Friday, 21 February 2014

Day 43: Savouring sunsets

What went well?

  1. Got my first mid-term back for sociology of mental illness, and was pleasantly surprised by how I went!
  2. Got invited to do stuff this weekend. Possibly a party and/or a musical. Friends are good!
  3. Had a productive lab meeting. We made more progress on designing the positive portfolio study. Also, the post-doc I'm working with shared her baking with us, and I really admired the fact that she baked for her meetings despite arriving back from Australia yesterday or the day before!
  4. Watched a sunset through the windows at Stouffer. It was the first one I had watched here in Philly, and it was beautiful, and so transient - it lasted only about 2 mins after I started watching. Simple pleasures.
  5. Went to a Philomathean Society meeting and heard some really interesting 6-minute talks by prospective members. They included India's upcoming election, molecular gastronomy, how How I Met Your Mother steals from Friends, and the Brazilian hippy movement (I forget the name).


What did I learn?

  • Molecular gastronomy ($$$$$ gourmet cuisine) may use similar methods as highly processed fast-food.
  • I don't think I transferred enough money to the US and might need to do another international transfer. Why? Unexpected costs - I hadn't been planning on taking music lessons as a subject (partially subsidised; $600 for 10 lessons) or going to the mindfulness conference ($240, plus I need to book accommodation). I probably should have left a bigger cushion.
  • I've spent approximately $70 on food per week here.

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