Only In California

California still surprises me. I keep saying how much I love the state of Utah and how beautiful it is (and it still is) but sometimes I tend to be too partial and refuse to see California for it's own beauty. Traffic and the mass of female Asian drivers aside (I know, I am harsh to my own sex and race), this state may not be so bad. Where else can you be snowboarding in a blizzard in one day, and play outdoor tennis the day after? Odd that I actually welcomed the warm climate, maybe the Utah in me is starting to melt away...

Distracted

Maybe it's "senioritis."

I have four weeks of school left and, wait, did you really grasp that? I have FOUR WEEKS of school left!!!!!

I really am the busiest I've ever been with projects, papers, and exams coming at me. There's too many to mention. Seriously. And after spending one week in bed with a mean cough, I am more than behind. I am better now, and instead of jumping into work - I choose to blog. :0

I will start my research eventually, I think it's just difficult for me to dive right in after taking such a long break (not by choice, I was sick). So I am easing into it...

But even before this blog, I had other distractions: I had a mini photo shoot with Java. After that, I caught up with all the TV shows I've missed. After that, I finished a knitting project I've been working on for months! Oh and after that I started and finished a crochet project! Did my laundry. Cleaned my room (sort of).

At this point I've run out of distractions. I think I've done everything. Hmmm. Fine. I will put it all away now, and start on my school work. :/

Here's to the last stretch!

Sleepless In Anaheim

A funny thing happened to me yesterday (note that it was only funny because it all worked out). I just got home from work, exhausted, and was getting ready for the Jazz concert. Since I had furnished the tickets, Jackie elected to drive and she was supposed to pick me up at 5PM.

I have not been sleeping much at all the past week and was simply exhausted. Taking a shower did not help wake me up as I thought it would. I figured, the hell with my hair, I will take a quick 15 minute nap and just stick it in a bun and I will feel fresh and ready to go. Well, it was no nap. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out faster than five shots of tequila that one time in...nevermind.

Indeed I woke up fresh and rested. But quickly replaced that feeling with panic, embarrasement, and utter remorse. It was a quarter to 6PM and Jackie has been waiting patiently in my driveway! She called, but I did not hear it. I don't know why she did not get out of her car sooner; I would've banged on the front door!

After a quick change and several apolologies, we made it to UCLA in time. It actually may have worked to our benefit since the traffic was not so bad. I assume it had time to clear out and dissipate while I was sleeping - yes, I am resolved to keep telling myself this.

Jazz Concert

I was so excited to find out that Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at the Lincoln Center Orchestra was going to be in town. I looked up tickets and they were a bit pricey for my taste (unless I sat in the nose-bleed section). Since it is a big deal for me to see Wynton, I was going to buy them anyway; but the problem was finding someone else that would shell out money to see them - you won't believe this, but there's just not enough people that like jazz! Get your act together people! You're certainly missing out! ;)

As luck would have it, I did not have to pay for tickets anyway. Last week, I happened to finish my exam 30 min early and got to my car earlier than usual. I turn my radio on and hear "10th caller gets to see Wynton Marsalis at Royce Hall in UCLA."

I've won a total of two times on the radio. Once for correctly identifying a movie from a quote (the movie was Princess Bride), and second from finishing my exam at the right moment, to get me to hear announcement at the right time, and become the 10th caller! YAY!

I did manage to find another Jazz enthusiast in my friend Jackie, and we had a great night at UCLA last night. It was a 2-hr concert that felt like 30 min; full of blaring sounds and great rhythm. It was extremely fun and exciting, I worked so hard to keep myself from swingin' away and stay in my seat!

It was such a delight, we were left unfocused on the way home and ended up on Rodeo Drive (the opposite direction). Not a terrible detour. But we found our way back eventually, still enamored by the great jazz that was.

Hello Summer

It is officially, my summer vacation! I had planned to go for round 2 in the summer; but with the budgets cuts, the class I needed to take is no longer offered. So here I am with 6 weeks of freedom! YAHOO!

I am filling my weeks with culture, sun, and fun; things I rarely have time to do when school is in session. Funny how I had no time to do anything before, now I have ran out of time to fit all the things I want to do! Not complaining of course, although I wish there were more free things to do. I need to work more to pay for my summer activities - vicious circle.

And The Dust Settles

It has been a long time. So long that I have forgotten how to rant and blog. So many topics I’ve wanted to share; but, school work did not permit any time. Even tennis has taken a backseat to school. It’s a relief to say that sacrificing my outlets did contribute to my relatively good grades this past Spring semester. I am back in summer school now, but since my textbook has not arrived in the mail yet, I am unable to do homework, which has brought me back to you, my audience ;)
Let’s start with something easy. I saw two movies this weekend, Drag Me To Hell and UP. Drag Me To Hell was very entertaining. Jumpy and funny if you can believe that in a horror classified movie. I must’ve jumped at least 20 times; but, they were quickly followed by a laugh and so the scary movie, wasn’t so scary after all. It was great because you can get the thrill of a horror flick, but none of the can’t sleep alone in my bed, keep the light on, must lock all doors and windows paranoia that normally come afterward. Drag Me To Hell was refreshing; entertaining; absurdity at it’s best.
UP was THE BEST movie I have seen in a long time (at least that I can remember)! Emotional, laugh-out-loud funny, creative, and has a good backstory. I cannot do this movie justice by simply writing about it. You MUST see it for yourself. That’s it. I won’t try to review it because I can’t. Just watch it!
The blogger is back, for now. Did you miss my updates? My never-ending rants and complaints? My bossy tone? Seriously, go watch UP!
Until my next post…

Dodging Bullets

Oh Boy! I have been lucky this week.

Read about my car accident? Well, it was my first "not at fault" accident and did not get all the information I needed to file a claim. We were both running late for class and with all the people honking behind us, we agreed to discuss insurance later and just exchanged phone numbers.

Boy did I get yelled at from my family! I am too trusting they said. "There is no way she's going to call and give her insurance now!" Haunted by how I would come up with the money to fix my car, I waited anxiously for her to call me back. Luckily, she did. I received a call from her insurance today accepting liability.

Also today, I received an email from my sister who was told by a friend to look into the new Stimulus Package. We have been really pressed to find me good, affordable health insurance by April, when coverage ends, along with my mom's employment. Individual insurance is painstakingly expensive. And to continue our current insurance by COBRA would cost us $830/month!

Then I looked into the new Stimulus Package and read about the Subsidized Cobra Package. To get right to the happy ending, my mom qualified for the Subsidy and the government will pay for 65% of our COBRA, leaving us to pay only 35% - a very good deal when it means I can keep the same doctors, and have the confidence in knowing I have the same coverage. 35% turns out to be cheaper than individual insurance as well.

Phew. I am greatful to the power that's pulling me aside, enabling me to dodge these bullets.

Thank you Father.

Some People Are Jerks

To think this could’ve all been avoided if I just woke up on time…

Instead, there I was in the school parking lot, exchanging phone numbers with the girl who backed into my car

But this post is not about her. She turned out to be an honest person (greatly added to my luck and benefit), who was running late and admittedly neglected to look behind her when she tried to back up to grab a parking spot. No, this post is about the person behind me. The first person to witness two people trying to get through a minor, yet, still a traumatic experience. He pulls to our side, inching forward. He manages to get my attention and the first words that came out of his mouth were: Can you guys close your doors [so I can get by]?

“I’m sorry. The first thing that should’ve popped in to my head after being jerked forward from a frontal impact should’ve been to search for a tool to pry her car off mine, and then push it aside, just so you can get by – my unbelievably inconsiderate schoolmate. Jackass.”

Yeah, that’s what I should’ve said. Instead, I gave him a dirty look and walked slowly to shut my door.

Sadly, he was not the only one. Impatient drivers with cars too wide to squeeze through became infatuated with their honking mechanisms, and made it nearly impossible for us to think and discuss.

What happened to courtesy?

Only In California

I would not normally endorse California; but, recently appreciating the variety in my activities (last week snowboarding, this week outdoor tennis), maybe it's not so bad.

Birthday Cheer

Thank you all for your birthday greetings! My day was filled with birthday email notifications, facebook wall postings, and text messages. Never a lonely minute!

I had a wonderful birthday that actually spanned into three days. Since my cousin Magee arrived from San Jose the evening of Jan 5 with my uncle, we decided to celebrate early and all have dinner together at the Old Spaghetti Factory.

I celebrated most of my birthday at work and my coworkers made it special by buying me coffee for breakfast, and also took me to Roundtable Pizza for lunch where they paid for my meal. :)

Magee was waiting for me at home and we made triple chocolate brownies as my "bday cake" not knowing Ate Ainee would come home hours later with a chocolate cake with strawberry mousse filling - yum! Stocked up on sugar, the celebration continued into the early hours of Jan 7 when Magee and Ate Ainee were determined to beat me at Boggle. Although Ate Ainee was the first to find an elusive 8-letter word (she found "replaces") that bumped her score up and ended the round of games, my score was still way ahead of the total tally. The Boggle champion reigns ;)

Thank you everyone!

Lupus Walk 2008

The 2008 2nd annual Lupus Walk was held in LA's Exposition Park. My team consisted of Linda, Ian, Kumi (unable to make it to the walk today), Java, and me. It was a nice day for a walk and we planned on walking the full 3 miles, but ended up cutting only to two miles since Java was pooped out - you would be too if you carried a big load like he did. Java was a real trooper carrying his and mommy's snacks and water, also mommy's wallet and cell phone. Of course he also got to rest when we stopped for pictures :).

Thank you team for your fund raising efforts and contributions! Thanks to all the supported us and donated to the cause for Lupus!

My Pick Me Up

Life is crazy hectic, this I know. But the past couple of weeks have been filled with deferred taxes, bonds, and accrued interest. Yup, my first Accounting exam was upon me. I also had an Econ exam on the same day! So, when I say the past couple of weeks have been nothing but studying, that's no exaggeration.

October 1, 2:15 PM, I just finished my Econ test, not bad. Now I have to head to Accounting. I feel pretty confident. Just yesterday, I was doing some more practice problems and was getting them right. Walk in, sit down, breathe.

October 1, 3:50PM. "What the hell was that?!!!!??" I felt like I studied the wrong chapters! Yes, they were of bonds and tax but the format threw me off so badly I did not know where to start! I really don't want to get into how difficult that exam was; but, how I felt afterward was crap. Like the past few weeks were a complete waste! And they were! That's the worst feeling when you invest so much time studying and think you understand something the material then, BAM! Nope, you were wrong.

I have a Stat exam on Monday so I knew I had to move on from this. I was really depressed and stressed out about my grade that my entire body ached. I couldn't focus at work, I couldn't do my homework. I played tennis on Thursday but sadly, even that did not help. TENNIS DID NOTHING!! Now are you getting the picture of how in terrible shape I was?

I needed help. I realized I was holding on to lots of tension and could not release them by simply shaking it off or with exercise. Come Friday evening, I was determined to relax; so, I drove to the grocery store, picked up some pasta and a bottle of wine, and headed home to watch one of the funniest sitcoms of all time.

Halfway into that bottle, I was laughing so hard and I don't think it was even at the funny parts. Later on, I danced to every alternative song in my iTunes. Worries dissipated, tension melted. I finally got to rest that night. The best part? No hangover ;) Although, I still wonder how all my stuffed animals ended up scattered on my bed that morning...from storage...

Mono Vision

Today is the first day I have my mono-vision contact lenses on. Mono-vision is where one eye sees far and the other up close. I opted to try this because I despise having to pull out my reading glasses every time I read.

It's weird. It feels like I only have one contact lens on because I can see blurry spots; but, I can see up close now with out glasses. I was told it would take about 1-2 weeks for my brain to process and adjust to the new vision correction. Until then, I have to try to get used to the "one eye-contact" feeling.

*SIGH*

I am very excited about this though. I really hope it works out.

EARTHQUAKE!

This cannot wait! I just experienced my first earthquake here in CA and am a little freaked. It happened just a few minutes ago and I never jumped under my desk so quickly in my life! I don't understand why the building is not being evacuated right now - are we not concerned of an aftershock?

People around me are calm and laughing. I am not quite there yet; being the girl from Utah.

OOOHHH, the building just shook again...is that the aftershock?

Okay, I want to get out now.

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12:05 PM - So apparently, there can be more than one aftershock; but, not the same size as the original quake.

News says it was a 5.8.

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12:30 PM - Just got back from a quick trip outside. I really had to get out. Funny, everyone was eating lunch outside. I wanted to take the stairs but since the fire alarm would go off so I was forced to take the elevators - that was pretty nerve racking.

12:59 - I just realized this is Java's first earthquake too. I wonder how he is doing...

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Back at home - exciting day at work today. Came home to a seemingly unaffected Java; he was just happy to see me, as always. My room is a mess! My picture frames fell, one of them on my laptop - but it's working fine. All was restored but one frame - the one from the Strut Your Mutt event in Sugarhouse, UT 2005. The glass cracked in three places.

It's SUMMER!!!!

Woohoo!!!!!!!

I just took my final quiz and turned in my essay - I am done with summer school!!!!! YAY!!!!!

Oh my. What possibilities lie ahead for me in the next five weeks? Let's see...

I want to knit, read a non-school related book, improve my tennis game, organize my room, CLEAN MY DISASTROUS CAR, give Java a bath, frame and hang my art collections, watch the entire season of Buffy, and RELAX!!!!!

The next five weeks will go by quickly.

Woohoo hoo!!!!

~Remembered that I also have to prepare for my accounting class in the fall. I should give myself at least one week of absolutely NO SCHOOL though. ;)

Thai Massage

The tennis playoffs were in Pasadena so I asked Tito Buds (uncle) if I could sleepover instead of driving all the way back to Anaheim (40 min away, without traffic).

Anticipating how sore I would be after the match, he scheduled for me to have a massage, out of his caring heart (or to save himself from an evening of complaining and grouchiness - I get cranky when I'm tired).

So I had my first Thai massage tonight - oh, and it was wonderful. The style is different from the massage Ate Ben gives me (sister), I think she does a Swedish massage. Thai massage is when they step on your back. It was amazing! They used their toes, heel, hands, and elbows with such precision. They would use their feet to cover the big areas like your back and legs, effectively shifting their weight to their heel when they need to put more pressure on certain areas of stress. The width of the elbow is just the right size to go between the spine and shoulder blades; and they use their hands on more delicate areas like the neck and head.

I am soooooo relaxed. I actually stopped by Trader Joe's right after the match (before the massage) and bought myself some beer and chocolate to ease my loss. But now, after the massage, I don't think I need them anymore...well, I could always use some chocolate. Afterall, these are chocolate covered macadamia nuts ;)

Budding Klutz?

It was the first day of the summer semester. With the previous semester from hell behind me and an interesting summer class, the day was not so bad.

I was in the parking lot walking to my car and I noticed the nice cool weather. It's summer, yet it's not hot. The leaves fell to the ground as if it was autumn. The leaves crunched underneath my gate, I take in the unusually fresh-smelling air as I think to myself: this is a welcoming start to a fresh semester and summer. I start to smile...

BAM! I hear a POP as I trip and twist my right ankle. My car is in sight, but I can't move towards it. Only 5 weeks have passed since I sprained my left ankle, now I injure my other ankle?! The wind blew, carried with it the foul stench of nearby exhaust from vehicles on the neighboring freeway. The wind also separated the leaves in front of me, revealing the source of my throbbing pain - a pothole.

I realize there was never a fresh start; just a temporary illusion. Misinterpreted. In front of me is the same system, same lifestyle - difficult and sacrificing, to be continued.

Here I go...

Much Needed Escape

Took a flight out to San Jose as soon as I stepped out of my last final exam. Tito Larry took me to a Giants game - they lost but we had some great food.

Up first on bat is bratwurst with mustard and sauerkraut.


What would a good bratwurst be without a great draft? Smithwicks, mmmmmm.
Our stomachs died down with the Giants' game :( so we got this rice and steak bowl - bbq and spicy flavored.
Too bad for the Giants that night. But our palettes certainly won a few rounds. ;)

It's OVER!

That was the semester from hell!!!! Not exaggerating either, it was the toughest semester of my college career! Oh yes, it was tougher than the semester I had Calculus, Physics, Chemistry, and Cellular Biology together. Hard to imagine right? No question that semester was also difficult, but I managed.

There will be hard classes everywhere, the difference about what makes them tolerable or even enjoyable is the one presenting you the information: your professor.

Anyway, that's semester is over with and I came out alright. I have 10 days until summer semester starts...what should I do with my time?

Definitely A Twist On The Rocks

My sprained ankle on ice at work :)