Please note that I am not as shallow as this exchange makes me out to be. But, really, look at the heavy-duty bags under that first guy’s eyes. Workaholics or drug-addicts need not apply. It’s all […]

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