My friend: Callow

I started this entry on my laptop on Sept 3, but my crazy work schedule caught up and I did not have much since. We just finished a workshop and now it is time to take a breath. Let me finish this one first and then I will talk about my work and my travel.

Yesterday (Sept 2), I sent away my roommate (probably my last roommate in my whole life). We had a rental car (fricking big Ford Taurus), and we drove all the way to William’s college from Boston. Let me call him Callow.

Callow was born in China. His parents are both academics. His father is in US, and his mother stays in China. Talking about potential marital problems. Anyway, I am not gossipy enough to probe that. Who cares about his parents.

I met his dad once, when he flew from Florida to Boston to see his son. That day I was in kitchen cooking with only underwear. A little embarrassed to see a “Jia Zhang” like that. I put on my clothes and had a chat. The next morning, we had breakfast together. When his father was around, Callow did not talk too much. And his father still treats him like a little kid.

If I have to use one word to describe Callow, he is socially awkward (okey, two words). He does not have the mental readiness to chit-chat. A big nerd indeed. I think I have three majors in college, plus doing all the extracurricular activities. He worked in a hedge fund this summer in Boston, probably in an effort to confirm to the Asian stereotype: always shooting for the most respected and high-paid job. Obviously, that job does not work out too well for him. He did not tell too much about the job, but since he was paid by hours, he had a tendency to flake for one day or two each week. That's how I tell he does not like the work too much.

He is obsessed with Salsa. Twice a week, he would go to Salsa clubs. I am not sure why he liked it so much, but in a way, I can totally relate, as I probably had the same reason to get involved with drama and dance. Lack of artistic genes, we tried to stake it out and prove that we can indeed do it. For me, it was great memory, but never life-changing as I subconsciously expected. I am not so sure about Callow's expectation, but hey, good luck with it. He said he would like to teach Salsa classes in William's College, maybe even find a girlfriend there.

Callow was very good at computer programming. He coded a python script that connect several data sources so that he can listen to all GRE vocabulary on subway. He knows quite a bit about string theory. He will take GRE this year, and is ready for graduate school with his good grades and three majors. A total overachiever.

On Sept 2, we had this long road trip together. It was quite fun. We stopped by a Wal-mart to get some stuff. For me, a bunch of kitchen stuff. For him, it was to pick up a fan. I am not kidding, but it took him 45 minutes to pick a fan. Probably all the mathematical equations went through his mind in an effort to analyze the cost and benefit of each fan model (econ and math are two of his triple majors). After we checked out, he realized there was even a cheaper model displayed in the checkout aisle. He returned the one he picked and got the other way. That way he saved one more dollar. I am not writing this episode condescendingly. I am writing it because it is just like me, who will spend tons of time to make financially sound decision, even in retrospective to be not worth it.