---Art--
[ ] Architecture kit
[x] Pastels
[ ] Sketchbooks (3)
[?] Sketching pencils

---Bath, Cosmetics, & Laundry---
[x] Cosmetics
[ ] Detergent
[x] Hamper
[x] Laundry bag
[x] Shower door hook
[ ] Shower bag
[ ] Shower sandals
[>] Towels (4 bath, 4 hand)

---Bed---
[ ] Blanket
[x] Comforter
[x] Fitted sheets (2)
[x] Flat sheets (2)
[x] Mattress pad
[x] Pillow cases (4)
[x] Pillows (2)

---Books---
[x] Art & Architecture Collection (
    4 Vol. Art History;
    The Classical Language of Architecture
    Contemporary Chinese Architecture;
    Dictionary of Historic Architecture;
    Elements of Chinese Architecture;
    Experiencing Architecture; 
    Learning from Las Vegas)
[x] Asian collection (
    Analects of Confucius;
    Book of Songs;
    Chinese fables;
    Chinese grammar;
    Dictionary of Buddhism;
    Dictionary of Taoism;
    2 Vol. History of Chinese Literature;
    3 Vol. Jingkong's explication of Buddhist classics on CD;
    Mencius;
    Reflections on the study of Buddhism;
    Researching Buddhism;
    Ru Lin Wai Shi)
[x] DS (
    Herodotus, The History;
    Homer, Iliad;
    Plato, Complete Works)
[x] Fiction (
    7 Vol. Balzac;
    Chekhov;
    Original edition of Conceived;
    Gorky;
    Harry Potter 7;
    Maupassant; )
[x] Translation collection (
    Chinese dictionary;
    Chinese-English dictionary;
    Classical Chinese dictionary;
    Distinction of characters;
    2 Vol. English-Chinese dictionary;
    Guide to simplified characters)
[x] Western Philosophy Collection (
    Essentials of Philosophy
    4 Vol. Plato - Chinese;
    Personally annotated Republic)
[x] Miscellaneous (
    Chinese Journalism (2004-2007);
    Economic Behavior;
    3 Vol. Psychology)

---Desk---
[x] Cheques
[x] Essential documents (four envelopes)
[x] Pencil cup with engravings
[x] Personal financial archive

---Electronics---
[?] Computer
[x] Ethernet cable
[?] Printer

---Furniture & appliances---
[x] Closet organizer
[x] Fan
[ ] Lamp
[ ] Microwave (?)
[ ] Refrigerator (?)
[>] Storage box(es)
[ ] Vacuum

---Miscellaneous---
[x] CD/DVD Collection
[x] First Aid kit
[x] Jewellery Box
[x] Mementos Box
[ ] Mug
[x] Posters
    World Map
    Led Zeppelin
    Periodic Table
    Hulk
    ?
[ ] Sewing kit

---Things I will only buy if dad wins the lottery before August 25th---
---Also: In case Santa exists---
[ ] Big fluffy towels
[ ] Big panda
[ ] Book ends
[ ] Bow tie
[ ] Bulletin board that I can put a map and red flags on
[ ] Easel
[ ] Erlenmeyer mug
[ ] Flask
[ ] Fluffy lion slippers
[ ] Giant fortune cookie
[ ] Globe
[ ] Need Chocolate! tampon case
[ ] Pocket watch
[ ] Shot glass chess set
[ ] Socks not from Costco
    Cat flip flop socks
    Toe socks
    With pretty patterns and pretty colors
    Woolen socks
[ ] Stuffed bulldog beanie
[ ] Tacky jewellery
    Capacitor earrings
    Concrete cufflinks & earrings
    Diode earrings
    Oreo cookie earrings
    Oreo cookie necklace
    Resistor earrings
[ ] Umbrella with colors

Over the past few weeks, I've been swaying between Yale and Princeton. At first, I thought that I would know when I have visited both colleges. Yet Princeton Preview Days and Bulldog Days came and went and I've yet to decide. It is now April 30th and I must choose. It struck me as reasonable to write down my thoughts as I make this most difficult and important decision I have ever had to make. By the end of this entry, I will have chosen my college.

Princeton seems beautiful and serene, yet there are unique accents that prevent it from stillness. Yale seems urban and chaotic, yet it settles and gathers itself in grace. I would love to make Princeton my home, to bathe in its perfection while knowing that there is more to explore than I ever can. I've used the term "comfort zone" to describe it to others who have tried to help me with my decision. Indeed, it felt familiar while I was there. It felt like home. And to many, that should be the cue that leads to choosing Princeton.

Yet I don't know if I ought to choose a place so similar to home. I've lived in New Jersey for some seven years now and perhaps it is time to move away, once more. Perhaps it is time to reach out and to explore a new place, a new atmosphere. I would, too, grow at Princeton, yet not as radically as I would at Yale, I think. At Princeton, I would too easily escape to the friends who stay in New Jersey and back to home, which would only been some twenty minutes away by train. I am eighteen. Shall I step outside and make my own nest? A New Haven, perhaps.

I don't know if I am ready for it. Yale both excited and intimidated me in its passion. I found many of the students alien, and my first night there, I had to reach back to Highland Park by calling a friend late at night. There would be no such convenient support at college. Yet is that not a good thing? I've left so much in New Jersey that for me to change, to truly develop here seems an impossible task. I want the option of reaching back for support, but I doubt that it would be good in the long run.

Or am I thinking too much? Neither of them is so small that I would not be in an entirely new place. The academic environment will likely prove so daunting at either school, and my ideological structure so in danger of collapse and simultaneous revolution, that I will become a new person regardless of where I go. If I could have chosen where to live when I came to the United States, there is no way in the world that I would have chosen Highland Park, New Jersey, yet it proved an inspirational place despite my pessimistic preconceptions.

My friends consider it idiotic, but aside from all this talk, if Yale's colors were black and orange and its mascot a tiger, I would pick Yale with only the most negligible hesitance. And if I choose Yale, I will probably come back and delete this line, but even crimson and gray would be better. Silly, I know, but I have always thought of things (and people) in terms of color. I feel safe going home to black and orange, whereas navy pushes me away and sets me at a distance too great for my comfort. I have simply associated each school with its respective color and it seems irreversible now.

It seems strange that I am not at all concerned about the usual arguments. That orange is ugly, for example (it is awesome), or that Princeton is elitist and preppy (because any place where Mike Chen seems to fit in cannot possibly be too elitist and preppy). Or, on the other hand, that I will get shot in New Haven (no place could be worse than Shenyang... not even Camden) or that Yale's undergraduate program isn't as good as Princeton's ('tis true, the difference seems to be negligible. And I'm not touching the sciences except when absolutely necessary).

For weeks, people have been telling me to "go with your heart". And I hesitate. This "heart" of mine has a history of protesting change of any kind and prefers comfort far too much for my own good. I suppose that means my heart is telling me to go to Princeton, which must mean something. But my head is telling me to go to Yale. And by heart, I mean the part of me that wants to sleep all day and jump strange guys. A noble ambition, I'm sure. I think I might be happier at Princeton, at least superficially, though there is no real way to tell.

Peyton says that my growth would be more distinct at Yale. I agree.

Bulldogs 2012! (That took about 8 hours.)

--

I just matriculated--and rejected my Princeton offer. Yun, you were right. There was a twinge of pain, but 'tis done. I will just have to deal with the navy. And the scary street people.

So about this Harvard-hating business...

I am thankful for:

-Shakyamuni;
-Bethune, Ghandi, Schweitzer, and other inspirational figures;
-The UN, Architecture for Humanity, Greenpeace, Doctors Without Borders, nonpolitical aspects of Oxfam, and countless other organizations (extra cheers to WTE);
-The Kyoto Protocol with the Bonn and Marrakech revisions, despite its ineffectiveness;

-My family (too much to say);

-Artem (for trust, guidance, integrity, logic, a third of morality, and selfless kindness);
-Beck (for originality, artful deliberation, faithfulness, and perseverance);
-Mike Nye (for spiritual enlightenment, truth, relentless inquisitiveness, another third of morality, and humanitarian love);
-Peyton (for sincerity, compassion, intuition, humility, desire, and the last third of morality);
-Yueming (for curiosity, passion, intimacy, hope but also practicality, and being the best putative brother ever);

-Ariel (for appreciation of simple things);
-Betty (for idealism);
-Cap (for mundanity but also philosophy);
-Celia (for loyalty and honesty);
-Christina (for companionship);
-Meg (for honor);
-Colin (for adolescence);
-Dave (for indulgence);
-Ed. (for gratitude);
-Huaiyuan (for modesty);
-Jane (for diligence);
-Jason (for romance);
-Jesse (for forgiveness);
-Josh (for optimism);
-Kate (for childhood);
-Keren and Sarah L. (for courage);
-Lena (for confidence);
-Mike (for discernment and vigilance);
-Mike (for introspection);
-Paul (for ethics);
-RJ (for imagination);
-Seb (for pleasure);
-Sem (for religion);
-Shuo (for knowledge);
-Sofia (for humor);
-Tommy (for moderation);
-Tristan (for confirmation);
-Vince (for femininity);
-Yun (for assertiveness and tact);
-Zack (for individuality);
-Zhaoxiang (for innocence);

-Baker (for concern and propriety);
-Du (for growth);
-Eliot (for environmental consciousness);
-Jackie (for intellectuality);
-Lassy (for persuasion and humanitarianism);
-Liu (for creativity);
-Mladnick (for activism);
-Mulcahy (for devotion);
-Stringer (for questioning);

-My health and other attributes;
-Deng Xiaoping and similar politicians;
-My socioeconomic status and consequent blessings such as literacy;
-RMC 2007, Cornell SC 2007 and other intellectually stimulating experiences;
-Kahn, Wright, and other professional icons;
-Hot chocolate, tea, Silkroad, Socrates, Wilde, Balzac, sex, sleep, jello, roses, Vermeer, Pink Floyd, Modest Mouse, Giuseppe Verdi, ties, resistors, big pillows, Totoro, and countless other pleasures.