TX June 9-10: George Bush Museum

Day 9: Thursday, June 9, 2011
I need to add some fun stuff about Wednesday night. We went to Paddock Lane and did some karaoke. They have a karaoke competition that starts at 10 pm (actually really gets going around midnight) and ends usually around 2 am. I went with Ash and Lalis and managed to persuade them to sing. It was a lot of fun. I sang "Walk Away" by Kelly Clarkson, "Won't Say (I'm in Love)" with Ash and Lalis, and then "I Will Survive." It was a lot of fun, but we left around 1 am, since we all had to get up early the next day.

So, Thursday, I came in to lab, practiced dissecting and mounting lymph vessels. It was kinda hard, and I think I probably poked a lot of holes in the poor vessel. Plus, I cut it pretty short, probably too short to be effective between two valves. At least I got it on, I suppose.

I also got to see what S was helping out with. She was doing stuff with Phuoc, mapping out the bat wing. Cute! Had to be uber sterile though, because Phuoc is the only one that is inoculated against rabies.

Since I finished at noon, I ate and went to explore near HEB. After shopping round (I caved in a bought some muffin and cornbread mixes and aluminum muffin pans), I waited at the bus stop to get back. I started chatting with this TAMU student next to me. He was really nice, actually from Cali as well, but came out here following his girlfriend and then decided to stay because he really liked it here. He told me about how every month during the school year, TAMU has a Zombies game that students and non-students play. People with Nerf guns are humans and people with bandanas tied around their arms are zombies. It sounds like so much fun. I immediately thought of my boyfriend and Nick and how psyched they'd be about it. I want to play too! The TAMU guy was nice enough to take both buses back with me since he lived nearby. People are so nice around here.

Day 10: Friday, June 10, 2011
S and I went into lab but didn't have anything to do. I persuaded her to go with me to the Bush, Sr., and Barbara Bush's birthday celebration at the Bush Memorial Library and Museum. President George H.W. Bush's birthday is June 12 and Barbara's birthday is the tenth, so I guess the museum decided to do the midpoint of their birthday. We got there and I ate some cake and Blue Bell ice cream (still unhappy that this popular ice cream company uses high fructose corn syrup and many other ingredients rather than a small amount of simple ingredients). Then, we toured the place. They have a heart health exhibit that showcases the red dresses of the First Ladies and special red dresses designed for some celebrities. Look at the slideshow below! I liked the one for Katie Couric the best.

Then here is a slideshow of the photos and presentations inside the museum, all about Bush, Sr.,'s life. They even reproduced his Oval Office there, but you have to pay to take a picture.

For dinner, we went to Jin's Asian Cafe. I got the healthy steamed chicken and veggies with black bean sauce on the side, with the unhealthy fried rice.

Fried rice, steamed chicken+vegs, black bean sauce

Bimbimbap (with lettuce?)

Decent food here. Strange that it serves Thai, Indian, Korean, and Chinese food. Chinese food is relatively good, Korean doesn't seem legit, and don't get the chow fun! Those are NOT the noodles that are supposed to go with that dish! They used some weird kind of thin thin thin noodles. Don't think my friend liked it.

No partying that night, though, but met Ash's cousin and mom. So awesome, her cousin likes steampunk and Y: The Last Man too!