Tomorrow, I’m going to write a bit on the work I’ve been doing. In sort, the people I'm working for study the characteristics and propagation of low-frequency sound waves inaudible to the human ear. I’m writing some software to detect the origin of these sounds using an array of microphones here in Fairbanks, and another on the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica.
More on that later. For now, I'm going to shift this journal entry to narcissistic introspective musings.
I've always wondered what runs through the minds of lowest-bidder architects who design academic buildings. The one who designed the UAF dorms thought it'd be pretty 'groovy' to build two 8-story "towers" on the top of a hill in a city where land is literally free, and then decided to glue pebbles to every exterior surface imaginable. I mean, hey... it was the 60s. Why not?
Aesthetics aside, I can't complain about my room. It's big, sunlight floods into it 24 hours a day (note to self: buy curtains), and the furnishings are new and clean. The common kitchen, on the other hand, is an entirely different story. For starters, there's only one of them for the entire
8-story building (on a campus with no permanent dining hall). Two stoves, two fridges, a microwave, and one sink for at least a hundred people. Fortunately, most people are content with eating ramen/cup noodles night after night. Unfortunately, I've been on that diet for the past few nights until my box of pots and cooking utensils arrives in the mail from New Jersey later this week -- if the malnutrition doesn't kill me, the insane level of sodium intake will.The new brand of instant lunch (ramen) I tried today ranks pretty high on the list of the worst things I've eaten. While preparing it, I noticed that it contained 104% Daily Value of sodium, and consequently only added about a third of the "flavor" packet. The resulting "soup" tasted like a mouth full of ocean water, and the chemistry nerd inside of me tells me that if I had added the entire packet, I would have probably exceeded the solubility limit of salt in water.
From now on, it's going to be fresh food that requires minimum refrigeration (like I said, fridge space is at an absolute premium -- stuff literally falls out when you open the doors). I'm open to suggestions for recipes down this route. This blog, documenting one girl's quest to prepare fully organic meals on a food-stamp budget (about $35/week) offers a glimmer of hope, not to mention that her meals look pretty good.
In other news, I found a free bike that a previous REU student at the GI left behind last year. It's a woman's frame, the front brake doesn't work, and the front derailleur occasionally causes the chain to jam. However, it's also a perfectly adequate way to get around town, and (more importantly) to the food store, which I 've already taken advantage of several times. All that said, I'm trying to keep riding it to a minimum until the helmet I ordered arrives in the mail. (Did you know that Amazon's free shipping is still actually free out here? They're the only "free shipping" policy I've come across that actually includes all 50 states, which is pretty fantastic)
Ciao!
2 comments:
I think your eating your ramen incorrectly =P
Well actually, it depends what brand you buy. I found it tastes better when you actually prepare it in a pot so you can add a ton of water in it so that it dilutes the flavoring i guess. I suck at cooking, so i rarely do this sort of thing, haha so i can't guarantee if it'll help and doesn't work if u have no cooking utensils.
Also, the chinese/original brands taste MUCH MUCH better. I bring ramen with me all the time on plane trips to asia...haha beats airplane food and there's definitely a difference. I doubt there are any asian supermarkets in alaska...but not all ramen is bad. just the american versions are =)
i agree. what you ate sounds pretty awful. real ramen (like ramen version, taht you boil, not cup o noodles style) has a lot of potential for becoming a decently tasty soup - you just gotta spice it up. add some carrots, peas, herbs, whatever you feel like. i'd actually be willing to be that if you googled it, there would be quite a few websites with ideas.
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