Originally published at Per aspera ad astra. You can comment here or there.

Sinatra had it right when he said that New York never sleeps; it’s one of those cities that has an energy about it that’s irresistible. And as I discovered in early December, there are few places in the world that can get you in the holiday spirit better than the Big Apple.


( Read more... )

Originally published at Per aspera ad astra. You can comment here or there.

Okay, so Broadway is never really dark. It reminded me a lot of Seoul- neon lights everywhere and masses of people rushing about. Just a really cool, exciting area to be in.


( Read more... )

Originally published at Per aspera ad astra. You can comment here or there.

Okay, the real origin of my last post (how easily distracted I am):

In the spirit of complaining about Christmas shopping, my boss mentioned that this year she isn’t giving gifts to most of the adults she knows; instead she’s donating money in their names to UNICEF, an ( Read more... )

Originally published at Per aspera ad astra. You can comment here or there.

I have serious reservations about donating to any foreign aid organization, no matter how reputable and well-meaning. Start: Look at the advertising. Christian Children’s Fund commercials , and others like them, all follow the same general format. Fade in with some clips of ( Read more... )

Originally published at Per aspera ad astra. You can comment here or there.

No first-time trip to New York would be complete without a visit to the Statue of Liberty. If you’re trying to see the Statue on the cheap, and don’t really mind not going up in it (a hassle with the new security system)- hop on the Staten Island Ferry (free!) and enjoy the ( Read more... )

Originally published at Per aspera ad astra. You can comment here or there.

When I was in Korea, Eunice and I met up with a high school friend of hers who found her on Facebook.  Good times (and Korean BBQ) were had by all, and she gave us her business card at the end- she’s a research manager at the Museum of Modern Art and told us to contact her ( Read more... )

Originally published at Per aspera ad astra. You can comment here or there.

With my upcoming months full of travel (NYC, Texas, Ireland to name a couple), of course I’m already looking ahead at summer ‘09  and what I’m going to do with the 2 months of free (though unpaid) time I get from Cornell. Unlike last year, I’ve already narrowed it down to ( Read more... )

Originally published at Per aspera ad astra. You can comment here or there.

I love writing. And once I get down to it, I become totally absorbed in my work, manipulating words until the sun comes up (usually literally). Until that particular mood strikes, though, I’m what might be considered the most easily distracted person alive. (There’s really ( Read more... )

Originally published at Per aspera ad astra. You can comment here or there.

I missed the bandwagon on this one, but if you haven’t read Three Cups of Tea, please go get a copy now. Like, stop reading my blog, change out of your pajamas (or not!), and go to Barnes & Noble. Or borrow it from me. I got mine on a whim wandering a mall in Fargo- and am ( Read more... )

Originally published at Per aspera ad astra. You can comment here or there.

If you haven’t, I’d highly recommend listening to both Obama and McCain’s speeches from last night. Very classy and eloquent. I’m not really either of those things 99% of the time, so I’ll also recommend this:

POWERTHIRST