yesterday was quite a stressful day at work. i voluntarily stayed late at work, propelled by some hitherto-unknown (heh) driving impulse to finish a quite tedious and seemingly impossible task. the deadline was today, and it was an absolute deadline -- no exceptions. basically, i had to find participants that fit multiple criteria from a database of SSNs, but that involved using the mainframe (i'd been putting off learning how to use it -- talk about un-user-friendly!) and perform two separate searches in hopes of finding a participant that had funds as well as fit the other criteria. this probably doesn't make sense to any of you unless i've explained the nature of my work to you before. anyway, the task was further complicated by the fact that most of the participants had no funds in their accounts, because of some mistake that the data setup team made. and the participants who did possess funds were mostly snatched up by other people beforehand. so anyway, i had to look through hundreds of participants for ones that fit my criteria, and then make sure they weren't already vouched for by anyone else. ~sigh~

the testing manager commended me on my dedication and said i was "stepping up to assume responsibility" in the absence of my on-vacation team leader. and then she went home. haha. i think she felt guilty for leaving before me. which doesn't make sense because she's always at work later than i am. i don't think it's much fun being a manager....

i eventually did find the participants i needed so ultimately, it turned out well, but for most of the day, i had a dark cloud hanging over my head because i wasn't sure whether i'd be able to get the task done or not. but you know, now that it's finished, i feel a sense of accomplishment and pride in my hard work!

so i'm looking through angelpop right now, and some of the descriptions they have for the korean fashion magazines are amusing -- as well as appalling! here's a choice sampling of the hooks:

from Cindy the Perky magazine:
• No matter how you fat you got or how fat you are, we reveal every method known to human to help you lose the weight.
• Men tell us about Men. What makes a good Man and what makes an bad man.
• Summer Aqua Book! We tell you why the water is good, why your body needs water and what to do with water. (i would think this would be kind of obvious...)
• How you can hide your broad shoulders, chunky arms, and No-curve belly. (i think they mean no-curve waist...)
• How to tie your hair so that your face will look smaller and prettier.

  from Kiki:

• Nice girls lose and Mean girls Win. How to be a nice but a mean girl.
• Lose the weight as you move. It's called the "Muscle Diet".
• How to Be white, white, white! Whitening Special. (hmm...)

  from Figaro:

• How to dress in HIP HOP.
• Barbie Doll make up is trendy and we show you how to do it!

  from Ceci:

• How to dress in a real HIP-HOP style.
• Oriental Diet! It will take off the fat leaving you with only bones and skin (!!!)
• Pretty swim suits that will cover up even the ugliest part of your body.

i'm soooo glad it's friday! have a beautiful weekend, everyone. :)

clara@rescomp.stanford.edu