Good News for International JD Applicants

Effective August foreign educated students will be able to register for the LSDAS in order to use the electronic application and LOR service even thought transcripts would not be submitted to LSAC. As of this writing we expect that service to be available the week of August 2—please monitor our website at www.LSAC.org.

L. J.
Candidate Communications Analyst
For additional information you may access your account at www.LSAC.org or speak to a representative at 215-968-1001 (select 6 and then 0) between 8:30 a.m and 4:45 p.m. E.T.

-----Original Message
-----From: ooyang [mailto:clyang2004@yahoo.com] Sent: Monday, June 27, 2005 5:14 PMTo: LsacinfoSubject: inquiry

I am an international student, and therefore a foreign-educated applicant. Can I use the "LSDAS CD on the Web" to complete my applications, and would LSDAS possibly forward the LOR for me (if, of course, I properly pay for the service) ?
thanks

S-S

Dependence vs. Independence

Today I had to drop the car at Firestone for a recheck of the engine problem and do some shopping at Sam’s, which was behind. I was going to drive by myself. Since I had been doing this under Icecube’s supervision (though I always told him to shut up while I was driving), this was a first-time experience for me, which was pretty much embarassing---- after all, I have been in the on-the-wheel country for 25 months.

Before I sat into the car, I had this feeling that I was going to a totally strange place by myself, in spite of the fact that I drove to Sam’s dozens of times before.

The weird feeling disappeared as soon as I got on the road. The traffic was good, I know where to stop and where to turn, and I was in control of the pace. The mere fact that I finally was able to do this by myself made me feel good. I opened all the windows wide (though it was like 85 degrees outside), and let the wind mess up my hair.

It occurred to me that after I met Icecube, I have become less and less independent. (Gosh, we have been together for 7 years, and 7 years could turn an independent girl into a dependent woman). I have got used to eating and shopping with another person beside me. I may choose to skip the dinner if I cannot find someone to go with me. Staying at home all night alone would scare me, which didn’t even 15 years ago. Whenever a decision came, my first response was that I should discuss it with Icecube because this was OUR decision. If Icecube could decide, I simply left it to him.

The fact is: the less decisions you make, the less capable you become.

This is a weird curve. I remember back in elementary school, I often walked from school back to home in heavy rains. It was a half an hour walk, and it never crossed my mind that my mom or dad should have sent me an umbrella (though most of my classmates’ parents did) and they were not taking good care of me. In the middle school, before my parents knew anything, I made the decision to go to high school rather than the professional school which would land one a teaching job after three years’ study and which was the “good” students’ top choice at that time.

I don’t know if marriage is the reason for all the changes in me.

Or it is simply that I am becoming lazy.

Besides, I am too lazy to look deeper into this serious issue at this point.

Edit: recognizing the problem is half way to fixing the problem.

N/A

一度很喜欢看SEX AND THE CITY, 这四个女人似乎活得很潇洒自在, 和我整日柴米油盐的生活完全是不同的两个世界.

但看来看去总觉得有点不对劲. SAMANTHA对男友拉她的手过敏, 除了CHARLOTTE, 都对婚礼过敏, 对BABY SHOWER过敏, 都是快四十的人了单身生活都过得有滋有味的 (我见过的超三十五岁的单身女人大多凄凄惨惨戚戚).

前几天偶然读到一个评论, 说这部电视喜剧的剧作者是一个公开的同性恋作者, 评论者认为,这四个女人的故事更象四个(男)同性恋的生活和心态. 或许这是我感觉奇怪的一种解释.

the Game Has Started

ICECUBE逼着我赶紧给家里人打电话报告考试结果, 昨天我实在没有情绪, 所以拖到今天, 电话是不能不打的, 咱是一穷二白的, 交学费需要外援, 贷款也得需要他们的帮助, 总之, 以后上学没有家里人的支持是不行的.

“估计上前20 问题应该不大, 就是奖学金的问题.” 我如是描述, 反正他们对具体分数是没有什么概念的.

ICECUBE一把夺过电话, “上前10是很有戏的, 就是有没有奖学金的问题了…..”

挂完电话, 我就埋 怨ICECUBE夸大其词, 以后要是上不了,多丢人?

ICECUBE马上反驳, 不能说得太保守, 你要让他们觉得在你身上投资是值得的……

不管怎样, 申请的游戏正式开始了.

Writing PS
Preparing Recommendation Letters
Transcript evaluation with WES
School research
Taking TOEFL or not?
And.............................................

the Contact Lenses

上午试戴隐形眼睛, 大概用了半个钟头再加好几把眼泪终于给戴上了.

戴上的那一刻, 有一种眼睛完全恢复正常的美好幻觉. 从眼镜店里鹊跃而出, 一把从ICECUBE手里夺过方向盘 ----因为可以用上我的墨镜了----开车的时候还忍不住时不时地在后视镜里瞟自己几眼.

晚上又是几把眼泪之后才把那两个小片从眼睛里给弄出来.

臭美, 是要付出代价的, 活活

the LSAT Score

I was half asleep in the couch. Icecube jumped out of his seat and shouted at me, look at this!

Still half asleep, I went before the computer. Yes, there was the score. I didn't expect to know it today at all. This morning, it still looked like the score wouldn't come in untile Monday.

Well, a score which I have been expecting for months, which I would describe as neither exciting nor heartbroking.

Thank Icecube for his heart-felt suppot. He gave me a hug and told me he was very satisfied with the result, and it was right about the score where he promised to treat his two housemates a big American dinner.

一点惊喜

今天去配眼镜, 医生 告诉我的眼镜戴隐形一点问题都没有, 让我好一阵惊喜. 出国前去同仁医院检查的时候, 一个漂亮的女医生面无表情地告诉我, 没有适合我的眼睛的隐形,因为我的眼睛有特殊的散光. 在跟这个美国医生解释我的情况时, 我刻意强调了一下, 那是三年前的中国(其实是两年), 当然, 也许是没有意义的.

YY&WW

Icecube has these two interesting housemates.

YY is a jumpy (and therefore skinny) guy from the south. He sometimes wears those kinds of clothes that minority people used to wear in China, and he gets the attitude that makes you think he is wearing the clothes rather than the clothes wearing him. He also wears a necklace dangling his wedding ring. His wife was just rejected the F2 visa, and he is thinking of going back home to bring her here.

YY told me he married his wife for her fat legs, because he believes that fat-leg women are more productive and he wants 6 kids. He always said this with his first and fifth finger up.

YY is well-known for buying ridiculously cheap stuff from the internet. One day when he attempted to get a pack of printing paper at $1at Office Depot, he was told it was out of stock though he had scheduled a pick-up on the website. He believed he was blacklisted. He also subscribes a bunch of free magazines. When he receives one, he will run through it over dinner and only stops to look at pages with pictures, mostly of beautiful women of course.

Yesterday, he found a way to recyle the mailing label on the magazines he received. "I'll peel it off and put it on the mail I send off."

WW is as old as Icecube but looks like a college boy. When he is eating, he always looks at his big bowl, as if he is studying the food, which once made me upset wondering if he didn’t like the food I cooked. He is a person with few words. But the other day, while he helped me in the kitchen washing vegetables—he is neat and washes anything extremely careful, he started talking about his sister and his brother-in-law without my initiation of the topic.
“I like her previous boyfriend better.” He said in the end.

WW loves b-t and downloads things 24hrs a day. He asked me, “which movie do you want to watch? I offer on-demand service.”

He also likes watching Chinese talk shows. Recently he is watching Wu Zong Xian, and I hear him giggling upstairs every evening.

I noticed that YY put a long-leg beauty on his computer screen, while WW has a close-up of a girl’s face on his 17-inch displayer. Icecube’s former roommate told me that Icecube had my picture on his computer before I came. And he switched back to the Window’s default wallpaper soon after my arrival.

小强

昨天晚上Icecube坐在台灯下上网， 突然说，哎呀，这里又有一个小强！
我不知道他在说什么， 所以懒得理他。
没过几分钟，他又在那里叫， 怎么这么多 小强！
我正在看电视，他的叫嚷 让我没好气，什么小强！？
Icecube 说， 虫子真多。

哦，对呀，小强不就是小甲虫吗。
长大后，对虫子的憎恶已经让我忘记了儿童时代我也曾如此昵称曾经可爱的 小甲虫。

My Law School Dream

Ok, this is my first class in law school. The classroom is large, like a theater. Around 500 hundred students are here. Yes, this is a big school and the 1L class is always big.

I sat between two girls, who both are fat, so I could feel pressure from both sides of my body and I could hardly sit straight. Then I said, could you guys save me some space? I said it in Chinese. Surprisingly, the girl to my right side could understand. It turned out that she was an ABC. She said she understood Mandarin, but only could speak Cantonese. A boy sitting at the end of our row waved to say hello to us.

Then the teacher started the class. She said, at the first class, you are going to a hospital and find the room 671. You are divided into groups, and the team that finds the room and uses the least time wins.

Then all of us started running. Soon, we got to the hospital. The first thing to do was to study the map. Soon, we found the room number on the map. Then we found the elevator. I pushed the button and the door opened. The elevator was so small that it could only accommodate 2 or 3 persons. Then I jumped in. however, I couldn’t find the buttons by which you choose a designated floor to stop. I realized that it was a trap. I jumped out. Then we started to search around for another possible exit to room 671.

When we got to the compound behind the building, we saw many Americans students had given up the searching. Instead, they were playing. Yes, Americans students never missed the chance to have fun. But we didn’t have the luxury. We are immigrants, and we have to work times harder than them to get to the same place.

We stopped to take a look at the landscape. We found that the building where we were was no more than 4 stories. We looked around, and did not see any buildings higher than that. Right, the teacher was trying to teach us the skill to solve a seemingly easy but actually tough question, which is part of the lawyering skills.

Then we saw there were few higher buildings in the distance. Could the room be in one of them? We ran to a higher place and found that they were still under construction and only the tops of the buildings were finished.

Well, where should we go next?

Then I woke up. I turned to the clock and it was 8 in the morning. Icecube came in and said he was going to the library. I turned my head away from the window and went back to sleep----I haven't found the room 671.

The Farewell Party

I didn't post the past two days because I was busy with this party, one day for shopping and another day for preparing food. Since Icecube and I are leaving, we want to treat our friends here in the classic Chinese way-- throw out a big dinner party. It is way too early to make it a fairwell party since he won't leave until two months later. But all the friends cannot wait.

I am not such a great cook, so I decided to set up two hot pots. This is the easist dinner in the sense of preparation that i can think of. Easy as I said, it still took me four hours to put all the food on the plates before i got them on the table for the hot pots. I had to cut the beef, pork and lamb into really thin slices because hot-pot-ready meat is not availabe in the only Chinese food store here.

We got 14 people. Sitting around two hot pots, with three fans running and the air conditioning set at 60 degree, we started a heated dinner. With beer and spicy and hot food after a while, voices were rising as well. I could not hear people on the other end of the table. At one point, four-year-old Jenny, the only kid joining us, screamed at us, "you are too noisy! Is there any royal law here (which is from the movie Kong Fu) !"

Americans would never know how we could be this happy with 6 or 7 pairs of chopsticks fishing food in the single pot of soup. We were just happy.

It seems that becoming happy has become much easier while living in America.

the Taste of Life

These days if I have anything to write about, it’s got to come from the e-mails.
A high school friend shot me an e-mail, saying that she missed me and she dreamed about me the other night. This was a big deal for me. I immediately gave her a call.
She was at work, but she said it was ok to talk to me. She worked at a private company and her boss showed up at most once a month. I knew she was living with her fiancé and they were going to marry soon. So I asked her if she was planning to have baby, and she said she would make it happen as soon as she had her wedding around the end of the year. Then our topic went to house. She talked about how expensive it was to buy a house in the city where she lived and where rich people were all around. Then I told her it was the same in the U.S. and people were blowing the real estate bubbles all over.
Then she said, ok, I’ll save you some money on your phone bill and talk to you late. I knew she had to go back to work. So we stopped there.
I realized that our topic has been revolving around having baby and buying houses in quite a few calls. I remember once when I called a graduate school friend who got married before her graduation, she talked with me about shopping an apartment in Beijing for about one hour over the phone, and then apologized for wasting my long-distance phone bill on such a trivial and “lack-of-taste” topic.
“Don’t laugh at me.” She said.
I know what was on her mind. We used to sit in the coffee house and talked about the-meaning-of-life stuff for hours.
But as time goes on, people get there where you come to believe that the real taste of life is indeed about children, house and things alike. That happens to very one I know (except people I know from TV), and I guess it is going to happen to me sooner or later. But since I have not got there yet (very close though), I insist on keeping my hope for a life with some more tastes.

a-Q my day

It's so hot today. Icecube says this is a normal day. It means the first few days after I came here had been unusually cool. We don't use the air-conditioning, which I believe is the normal practice among Chinese students here. Such hot sweaty days would be part of my American-memory one day, I believe.

We have been joking over the fact that most Chinese students have the transition from being among the extremely low income group to the middle class once you get a job after graduation. Yet the student life doesn't mean less happiness. A friend talked about her trip with her boyfriend to NY city last Christmas. She visited her aunt there. She thought she would be seeing a totally different life, a kind of life all of us came here for. Her aunt married a Chinese who made his way to the Wall Street, earning near-7-digit money.

"But I don't see they are happier than I am. They are feeding a big house which they stay only when they sleep, and two children going to the best private school. They are always busy and tired. They are simply exhausted." She said.

I don't know if I am a little bit a-Q. I've got nothing better to do on this hot humid afternoon, so a-Q. But to like what you've got and keep working for something you think better are the political right attitude, aren't they?

the Firewall

The Time magazine's blogwatch reports that all Chinese websites are required to register with the authority by June 30. I am not going to air my views regarding free speech here. But I am really unhappy that my friends in China cannot read my blog.

祸不单行

This morning, my car's engine went off while the car was running.

This afternoon, my cellphone stopped receiving calls.

This evening, my internet was not connecting.

祸不单行啊。

^ ~^

民工的快乐

今天老王搬家，下午帮他搬完家后夫妻两个请大家都NEW CHINA BUFFET吃晚饭。大约是周末，在加上刚好旁边也有一大桌中国人在吃饭，所以今天晚上的螃蟹腿特别抢手， 我们不得不派老杜时刻坚守阵地，一有新货， 立即进攻。

吃完饭， 我和地主婆决定走着回家，那帮男的急者去我家打牌， 无一人想当护花使者，我和地主婆还是决定，保持身材很重要，坚持走路回家。

快到我家的时候路过垃圾桶，看到那里被人扔了一张沙发，一个桌子和几个椅子， 地主婆说，那沙发不错，我说， 那桌子不错。地主婆说，赶紧给他们打电话，让他们过来搬。

我一个电话过去，四个大汉马上过来了，沙发和桌子马上就被般回了家，我们的两个ROOMATES都是打算在这里呆上3年4年的，所以一直在坚持收罗家具，以为长远之计。

搬运过程中，先是碰到两个人，ICECUBE说，他们大概在说， 一群中国民工过来了。后来又遇到两个人，小明说，哎，又给中国人丢脸了。

这群读书人，脸皮还是薄， 不太好意思。

到家了，老地主问，是谁的主意要搬东西的？

我说，是你老婆。

老地主说，嘿，老婆，怎么现在还动不动就往垃圾桶看呢？

地主婆说， 没办法，以前穷怕了。

自从地主婆工作后，他们家已经开始买新家具了。

小明说，终于可以体会国内民工的心情了， 捡完垃圾回家还挺高兴。

终于看到了周星驰的功夫

终于看到了周星驰的功夫， 和他的上一部作品少林足球比起来，这部电影要成功多了。
还是他的一贯作风，搞笑加恶心，这次还带了一点血腥，UNDERDOG的鸭子死了嘴壳子硬的一贯风格，这次他是个欲充武林高手但总被揍得鼻青脸肿的街头小混混，想当个十恶不赦的坏人但却下不了手杀人，最终显露善良本性，除恶扶正。

在我看来，周星弛的可爱是他显示在他的作品里的那种从骨子里透出的执著的理想主义，这种纯粹，没有因为不断的失败褪色，没有因为被别人踩在脚下而迷失。最可爱的，莫过于在无厘头里突然有一刻，让你骤然屏住呼吸，听他说，“曾今有一份感情摆在我的面前。。。”这一次，他将这份美好寄托在一个美丽的哑女身上。
在这个嘈杂的世界，能固守一份纯粹，不容易

绿翠翠结婚了！

绿翠翠结婚了！这个惊人的消息马上在这个小大学城的中国人中间传开了。ICECUBE在把我从飞机场接回来的路上煞有介事地说， 你猜怎么找？绿翠翠结婚了！这对我来说也的确是个新闻，从来没有听说她有男朋友， 现在突然出现如此跳跃式的进展，正好印证了我一直的看法，最不可思议的事情经常发生在你最意想不到的时间地点和人物身上。

回到ICECUBE处， 正好假日本鬼子来串门， 进来后不久就问众人，知道吗，绿翠翠结婚了！假日本鬼子和绿翠翠是一个老板下的， 所有关于这个巨大新闻都源于他。虽然大家都已经知道了，但还是唏嘘了一阵儿以示惊讶。

假日本鬼子说， 让你们看看她老公长什么样！假日本鬼子打开他的信箱给大家看绿翠翠给他传的照片。七八个脑袋一起凑到一台电脑前，评议开始。

哎哟， 绿翠翠居然还找了个这么不错的老公，看这个小伙， 人高马大的，真是不错。男1说。

绿翠翠这脸上的一个痦子就占了4个像速，啧啧，难怪说女的来了美国就值钱了。男2说

我做一个变性手术是不是可以像她一样找个绿卡老公什么的？男3说

她这钻戒有一克拉吧？即使离了绿翠翠也赚了。男4说。

我很好奇，这样的一对会生出什么样的孩子来呢？有人问。

没听说遗传学上说的什么什么回归吗，两个丑到极点的一对生出的孩子就会特漂亮。假日本鬼子说。

啧啧。众人唏嘘。

假日本鬼子说，那天绿翠翠和他老公和我说话，那男的居然还拉着她的手说话，W*K*。
他老婆在一旁说，你觉得你不会去拉她的手，就受不了看别人拉她的手？

假日本鬼子接着说，一天在实验室， 他发现绿翠翠正在喝他吃剩了的午饭的菜汤。还有一次发现她半边脸是黑的，原来是吃完点心的手在脸上抹出来的，我告诉她，你脸上是什么东西啊？她看完镜子说，嘿，怎么就你看出来了，W*K*，从来没有见过这样的女的！

说实在的，在我看来， 这两个人挺般配的，但这帮男士觉得他们的同类娶了绿翠翠对他们是诋毁。

虽然这帮人是闲极无聊过嘴瘾逗乐， 我忍不住感叹说，女人长得丑了真倒霉，被人在背后这么折损。

同时也发现，男人看女人就像女人看男人一样苛刻。我和假日本鬼子他老婆一致认为，我们很少看到丑女，但见丑男不少。估计男孩子会说，丑男不多，丑女不少。这是什么心理呢？有点意思。

So I am back

So I am back in this small sourthern city to which Icecube and I will say good-bye soon. Here it is quiet as usual. Everytime when I came back here from Philly, it reminds me the feeling where I went back to my hometown from Beijing. This morning I didn't get off bed until 10:30. In the morning, you got real quietness here. Not like this in Philly.

Icecube moved into this apartment while I was in Philly. These three boys keep the rooms neat, which surprised me a lot. I had expected to do a lot of cleaning. I am very much welcomed back because I brought them food from Philly's Chinatown. All three guys repeatedly say that we definitely should live in a place with great Chinese food. Therefore, I feel particularly obliged to cook them some good food.

Finally

I took the test today, and I am not going to cancel it this time, even though I am not sure if it is a disaster. Finally, I can leave the test behind. For better, for worse, I got one thing done. I am happy I can live for a while without thinking about tests.

I got into the testroom at 12:30, and got out of there at around 5:30. I was neither thirsty nor hungry when i got out of there. After came back home, I went on cooking dinner, doing laundry and packing. The test-harrassment-free time is great for doing anything.

第二语言 vs.大脑短路

刚刚发现，讲我的第二语言，也就是英语，智商值可以瞬间接近 0。

刚买的手机经常无缘无故 像电脑一样死机，于是今天出去散步的时候决定给Cingular的客服打电话，举着手机边走边打，辗转几轮，听了一刻钟的无聊音乐之后终于跟解决问题的人说上话了，舒了口气。

对方说，我来给你做troubleshooting， 我说好。
---- 有重摔过吗？---- 没有。
---- 有浸过水吗？---- 没有。
---- 那现在请你leave your phone on, and take off the battery. ---- 好的。

于是取下电池......

这大概就是大家常说的典型的大脑短路.

我吃，我还吃

朋友在TOWN里吃饭，问我要不要去，反正一个人正愁着晚饭怎么吃， 于是就去了。 进餐厅就看到一大桌10来个男男女女，大多数都是我曾参加过一次的一个类似的聚餐中见到的。朋友是一个交友网站的活跃分子，经常组织类似的单身人 士参加的聚会，看他们聚来聚去，好像也没有配上对的， “这个世界孤独寂寞的人很多，就是找不到我想要的那个， 5555555。。。”。

在大家或打情骂俏或眉目传情的同时自感格格不入，于是独自埋头大吃，惊叹自己在临近考试之前极好的胃口，3点吃完中午饭，6点接着吃这顿晚饭，依旧胃口不减，这大概是个好兆头。记得初中考高中的时候，我们学校食堂的师傅对我们说，这一届的升学率一定高，因为这一届的学生下课后端着饭盆往食堂跑得最快。

Meditation

A friend called from Canada, teaching me how to meditate. He told me he had been practicing Qi Gong for over 10 years, and mediation was his daily routine. His tenet is that mediation is far simpler than many people think. You simply sit there, cross your legs and straighten your back. Then close your eye. Don’t try to concentrate. Don’t try to shut up any thoughts. Let your mind idle.

This is different from what I read from an instruction book. The book says you should try to concentrate on your breath, or try to picture some beautiful things, such as blue sky, breeze touching you and you standing by the sea.

Since I got this easier-to-follow advice, I am going to try it out.

A Happy Breakfast

Since the LSAT is coming in three days, I think I need good sleep. So I got up one hour later than usual this morning. I went to WaWa and got my coffee and breakfast. I started with the 12oz cup when I first came to the States, and now it is the 21oz cup—I am not addictive to caffeine though, fortunately. I have decaf.

The other day I found there is a small park a few blocks away from Chinatown. So this morning I decided to have my breakfast there. I sat down on a bench and started eating. Two birds moved slowly towards me. I guessed they were doves. They looked at me. Hungry too? I split some bitts of my bagel. They seemed to like it. While I continued sharing my breakfast with the two, more and more birds came forward. At last, it was like 30 birds gathering around me. I was very much flattered. Half of my bagel went to the lovely flock.