A Day at MHC: Joan Kang

9:55 am: I used to attend my sociology Zoom lecture in my bedroom, but recently decided to move to the dining room table. I like how it’s brighter in this location and I can have my things more spread out than if I were in my room. Depending on how lazy I am feeling, I can push off making breakfast until after class is over (usually between 11 and 11:15 am). But I definitely need some green tea for the caffeine before and throughout class.

11:05 am: For breakfast today, I had a soft boiled egg with some Sriracha hot sauce and an orange.

11:57 a.m: I’m currently living at home in New Jersey. My siblings are going to school some days as a part of a hybrid system. On my way to pick up my little sister, I stopped by the post office to drop off a letter for a friend.

3:22 pm: After lunch, I clean up after my two birds, Bunny and Greenie Pickle Mitchell. I let them out of their cage in the mornings, so I have to make sure to do a little bit of cleaning throughout the day to avoid doing a lot of work in the evening, after putting them back in for the night. Here is a picture of a few pretty feathers that Bunny shed today.

3:30 pm: I wanted to add onto a charcoal tonal drawing that I started in art class yesterday. It’s really my first time working with charcoal so it’s been interesting to experiment with what kinds of marks the material can make. And I love how intense the color can come out.

3:58 pm: This is a picture of the workspace in my room. I didn’t have much time to really get into studying my sociology lecture slides after working on my drawing, but I wanted to get something started before my next meeting at 4 pm.

3:59 pm: There was a workshop today hosted by the Office of Student Involvement called “Event Planning and Group Bonding” from 4–5 pm. I’m one of the co-chairs of AASIA, Asian American Students in Action, and we’ve been trying to find creative ways to build community, even if the only way we’re seeing each other is through Zoom. This event was really informative and the student hosts were so supportive!

5:19 pm: I really enjoy listening to music as I work — it helps me tune everything else out and makes my tasks a lot more enjoyable. I was listening to the song “You Save Me” by Alicia Keys and Snoh Aalegra when I took this screenshot, and I was able to finish reviewing my lecture notes for an upcoming quiz.

6:02 p.m: My parents were making kimbap, Korean sushi rolls, for dinner and the photo shows some of the ingredients and the process that goes into making them.

6:03 pm: Here’s another shot of the kimbap-making process, but this photo shows an essential side dish for my family: some chapagetti, which is like the instant ramen version of jajangmyeon.

9:31 pm: These days, I’m really into the drama series “Reply 1994.” I like to end my day by watching an episode or two, journaling about my day, and I’ll usually drink a cup of (non-caffeinated) tea, usually peppermint, chamomile or burdock root.