For those of you who are interested, last night's dinner with Yilin's ex went well. He seems like a good guy, and has a decent sense of humor. After dinner we went for a drink before heading back uptown. I went into lab for about half an hour and crashed within seconds of getting home.
And, for those of you who are really interested, I did not sport a mustache, but showed a plethora of chest hair. Yilin's ex has very little body hair, and looks like he doesn't have to spend more than 1 minute shaving, so I was able to exert my masculinity that way. ;)
Friday, September 29, 2006
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
The Mustache Effect
Yilin told me the other night that an ex-boyfriend of her's is in town and she'd like to meet up with him. I'm fine with this, so we'll get together tomorrow night. However, it got me to thinking this morning...
I feel that most men want to look good and dress nice if they are meeting their girlfriend's ex. Likewise, most women want their current boyfriend to look good when meeting their ex-boyfriend. I suspect it all has to do with creating feelings of jealousy and not-so-subtley saying, "See how much better I did than being with you?"
I don't really care for any of that; there are far better ways to create negative feelings and doubt in exes that provide an infinitely greater amount of amusement.
For example, the last time I (sort of) met up with someone from Yilin's past, she was mortified. Why? Because I had this mustache, and we ran into some people who are very good friends with her last boyfriend. She was hesitant to introduce me, and afterward kept saying things like, "Oh my God, they are going to tell him that I am dating a guy with a mustache!" Naturally, this amused me greatly.
What amused me even more was what I imagined this ex-boyfriend's reaction upon hearing that Yilin now dates a guy under 30 years old who sports a full mustache. His first response must've been shock ("What?! Why on Earth would she date a guy with a mustache?"), followed by intense curiosity ("Who is this guy that can woo women with his ubermasculine facial hair?"), and finally leaving him in a state of utter perplexity and despondency ("What is so wrong with me that she is dating a guy with a mustache?").
Therefore, the only course of action upon preparing to meet this other ex-boyfriend tomorrow night is to shave off my peripheral 1/4" stubble and leave a mustache. Granted, it will be a bit thin, but I can tell him that I am just starting to let it grow. I can even bring a photo of me with the full mustache just so he knows what it will look like. I'll carry the photo in my wallet, pretending that it is always there.
Yilin is horrified by this idea, and says that she will run away and take him to another restaurant if I show up with a mustache. She won't let him meet me. However, she'll be too busy catching up with him to notice me sneaking up behind her. When I give her that first kiss on the cheek and say "Hello" she will feel my mustache brush against her face and it will be "Game over, Josh wins".
By doing something so trivial, so ingenious in it's simplicity, as to meet Yilin's ex-boyfriend while sporting a mustache, I will be inducing a whirlwind of self-doubt. The final result of such an encounter is that he will seriously question himself, his masculinity, and his ability to get women. Or, to put it more simply, what I like to call "The Mustache Effect".
I feel that most men want to look good and dress nice if they are meeting their girlfriend's ex. Likewise, most women want their current boyfriend to look good when meeting their ex-boyfriend. I suspect it all has to do with creating feelings of jealousy and not-so-subtley saying, "See how much better I did than being with you?"
I don't really care for any of that; there are far better ways to create negative feelings and doubt in exes that provide an infinitely greater amount of amusement.
For example, the last time I (sort of) met up with someone from Yilin's past, she was mortified. Why? Because I had this mustache, and we ran into some people who are very good friends with her last boyfriend. She was hesitant to introduce me, and afterward kept saying things like, "Oh my God, they are going to tell him that I am dating a guy with a mustache!" Naturally, this amused me greatly.
What amused me even more was what I imagined this ex-boyfriend's reaction upon hearing that Yilin now dates a guy under 30 years old who sports a full mustache. His first response must've been shock ("What?! Why on Earth would she date a guy with a mustache?"), followed by intense curiosity ("Who is this guy that can woo women with his ubermasculine facial hair?"), and finally leaving him in a state of utter perplexity and despondency ("What is so wrong with me that she is dating a guy with a mustache?").
Therefore, the only course of action upon preparing to meet this other ex-boyfriend tomorrow night is to shave off my peripheral 1/4" stubble and leave a mustache. Granted, it will be a bit thin, but I can tell him that I am just starting to let it grow. I can even bring a photo of me with the full mustache just so he knows what it will look like. I'll carry the photo in my wallet, pretending that it is always there.
Yilin is horrified by this idea, and says that she will run away and take him to another restaurant if I show up with a mustache. She won't let him meet me. However, she'll be too busy catching up with him to notice me sneaking up behind her. When I give her that first kiss on the cheek and say "Hello" she will feel my mustache brush against her face and it will be "Game over, Josh wins".
By doing something so trivial, so ingenious in it's simplicity, as to meet Yilin's ex-boyfriend while sporting a mustache, I will be inducing a whirlwind of self-doubt. The final result of such an encounter is that he will seriously question himself, his masculinity, and his ability to get women. Or, to put it more simply, what I like to call "The Mustache Effect".
Monday, September 25, 2006
Lighting Fixtures
Disclaimer: The following true-to-life account is my version of events (if "the truth" can be referred to as "my version"). Some parties involved may have differing opinions of what really happened. Think 'Rashomon', but less epic.
In early May, my mom mailed Yilin a gift certificate to Anthropologie (a clothing/furniture/home decorating store with a vintage-y "I salvaged this from a junkyard/yard sale" look) as an engagement present. (At this time, my mom didn't yet know Yilin's taste or style, except when it came to men, haha.)
Yilin wanted to use the gift certificate to purchase something she could always keep and remind her of that magical day when her dreams came true and I proposed to her. She therefore opted to buy a home furnishing item rather than a dress or other piece of clothing. Quickly, Yilin narrowed the object in question down to a lamp.
She and I had gone once or twice to Anthropologie and scoped out the lamps, but they are kind of pricey and we had a bit of trouble agreeing on one lamp. (Guess what? Our tastes differ. Surprise, isn't it?)
I was talking to my mom and she asked me what I would like for my birthday (which is in October). I said that I didn't want anything, or couldn't think of anything, but if I did, I would let her know. I then told my mom about the lamp situation to keep her updated on our lives together.
The next day my mom called me and told me that as a birthday present she would mail me a gift certificate to Anthropologie (of equal value to the first). Her idea was that now I had equal say in the lamp (due to my equal contribution of money), and the entire cost of the lamp was covered so we wouldn't have to pay the difference.
After I thanked her and got off of the phone it hit me: she just gave Yilin another gift certificate, thinly disguised as a birthday present to me. I joke with Yilin that my parents love her more than me, but this was ridiculous. We all know who will have the final say on the lamp, regardless of my "equal monetary contribution", so who's present is it really?
(Note: My mom has overheard a telling of this tale, and denies that this gift certificate was intended as a birthday present for me, but I still testify that she said it was.)
This past weekend "we" picked out and purchased a lamp. We didn't get a lamp shade because they only had a few styles and we didn't think that they worked with this lamp, so we will pick one up elsewhere. But Yilin and I are happy with our choice, and look forward to many years of use from this lamp.
I suspect that this will be the last time I ever have a say in the interior decoration of our house. The notable exception being my library, which Yilin conceded I could decorate however I wanted. Of course, we don't have a library yet, as we don't have anything that could pass as a house yet, but someday soon enough we will.
In early May, my mom mailed Yilin a gift certificate to Anthropologie (a clothing/furniture/home decorating store with a vintage-y "I salvaged this from a junkyard/yard sale" look) as an engagement present. (At this time, my mom didn't yet know Yilin's taste or style, except when it came to men, haha.)
Yilin wanted to use the gift certificate to purchase something she could always keep and remind her of that magical day when her dreams came true and I proposed to her. She therefore opted to buy a home furnishing item rather than a dress or other piece of clothing. Quickly, Yilin narrowed the object in question down to a lamp.
She and I had gone once or twice to Anthropologie and scoped out the lamps, but they are kind of pricey and we had a bit of trouble agreeing on one lamp. (Guess what? Our tastes differ. Surprise, isn't it?)
I was talking to my mom and she asked me what I would like for my birthday (which is in October). I said that I didn't want anything, or couldn't think of anything, but if I did, I would let her know. I then told my mom about the lamp situation to keep her updated on our lives together.
The next day my mom called me and told me that as a birthday present she would mail me a gift certificate to Anthropologie (of equal value to the first). Her idea was that now I had equal say in the lamp (due to my equal contribution of money), and the entire cost of the lamp was covered so we wouldn't have to pay the difference.
After I thanked her and got off of the phone it hit me: she just gave Yilin another gift certificate, thinly disguised as a birthday present to me. I joke with Yilin that my parents love her more than me, but this was ridiculous. We all know who will have the final say on the lamp, regardless of my "equal monetary contribution", so who's present is it really?
(Note: My mom has overheard a telling of this tale, and denies that this gift certificate was intended as a birthday present for me, but I still testify that she said it was.)
This past weekend "we" picked out and purchased a lamp. We didn't get a lamp shade because they only had a few styles and we didn't think that they worked with this lamp, so we will pick one up elsewhere. But Yilin and I are happy with our choice, and look forward to many years of use from this lamp.I suspect that this will be the last time I ever have a say in the interior decoration of our house. The notable exception being my library, which Yilin conceded I could decorate however I wanted. Of course, we don't have a library yet, as we don't have anything that could pass as a house yet, but someday soon enough we will.
Friday, September 22, 2006
Science Dorks
I just caught myself laughing at a joke that is about as nerdy as it can get. Even a lot of scientists would probably think it too lame to laugh. Then I started thinking about all of the dorky science jokes/conversations that I've had with friends since the good ol' days of RPI. (This does not include scientific conversations where average people would think it is "nerdy"; I'm talking stuff that my friends and I said, "Whoa. THAT is nerdy.")
Feel free to contribute if you are a scientist or circulated amongst science people while in college (i.e., engineers). If you are not a scientist, or don't know any scientists other than myself, then sit back and laugh at us.
(For the sake of nonscientists reading this blog, try to explain why your joke/conversation is funny. Remember, they don't know any science.)
1) The joke I laughed at today: There is a refrigerator on our floor that is set to 37C (98.6F) for growing bacteria. (I guess it is technically not a refrigerator, but that is beside the point.) A sign on the outside states "ABSOLUTELY NO RADIATION ALLOWED IN THIS FRIDGE!". Basically, the owner doesn't want radioactivity potentially contaminating a piece of equipment that many others use. That's smart. However, a comment scrawled below the text of the sign was smartass: "No radiation? Not even visible light?"
Why this is funny: Because visible light is a form of radiation. Therefore how can anyone use the fridge without visible light getting inside?
2) Not really a joke, but dorky: In college, my buddy Jim left RPI to attend the local community college for a semester to "get his grades up" (although he never returned...). While there, he took physics. One day in class, the professor asked, "Does anyone know the charge of an electron?" Nobody made a sound. "Anyone?" the professor pleaded. At this point in Jim's story I cut in and yelled, "What?! It's 1.6x10-19! Don't they know anything?!" Jim said, "Yeah. I just raised my hand and said 1.6x10-19 and everyone thought I was some kind of genius." We laughed a lot at the 'stupidity' of those kids.
Why this is funny: Because I was a second year biology major who was finished with his mandatory two semesters of physics and I knew the charge of an electron. I was surrounded by physicists and engineers whose job it is to know these things, and it amazed me that anybody in college wouldn't know what the charge of an electron is. I am ashamed to say that I did think they were stupid for not knowing that piece of information. But it is funny to laugh at our dorkiness.
Feel free to contribute if you are a scientist or circulated amongst science people while in college (i.e., engineers). If you are not a scientist, or don't know any scientists other than myself, then sit back and laugh at us.
(For the sake of nonscientists reading this blog, try to explain why your joke/conversation is funny. Remember, they don't know any science.)
1) The joke I laughed at today: There is a refrigerator on our floor that is set to 37C (98.6F) for growing bacteria. (I guess it is technically not a refrigerator, but that is beside the point.) A sign on the outside states "ABSOLUTELY NO RADIATION ALLOWED IN THIS FRIDGE!". Basically, the owner doesn't want radioactivity potentially contaminating a piece of equipment that many others use. That's smart. However, a comment scrawled below the text of the sign was smartass: "No radiation? Not even visible light?"
Why this is funny: Because visible light is a form of radiation. Therefore how can anyone use the fridge without visible light getting inside?
2) Not really a joke, but dorky: In college, my buddy Jim left RPI to attend the local community college for a semester to "get his grades up" (although he never returned...). While there, he took physics. One day in class, the professor asked, "Does anyone know the charge of an electron?" Nobody made a sound. "Anyone?" the professor pleaded. At this point in Jim's story I cut in and yelled, "What?! It's 1.6x10-19! Don't they know anything?!" Jim said, "Yeah. I just raised my hand and said 1.6x10-19 and everyone thought I was some kind of genius." We laughed a lot at the 'stupidity' of those kids.
Why this is funny: Because I was a second year biology major who was finished with his mandatory two semesters of physics and I knew the charge of an electron. I was surrounded by physicists and engineers whose job it is to know these things, and it amazed me that anybody in college wouldn't know what the charge of an electron is. I am ashamed to say that I did think they were stupid for not knowing that piece of information. But it is funny to laugh at our dorkiness.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Honey
I am writing to tell you about honey. About one month ago when Yilin and I were grocery shopping I wanted to buy some honey. A quick look at the appropriate shelf at Fairway revealed that there are many varieties of honey one can purchase; not just different brands, but different varieties.
This I was aware of: there is clover honey, wildflower honey, etc. I spotted a chunky little jar with honey so deeply brown it looked like molasses (almost). I immediately grabbed it and read the title "Wald Honig". Everything on the label, except for about 5 words in small print on the back, was in German. The jar cost something like $8.99 for maybe 12 fl ozs.
I bought the Wald Honig (Wild Honey), harvested from bees in the Black Forest of Germany.
It is the most ridiculously good honey I have ever eaten. It is like honey concentrate without being overly sweet, if you could imagine such a thing. When my brother and his girlfriend recently visited I had them try it and they were blown away by its flavor as well. So I gave them the jar figuring they would never find that brand (BioPhar) in Massachusetts.
Needless to say, I had no more honey. Therefore, when Yilin and I went grocery shopping this weekend I bought another jar. This time, however, I selected "Bluten Honig". It is an opaque golden color with a very creamy sweet taste. Last night Yilin and I made baklava using this honey. It is unreal.
If you ever see this brand of honey, buy it. I am sure any of their varieties are good, but I vouch for the two that I have discussed here. Trust me, you won't regret it.
This I was aware of: there is clover honey, wildflower honey, etc. I spotted a chunky little jar with honey so deeply brown it looked like molasses (almost). I immediately grabbed it and read the title "Wald Honig". Everything on the label, except for about 5 words in small print on the back, was in German. The jar cost something like $8.99 for maybe 12 fl ozs.
I bought the Wald Honig (Wild Honey), harvested from bees in the Black Forest of Germany.
It is the most ridiculously good honey I have ever eaten. It is like honey concentrate without being overly sweet, if you could imagine such a thing. When my brother and his girlfriend recently visited I had them try it and they were blown away by its flavor as well. So I gave them the jar figuring they would never find that brand (BioPhar) in Massachusetts.
Needless to say, I had no more honey. Therefore, when Yilin and I went grocery shopping this weekend I bought another jar. This time, however, I selected "Bluten Honig". It is an opaque golden color with a very creamy sweet taste. Last night Yilin and I made baklava using this honey. It is unreal.
If you ever see this brand of honey, buy it. I am sure any of their varieties are good, but I vouch for the two that I have discussed here. Trust me, you won't regret it.
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