The Daily Cow

Summer has arrived! We "cows" spend lots of time in the sun, so here is a review of the sunblock tested by your very own sunblock critic, me.

Coppertone Sport Sunblock Lotion, Ultra Sweatproof, SPF 30

This sunscreen is fairly cheap and easy to use. No fancy smells or perfume. It's quite runny despite the "ultra dry formula" label, which actually makes it easy to spread. However, be careful not to let it drip on the carpet or your clothes.

Target Sport Sunscreen - Continuous Spray, SPF 30

A no-rub sunscreen? It seemed like a good idea. However, breathing in the fumes was not fun. Also, the spray stinked up my room and carpet for hours. Be careful when spraying - a thin film did not seem to block as much UV. If you don't mind coughing on the fumes, this sunscreen is fast and convenient. Plus, it's transparent so you don't have to worry about walking around with a white blob on your nose.

Lancome UV Expert 20 Sunscreen, SPF 20

It's expensive ($35 for 3.4 oz. at Macy's), but it works very well and doesn't feel oily. Although the SPF is lower than the Target Sport Sunscreen above, it's better at blocking UV rays. It's white and has a thick consistency, so be wary of white patches after applying.

Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock, SPF 70

This sunblock works very well. It does smell a bit funny, but the smell is well worth the SPF 70 protection. Despite the high SPF, it feels "lighter" (less thick) than the Lancome sunblock. It's quite inexpensive - around $10 for a 3 oz. tube.

Alba Hawaiian Green Tea Suncreen, SPF 30

This smells good! It's probably the best smelling sunblock I've tried. Buy it for the smell! It's almost as runny as the Coppertone SPORT sunblock, so beware the drip.

Hawaiian Tropic 45plus Sunblock, SPF 45

One of my favorites. It smells good (like coconut) and works fine. However, it leaves my skin feeling oily, so I wouldn't use it on my face. Also, I'm a bit skeptical of the "all day waterproof."

That's all of the ones that I can remember! Feel free to post your own recommendations.

I haven't posted an entry for quite a while. I blame schoolwork and activities for making me busy. ;)

Today, Jinghao and I were in my dorm's 7th floor study lounge when a girl tried to jump off the balcony. The 2 other people in the lounge saw her on the other side of the railing and ran over. They tried to convince her not to jump. She was crying, and her cell phone kept ringing like someone was calling her frantically, but she didn't pick it up. I was so scared that she would die. The police came just in time. I didn't see what happened, but Jinghao told me that the girl let go, and one of the people talking to her grabbed her. Then the police rushed in and pulled her inside. She was clinging to the bars with her feet and shouting "No!" It took 3 people to pull her off the railing.

I had never seen someone so dramatically close to committing suicide. It's terrible that the girl was so depressed (or something so distressing happened to her) that she had to make such a difficult and terrible decision to kill herself.

Throughout that afternoon, as I was frantically cramming for my ochem midterm, I tried to concentrate, but images of what happened and what could have happened kept squeezing into my head. As an image or thought popped up, I tried to put it aside and tell myself that studying for ochem is important - I have no time to think about other things. But, really, how important is this test, compared to life and death? - when that girl, concentrating on her own life and tragedy, was surrounded by so many people, all concentrating on their own lives, who could've gotten to know her and have learned about the girl's suicide plans earlier?

Sometimes, I am stuck in the artificial world of homework, tests, and whether today's soup at the dining commons will be the coveted clam chowder. But events such as this open my eyes to the gift of life.

Right now, I've just finished taking my uber-difficult ochem midterm. After everyone handed in their test papers, the first reaction of 99.9% of the people was, "I hope the average was really, really low." I hope so, too, but even if the rest of my class does a Jinghao and gets a 100%, I know that there is much more to life. :P

To all those hard-working students who refuse to IM while studying...

...yet still take the time to put up a spiffy away message...

Go us!

(Good luck on your midterms!)

This question can be found in many lateral thinking books. It's perfect for tricking unsuspecting people. But you can't trick me!

Book: What do cows drink?

Me: Milk!

Book: Of course they don't drink milk. It's water! Tricked you!

Me: Erm... then what do calves drink? It's water and milk! So I'm technically correct!

So now let me introduce myself, Tricia, the newest columnist, and a self-proclaimed cow expert (who also seems to chat with books). I am currently a freshman at the University of Berkeley, Cow. And I have lots of wonderful Cow-info to tell you, but unfortunately I have to spend some more time in deep conversation with my books (aka studying for midterms). But before I leave, Jinghao has asked me to draw a picture of a cow, but I have no idea how to post a picture. So here is an ascii cow for your enjoyment. :)

            Moo. I love milk!
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