Silly stuff

HARD (CORE)

1. Bạn sẽ trả lời một cách thành thật những câu hỏi này chứ ?
no
2. Đã bao giờ thức suốt đêm để uống rượu chưa ?
does half a night count?
3. Từng đập vô mặt ai chưa ?
nope.
4. Có đang nhớ ai hay điều gì đó không?
yup.
5. Ai làm bạn cười vì hạnh phúc?
friends
6. Hôn ai trong vòng hơn 5 tiếng chưa ?
nope. and will never do. that’s not sanitary.
7. Ai là người cuối cùng bạn nói chuyện ?
Ng.
8. Bây giờ không thích cái gì ?
school.
9. Tên 1 người bạn giống bạn nhất ?
no one.

HARDER

1. Bạn có nghĩ have sex ở lứa tuổi của bạn là không tốt ?
it’s fine. can you live without food, water, air and love?
2.Bạn sẽ lập gia đình chứ ?
of course.
3. Sẽ chơi thuốc không?
nope. long term costs much exceed temporary pleasure.
4. Có khai gian tuổi không ?
why do I have to?

VERY PERSONAL

1. Nếu bây giờ have sex bạn có use condom không ?
of course. silly question.
2. Bạn có hài lòng về bản thân mình không ?
yes.
3. Bạn sẽ thay đổi bản thân vì người bạn yêu chứ ?
maybe, if I feel that I want to change and be willing/ready to do so.
4. Những khi gặp khó khăn, bạn thường tự nói gì để động viên bản thân ?
I can get through this.

SECRETS

1. Lần cuối bạn khóc ?
not long ago I’m sure. crying is a good stress-aversion technique
2. Có tin tưởng vào tôn giáo không?
no…on second thought, yes
3. Lần cuối bạn ngủ thiếp đi với 1 người khác giới ?
can’t recall any.
4. Hiện giờ bạn đang suy nghĩ về điều gì ?
why am I doing this?
5. Có từng ước cho 1 người bạn thân chết đi không?
sure, at some point….i did tell you i’m not answering everything honestly, didn’t i?

THE DEEP STUFF

1. Bạn có nghĩ mình được nuôi dưỡng tốt không?
yes.
2. Có bí mật nào bạn chưa từng kể cho bất kì ai?
yes.
3. Bạn thường làm gì để giảm stress ?
sleep. write. cry. be stressed.
4. Nếu chỉ còn 1 ngày để sống, bạn sẽ làm gì ?
fly home. have some good food. sleep.
5. Bạn đã từng che giấu điều gì hay làm gì để phải cắn rứt lương tâm chưa ?
must’ve. yes, i remember that now.
6. Nếu bạn phải chọn 1 thành viên trong gia đình hoặc là 5 người bạn thân nhất của bạn sẽ phải chết, bạn sẽ chọn ai ?
silly question. there is always a solution to a dilemma.
7. Bạn nghĩ mình có thể tha thứ cho một người đã giết chết đi người thân mình không?
nope.
8. Điều tệ nhất mà bạn đã làm khi chưa được sự đồng ý của ba mẹ ?
nothing bad. I’m mature enough to make rational decisions…you would think.

THE LOVE STUFF

1. Bạn nghĩ bạn hiểu rõ ý nghĩa của tình yêu chứ ?
no.
2. Theo quan điểm của bạn, trong những mối quan hệ điều gì là quan trọng nhất ?
mutual respect, trust, sharing and understanding. in that order.
3. Nếu ba mẹ không thích người yêu của bạn, bạn sẽ chia tay người đó chứ ?
will break up if I let my parents’ preferences influence how I think about my partner. that’s not a good sign.

THE RANDOM STUFF

1. Bạn có dành thời gian cho những người quen hay kể luôn đó là những người lạ ?
I did spend time with strangers.
2. Bạn thân có thể thay thế ?
yes. things happen, people change.
4. Lần gần đây nhất mà bạn cảm thấy thực sự hạnh phúc ?
within the past month. and among friends.
5. Màu mà bạn thích?
black, green, grey.
6. Bạn làm gì khi có 1 ngày tồi tệ ?
sleep. eat. may talk and write.
7. Bạn có tin rằng người yêu cũ có thể thực sự trở thành bạn bè không?
no.
8. Ai là người nhắn tin cho bạn cuối cùng ?
a wrong number.
9. Lần cuối bạn nói với 1 người là bạn yêu người đó?
to sandhya, can’t remember when, maybe sometimes last year
10. Nếu bạn phải từ bỏ mọi thứ và chuyển đi nơi khác ngay bây giờ, bạn sẽ làm điều đó chứ ?
actually no. I have too much here to give up.
11. Bạn có dễ phải lòng người khác không?
not easy to love. easy to have feelings for.
12. Bạn có nóng nảy không?
no.
13. Ba mẹ có thật sự hiểu bạn không?
no. parents never really understand their kids. either that, or kids always think their parents don’t.
14. Bạn có mệt mỏi không ?
yes.

OFF THE WALL QUESTIONS

1. Khi bực mình hay chửi câu gì?
f*ck.
2. Có Ipod không ?
no.
3.Từng uống thuốc ngủ để dễ ngủ hơn chưa ?
no. and will never do.
4. Lần uống cafe gần đây nhất?
this afternoon.
5.Bạn nghĩ có người nói xấu sau lưng mình không?
of course, that’s human nature. and it means I’ve made myself present.
6. Có ai yêu bạn không?
yes.
7. Khóc nơi đông người ?
used to.
8. Bạn có dùng những lời mỉa mai không?
sometimes.
9. Sống với người cùng hay khác giới sẽ tốt hơn?
personally, opposite sex.

As simple as a pad

Well, obtaining pads on a more regular basis is not going to turn a poor, undereducated girl into a career woman. But it sure will make life, school, and work easier for her. The only question is how much better her life is gonna be? is it a worthwhile, effective intervention for development people to think about/invest time, money, and effort in? — Emily Oster and Rebecca Thorn do not think so. As far as I know, Emily Oster appears to be attracting attention in health economics (in international development), mostly by presenting results from rigorous studies that go against some of the more conventional beliefs in the field.

Oh, this article is funny: If Men could Menstruate by Gloria Steinem – a bit on the extreme side in terms of portraying gender inequality, I feel (no?!?), but still, it’s fun to read!

Paracel Islands dispute on NYT magazine

Read the article here (NYT online magazine Feb 4)

At least, the words are out there.

– Aid in emergency

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/03/world/americas/03haiti.html?pagewanted=1&ref=world

Source: New York Times online magazine, Feb 3

the “adoption question”

http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/01/haitis-children-and-the-adoption-question/?ref=world

source: New York Times online magazine, Feb 1.

Watched American parents awaiting their Haitian children on CNN the other day, but didn’t think about the “adoption question” at that time. anyway, the link is for future reference, since I really like David Smolin’s writing.

I also think the neo-colonialist argument is weird (it was mentioned but not explicated in Smolin’s comments — but you get the idea). it’s like the “everyone should be nice and kind but instead they are evil” mindset…human beings are just human beings.

May hom xem thoi su*. o nha hinh` nhu toan thay 1 lo xich xong cac tin ve hoi^. thao, hoi^ nghi., hop hanh tuyen duong, tong ket va rut kinh nghiem cac yeu kem trong nam. Sao ma hop nhieu the. Ma hon the nua~ la sao ma phai dua tin hop. ghe the, nhieu the.

It was funny

…and then it got really gross!

Blah (4)

A tall, cool drink of sewage – Elizabeth Royte

“A rabbi, a minister, and a Muslim sheik walk into a restaurant“

Written one summer day (2)

“…Actually

I lied. I did not take economics and psychology because I liked them both. I had no interest in economics, and I was determined to do something that I, for once, genuinely love to do. First I thought it was anthropology, but cultural stuff got boring and repetitive after a semester. Then I found psychology, so there we go, a perfect combination between something practical that I need to take, and something unpractical that I like. The unpractical component of it slipped away after a while, so I sat back and enjoy my peaceful ride through college life, with a few bumps here and there but no dramatic changes that got me to ponder over my academic and career path all over again.

My junior year of college, economics suddenly became a trunk of treasure. I got excited and waited to come to money and banking. I got fascinated with econometrics and at the idea that I could now run models and write up papers “just like anybody else”. The more I learn about economics, the less I know, but at the same time, I’m still excited about the subjects. Macroeconomics specifically. Microeconomics is too technical, and lacks the exciting historical, political and social aspects of macro that I love. (No actually certain areas in microeconomics start to look REALLY interesting, thanks to the fact that microtheory stuff finally starts to make sense)

Parts of psychology, on the other hand, gets repetitive. Part of it may have to do with the little prospect of follow-through after I graduate. There is no chance that I will pursue a PhD in psychology and teach. There is little chance that I get a master’s in psychology, because it is costly, and job availability is low, especially scarce for international students. For recent college grads, it’s the same issue. And then, there is the question of coming back home and not being able to find a decent job with a degree in psychology.

So yeah, I’m going into economics. Social and/or economic development.

And in psychology, my area of interest is the self, and body language. (ummmm I’m not sure anymore)

And you know what, the ‘confrontation’ at the dinner table today made me realize that I do not get to be bored at anything. I have the power to open doors to so many more areas within each of the disciplines I’m studying. Time is limited though, but that is not a legitimate excuse!  …”

Written one summer day (1)

“….These days, I learn a lesson of foundational theory and critical social reasoning as the core of social research, and learn to shift my focus of attention from quantitative to a more information-gathering and questioning/answer-seeking. This, to a considerable extent, comes as a side result of the regression II class with this very hyper professor who believes in the power of repetition and remembrance over the the power of understanding and quiet contemplation. In any case, yes it hits me that regression is bullshit, but it’s one of the tools that social scientists have at their disposal. Quantification is one way to provide supporting evidence for the purpose of description, explanation and evaluation. On the other hand, putting the learning of, say, econometrics, over the learning of economics, and hoping to discover ideas through models is a guaranteed hopeless endeavor, not to mention, misleading and very wrong.
At the same time, refuting the quantitative tool would take away a powerful source of knowledge and communication of knowledge content to the rest of the social research world, and especially the public at large….”