<![CDATA[Amy Z - Blog]]>Tue, 22 Nov 2022 10:11:54 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[Privilege]]>Mon, 11 Jul 2016 01:30:39 GMThttp://www.amyxxzhang.com/blog/privilegeI am one of the world's most privileged individuals.  These privileges afford me opportunities that I have a responsibility to acknowledge and extend especially to individuals for whom those opportunities are not readily available.  

This has been especially apparent to me in the recent weeks.  The needless deaths and painful discrimination, affecting the Black and LGBTQ community especially, is terrible and in so many ways I will never truly understand their experiences.
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So I've been thinking carefully about what I take for granted, struggles that I will never face, and the ways I can become a better listener.  I am privileged because 

  • I was born into a middle class family and we are all citizens of the United States.
  • I have a emotionally and financially supportive extended family. I have never questioned whether my family would accept any of my identities. 
  • I was born into a family with resources to supplement my education and that could afford to consider school quality when relocating.  I had readily available extracurriculars. 
  • There is an internet connection in my home.  
  • My first language is also the primary language in my country. 
  • Where I live, there are successful professional role models of my races and ethnicities. 
  • Law enforcement is likely to assist me.  I am not regularly stopped by airport security for "random" checks.
  • My physical anatomy aligns with my traditionally accepted gender identity. 
  • I see individuals of my sexual and romantic orientation in positive roles in the media.
  • I have never been raped. 
  • I am not shamed for my body shape.  I can expect to find shirts that fit me in an average store at a reasonable cost. 
  • No one has asked if my hair or any other body part is real.  
  • Where I live, I can expect to find a doctor willing and able to provide the health care I need.
  • I have never taken medication for my mental health.  I am able bodied. I can read and listen to you.  I can sleep reliably at night.  I have never had an addiction. 
  • As an atheist, I am not attacked or ostracized for my religious beliefs.  
  • I have never lied about any of my identities. 

I am still learning to frame the challenges that I have faced and overcome in this context and I continue to listen to how I can be a better ally.  Please call me out on things that I mess up, and I will do my best in turn fight the injustices that I see. ]]><![CDATA[Nepal]]>Wed, 29 Apr 2015 20:57:40 GMThttp://www.amyxxzhang.com/blog/nepal
I have been meaning to write a post about my adventures last fall for a long time.  One of the most inspirational was my trip to Nepal in September. 
   
Nepal is a beautiful place with temples that are thousands of years old, mountains that make a person feel tiny, and sunrises that inspire healthy days.

The Nepali people are strong and proud.  The British failed to colonize the area and today the country sits between the monoliths China and India.  Nepal is a place of legendary hospitality and peacefulness.  Hindu monuments are adjacent to Buddhist temples and the country is fairly safe for a single female traveler like myself.

Nepal is also one of the greatest recipients of foreign aid. I noticed gender inequality that is unacceptable in the United States. Contaminated water and unreliable electricity are non-negotiable parts of life. Life expectancy is short. Nepal has faced such challenges admirably.  Then, a couple of days ago an earthquake ratted the country. 

On Saturday a 7.8 earthquake hit the area, buildings were flattened, and people were buried in the rubble.  The death count as I write this is over 4,600.
* The final count is 8,000 dead, 21,000 injured

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On the left, photos of Nepal after the April 25th, 2015 Earthquake. On the right, photos that I took in September 2014. I'd especially like to note the utter destruction of the Durbar Square temples in the bottom row.
What Nepal taught me then and teaches me now is that humans are frail and resilient.  The Himalayas made me feel like an ant but a very strong ant with the ability or potential to navigate the land.  

Thousands of Nepali have died in such a short time because the forces of Nature are still more powerful than the wishes of human kind.  Thousands of Nepali will live through difficult injuries because their wily will to like can overcome so many challenges.  

The importance of support from those of us outside of Nepal is very clear.  Please consider what you can do for the other people on this planet who face challenges that are invisible in other parts of the world.

With Loving Kindness, 
​Amy 
]]><![CDATA[Pi Day]]>Sat, 14 Mar 2015 07:43:02 GMThttp://www.amyxxzhang.com/blog/pi-dayThere are few holidays that I feel like I have a direct connection to.  That is why I choose to celebrate Pi Day.  It is a day that represents not just 3,14(15!), but also creative nerdiness.  By celebrating Pi day I acknowledge that Math has done great things for me, and much more than I will ever do for it. 

My tango with Math started out tumultuously.  I didn't really take notice of Math until Geometry started playing, and I didn't become friendly until Calculus came up.  Even then my attachment to Math was very mild.  It wasn't until we started listening to Discrete Math, Induction, and Functional Programming together that I started really caring about Math.  At the same time, however, Math started dancing with all of the cool people,  In fact, too cool for me because Math now dragged me across the floor with moves that I couldn't keep up with.  I gave Math a stern talking to about slowing down and taking the time to really understand people, rather than racing for a nonexistent finish line.  With great patience, passion, and persistence Math and I have developed a relationship that allows us to learn from the other when we reach an impasse.  I may not be the greatest mathematician, but I can earn Math's respect.

On this Pi Day I celebrate that Math and I are comfortable enough with each other to look each other in the eye and dance. 
]]><![CDATA[Mail From Colleges]]>Sat, 07 Feb 2015 23:00:33 GMThttp://www.amyxxzhang.com/blog/mail-from-collegesMy sister is a high schooler receiving mail about going to college.  Out of curiosity, I went through a little bit of it today.  It makes sense that they would try to send out mail that have students on them that the recipients can identify with.  This gem was especially great.

Private Colleges and Universities sent my sister two of nearly the same magazine.  I guess that they weren't sure what profile she fits.  See if you can spot the difference.  
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The magazine on the left promotes "Tips and Tricks for Scholarship Search", while the magazine on the right promotes "89 Selective Schools," All of the other aspects are the same....  Oh, except for the image of the student on the front. 

I flipped through each page of each magazine.  Most of the content is identical.  Different schools advertise in each magazine though.  As I suspected from the cover, the one on the right contains schools that on average are higher ranked.  Notice Brown, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, NYU, Stanford, etc that are quite absent in the magazine on the left. 
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Of course, a voice in my head says that it could just be coincidence that the students on the cover have the races that they do. Maybe the colleges that place the ads are the ones to blame here.  I looked at the magazine's website, and although their staff appears to be entirely Caucasian (or at least look that way in small black and white photos), their publication stock photos seem to have been chosen for the purpose of representing everybody in a politically correct way.  So I instead think that they knew exactly what they were doing when they created these versions of the magazines.
On a less serious note, this is a fantastically amusing crop job around this model's head.   
P.S. I'm guessing that there are versions with male students on the cover.  If any of you come across one, I am curious as to how it differs.  
]]><![CDATA[Merry Christmas]]>Fri, 26 Dec 2014 06:17:59 GMThttp://www.amyxxzhang.com/blog/merry-christmasI have been a bit of a Grinch this year, but I did enjoy a massive cooking project. I believe that I set a personal record for number of ingredients used.  I am proud that everything was done at the correct time, in the correct amounts, and that I coordinated the kitchen neatly.  

I love making pies, and this Cranberry Apple Pie was one of my best pies ever.  It was tart with just the right amount of sugar; it was full of flavor; and it was a beautiful shade of deep red.  There were two apples that not only taste good, they were necessary for texture and holding the filling together.  The remainder was cranberry, half of which I sauced first.  Sugar, spice.  I put in a couple of spoons of cornstarch in, and if I make this pie again I will add chia seed to make the filling to gel better. 
  1. Tofu Turkey, sculpted from scratch, stuffed 
  2. More Stuffing, with lentils, topped with sliced zucchini
  3. Sweet Potato, Apple, Carrot Soup 
  4. Steamed Broccoli 
  5. Cranberry Apple Pie
34 ingredients used for dinner - Toasted Buttermilk Bread, White Onion, Onion Powder, Garlic, Butter, Thyme, Fresh Rosemary, Oregano, Celery, Lentils, Organic Chicken Sausage, Firm Tofu, Curry Powder, Onion Powder, Garlic Salt, Cayenne, Chili Powder, Teriyaki Sesame Sauce, Parsley, Soy Sauce, Milk, Egg, Broccoli, Apple, Baked Sweet Potato, Vegetable Broth, Carrot, Zucchini, Water, Pie Crust Mix (I cheated, not quite from scratch), Cranberries, Granulated Sugar, Brown Sugar, Cornstarch, Tangerine juice and rind, Cinnamon, Ginger Powder, Grated Ginger. 4 hours of time
]]><![CDATA[Something New]]>Mon, 08 Dec 2014 20:02:41 GMThttp://www.amyxxzhang.com/blog/december-08th-2014Right now, I am happy.  I am sitting in a tea shop (A Cuppa Tea, Berkeley, CA). The tea shop owner is friendly, the shop is warm, and it is raining outside.  Beautiful rain that California desperately needs.  I have been on all sorts of adventures in these past few months, and it is a little late to be starting to blog.  However, as I go trough pictures, spend time settling into a new location, and getting a job, I hope to pass on knowledge, small joys, and sorrows that I have found.  This website is an adventure itself.  

Whether we have spoken recently or never before, take a deep breath, and be with me in this moment.  Feel alive from your toes to your fingertips.  Notice this body, that carries you through life, just as it is.  Find a piece of the peace that I feel for yourself.  Jai Bagwan. ]]>