spent several hours last night and this morning talking to parents and my mater promises to send me her soup packs - almonds, wood-ear fungus, red dates and dried longan, also dried chrysanthemum (my dad: but what shall we put on the custom forms? me: erm. say stationery?) and of course i asked for tea leaves, since i'm all out of both kinds of oolong now and these days there is also von's addiction to help cultivate. (dad: this von seems to be enjoying himself tremendously. keeps travelling to foreign places and buying headgear and having surprise parties.)

i am homesick. i look forward to these phone calls home horribly, and it's as if i've never left.

also yen is coming in a few weeks and i am making a list of things desired from singapore already.

because von has abandonned his landlording ambitions i shall have to look for a place to stay next year. i am really keen on living up on garden street, if i can get harvard affiliated housing. i should start hunting.

von is still grousing about his thesis and says he will call it "from yuck to yum, and how." considering mine was called "solving for the pronouns" i refrain from snarky remarks.

we are going to spice for dinner tonight, or pho pasteur, depending on whether von or i prevail.

to tennyson because i have a presentation this week. and maybe i can get back to la sylphide later.