Self Defense The US Coast Guard Way

Lee, the HD of the other tower was in the US Coast Guard for a few years before he goes to college. So last night after the staff meeting, at Brandon's request, he taught us self defense. The first one was reverse lock, which he claimed that I should know how to do with my eyes closed since I always travel solo.

I do not recall what the second one was called but the first step involved grabbing, twisting and pulling you-know-what. It was hilarious when Buder who played the attacker flinched when Lee made the motion. Not like he would actually grab it, but Buder did have a reason to be nervous, lol.

Lee also taught us how to block and throw punches, and how to break someone's elbow by using upper body or torso movements. He did a few fancy footworks that were beyond our capabilities, just like the ones we usually see in movies. Not surprising, considering the guy was trained to kill. Lee was also in the movie Bad Boys, by the way.

Haz's Personal Booklists

Moja Amin left a comment in my earlier post "Who/What Are You Currently Reading?" asking if I would list out book recommendations. Well I can't really recommend because my taste in books is somewhat weird but here are the lists of my recent and not-so-recent read:

Fiction:
1. Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
2. The Awakening - Kate Chopin
3. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
4. People of The Book - Geraldine Brooks
5. The Reader - Bernard Schlink
6. Interpreter of Maladies - Jhumpa Lahiri
7. The Namesake - Jhumpa Lahiri
8. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
9. Beat the Reaper - Josh Bazell
10. Dreamers of the Days -Mary Doria Russell
11. The Commoner -John Burnham Schwartz
12. The Princess Bride - William Goldman
13. Waiting - Ha Jin
14. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
15. Native Son - Richard Wright
16. The Attack - Yasmina Khadra
17. The Septembers of Shiraz - Dalia Sofer
18. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
19. The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards
20. The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd
21. The Bastard of Istanbul - Elif Shafak
22. Snow Flower and The Secret Fan - Lisa See
23. Peony in Love - Lisa See
24. Stardust - Neil Gaiman
25. The Pakistani Bride - Bapsi Sidhwa
26. Mister Pip - Lloyd Jones
27. The Golden Compass - Phillip Pullman
28. The Subtle Knife - Phillip Pullman
29. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
30. My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult
31. Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes
32. Digging to America - Anne Tyler
33. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - C.S. Lewis
34. Bonjour Tristesse - Francoise Sagan
35. Equal Rites - Terry Pratchett
36. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist - Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
37. The Twilight Saga (Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn) - Stephenie Meyer
38. Daisy Miller - Henry James
39. Washington Square - Henry James
40. Prep - Curtis Sittenfeld
41. Chez Moi - Agnes Desarthe
42. Girl with a Pearl Earring - Tracy Chevalier
43. The Girl and The Unicorn - Tracy Chevalier
44. Chocolat - Joanne Harris
45. Woman at Point Zero - Nawal el Saadawi

Alright, let's stop at 45 and get going with the non-fiction list...

Non- fiction
1. Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women - Geraldine Brooks
2. Banker for the Poor - Muhammad Yunus
3. Reading Lolita in Tehran: Memoir in Books - Azar Nafisi
4. Things I've Been Silent About - Azar Nafisi
5. Three Cups of Tea - Greg Mortensen
6. Persepolis - Marjan Satriapi
7. The Qur'an and Sayings of Prophet Muhammad: Selections Annotated and Explained - Sohaib N. Sultan
8. The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch


So from these lists there two obvious conclusions to my reading habit:

1. My love for fiction > My love for non-fiction
- This is NOT necessarily true. I read non-fiction when I am researching for a short story, but I seldom finish all of them. Unfinished books are not included in the lists, it's against my moral principle.

2. I prefer female writers than male writers.
- This is TOTALLY true.


Happy reading!

*I owned most of these books! (And more, of course)

**If you need elaboration on any of the books (what is it about, how I like it, etc) just leave a comment and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Earth Hour at Weaver

I just went up and down five floors asking Weaver East residents if they minded turning off the lights for an hour. And they don't. Some knew what is happening, others don't so I took the opportunity to enlighten these freshmen. The moment I said energy conservation, they all said of course.

Mission accomplished. Now my room and suite are both dark, and I had to use a flashlight to do some bathroom business. That brought up memories from last year's field camp for sure. At least it wasn't a portable, outdoor toilet this time around, lol.

Now if only I could crack the central lighting system in the atrium, Weaver's blackout would be perfect...

Update at 9.16 p.m.
My resident who shares the suite with me just yelled, making sure I'm alive in the darkness. Thanks Mackenzie!

Who/What Are You Currently Reading?

As for myself, I'm into Russian writers for the time being. I'm reading Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita, and just treated myself to a copy of Anton Pavlovich Chekhov's The Party and Other Stories (from Denver Book Mall, the third used bookstore I went into this afternoon). Usually I stay away from short stories because I found the ones by western/western-ly influenced writers as "hollow."

But last week I dusted off my (used) copy of Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri and despite frowning over private yet very public displays of emotions in the first two stories, I managed to finish the whole book. It struck me that I've been avoiding emotions in my works, and maybe that was also the reason why I avoided such short stories.

Anyway, I'm also looking for a (used) copy of Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being and short stories by Nikolai Gogol. Apparently, Lahiri is deeply influenced by the latter.

So what and/or who are you reading?

**As for new releases, I would really love to read Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese. It's about two twin brothers who are doctors and their complicated relationship with each other and their estranged father, who is also a doctor. I am a sucker for medical fiction, the last book about doctors that I read was Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell. It is flippin' amazing, and upon finishing it, I concluded that Peter Brown is one kick-as* MD!

Ilmu Bantu dalam Cerpen Perca-Perca Cinta Untuk Palestin

"Sesebuah karya sastera dipadukan dengan ilmu bantu yang memberi nilai tambah kepada pembaca akan mengangkat karya tersebut menjadi sebuah karya yang baik. Apatah lagi ilmu bantu itu akan merangsang pembaca untuk mendalami sesuatu isu dan menguatkan saranan dan pemikiran pengarang terhadap sesuatu isu yang disentuh. Dalam cerpen Rebecca Ilham, Perca-perca Cinta Untuk Palestina yang tersiar di ruangan karya kreatif Berita Harian, teknik penyampaian ilmu bantu atau hujah pemikiran pengarang disampaikan dengan cukup berkesan untuk meyakinkan pembaca terhadap pandangan pengarang mengenai konflik Israel-Palestin."

- petikan artikel Teknik Mengenengahkan Ilmu Bantu dalam Cerpen Perca-Perca Cinta Untuk Palestin oleh Muhammad Teja

Baca artikel penuh di sini

Blizzard!

UPDATE: School SHUTS DOWN at noon!

Finally, the snow descends. It has been a particularly warm winter season, with very minimal snowfall. But knowing Colorado after four years calling myself its resident, I know a huge heap of frozen rainfall is due before we can move on to warmer weather (a.k.a spring). The forecasts have been unreliable. According to meteorologists, it was supposed to snow since Monday. Yet, the weather has been playing hide and seek. It was gloomy, then it was sunny. Then it was windy so the temperature dropped. But then it just hiked up again. *Sigh*

Until this morning.

If this was a year ago, I would have cursed the thickening layer of snow on the sidewalks around campus. But since this could be my last snow ever in a very long time, I was all smile. Even the lady at the food court was surprised at my enthusiasm when I was there to get my daily fix of caffeine before heading to class.

I don't care that my pair of knee-high suede boots are buried half a foot deep, my winter coat drenched, my glasses fogged, my classes canceled (not that I'm complaining...); I'm thankful for the final chance with some white fluffy snow powder that is non-existent by the equator!

*Yep, it's a blizzard. Deemed to be "Storm of the Year." Some schools, even as close as Boulder don't even open their doors this morning. The traffic has been crazy, and a couple of friends were almost in an accident. Somehow, I'm still excited. Some snow angels later, anyone? Or a snowball fight? Or sledding down the sorority hill?

**I finished Interpreter of Maladies (Jhumpa Lahiri) last night and was planning to venture to Denver Book Fair for a copy of Anton Chekhov's Short Stories Collection but looks like that has to wait a few more days.