i object to having to sing for my supper. free dinners with visiting politicians should be just that and not involve you writing personal blurbs for the aide-de-camp of the minister in case you turn out to be an undesirable element, like chee soon juan in disguise, or something. i asked von if i should write a cheem bio full of jargon so as to shut people up, or to be completely fluffy and appall them with the completely useless things i study. von wrote me this:

Minzhi is a first-year student in the English Department of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University. Being insufficiently illustrious to win a prestigious scholarship from the PSC, she is continually in a state of abject poverty and appreciates this free dinner quite a lot. She has a Bear, and has many friends who own stuffed animals and are not afraid to admit it.

i think i shall send it to them.