My SMS Admirer

James, aka the black guy from the bar who sings Gnarls Barkley like nobody's business, has been texting me for oh... a month now?

Assertiveness is nice. I can dig that. But I'd say he's a little more than assertive. I'm not sure what to make of it. I think hanging out with him would be a blast, but I don't want him to be under the impression that I'm on the market for a man. Things get messy, people get hurt, and I am not into any of that.

Hanging at the bar can't be too bad, right? I know I'm still not really in a commitment-y place in my life, but the man is such a sweetheart. There ain't nothin wrong with getting to know a dude.

My Grades are WHAT?!?!

My grades are what I expected them to be. It just never ceases to shock me that I can get away with doing so little work. I didn't do even one minute of listening for my history class (copyright and licensing agreements made listening assignments a total pain to access... so I never bothered).

This quarter was the most fun I've had in a quarter ever. Truly. I do so love my friends dearly.

I may go into detail on the utter nonsense that was my academic effort. I may not. I can rest now, though, knowing I've done well for myself. Cheers to the upcoming holidays :)

I love this season so dearly!!!

My Finals Week

Does not feel stressful. Maybe it should? I walked into my Music Theory practical without having received the handouts I was supposed to have rehearsed (because I neglected going to section 10th week) and still managed to ace that shit, no problemo. I know I previously said that all this pre-renaissance stuff was not easy for me, but it turns out that that it's even harder for everyone else.

Even though I feel that my work this quarter warrants a B at most, I'm, comparatively, an A+ student. Lovely. As long as I show up tomorrow, things should be just fine. This quarter is pretty much over. My work here is done.

My Old Habits Die Hard

"Just wanted to say this thanksgiving I am thankful for my 22nd b day, and getting to hang out with you."

FUCK.

My Funny Conversations

Jen: Hello?

David: Hey Jen it's me.

Jen: I know. HEYYYYYY!!!!!

David: Have you been drinking?

Jen: Today? No.

David: .......Who are you, and what have you done with my sister?!?!

My Return to A Capella?

You may or may not know that I did agree to coach Acamazing in voice. Just coaching. Got suckered into it because I love my fake little brother... and Danny's hot. So Danny decided to invite me to an All Acapella party at Mike of the Beat's house.

1. I got a Facebook invite.
2. I got a personal e-mail.
3. I got a wallpost invitation.
4. I got a phone call.

I think he wants me to go to this party lol.

My (Vocal) Workout

I'm stupid. Left my student ID in my room or my other pants or somewhere. Oops. That means no gym for me this morning. So instead of gymming it up, as planned, I have been studying a little this past half hour or so.

I'll do some core work tonight to stay in the groove of things.

But right now, I'm getting ready to flex my cords. It's going to be a big day. I can feel it already. There's a Handel aria that has just been kicking my ass like no other this week... and I'm going to iron that sucker out. Speed, my friends. I need it.

My Thoughts on Avatar

"Who the f___ thought there was a market for a three-hour-long, heavy-handed message movie about paleface bad, Native American mysticism good, populated by these hideously ugly 9-ft. tall space Smurfs?"

Comes from here

I LOL'd.

My Academic Department is a Joke

Have you ever legitimately aced a midterm in 2 minutes?

I have.

My Sticky Situation

I have more men in my life than I know what to do with. Major oops. I don't know what else to say. OOPS.

My (Lack of) Diet

So here's the thing. I believe that I tend to crave what my body needs. Well, to an extent. No body really needs sausage McMuffins w/ egg. This is especially so during a certain few days every month...

Sorry if that's TMI.

Dinner today was some leftover pea soup, a bowl of shin ramyun, an avocado, a hard-boiled egg, and banana chips. Yea. I let myself go a little nuts. But I feel justified... I was just really effing hungry. At least none of that was truly horrendous! (Well... except for maybe the whole sodium majigger. Whoops.)

My Throne

Well... we had our second vocal master class today. I premiered my French aria, Stephano's "Que fais-tu, blanche tourterelle." Singing it well totally made my day, especially since I've only been singing it for three days. Yes, three days. I am a music-learning machine. It will take a lot of work until I am happy with the whole package, but as far as a work in progress goes, I am loving it already! I think it's going to be a really strong aria in my repertoire-arsenal.

I also got to hear a number of the new voice students sing their numbers. Lots of selections from 24 Italian Songs and Arias. (Caro Mio Ben. Sebben Crudele. You know... the usual.) I'll admit it, part of me was nervous. They had introduced themselves so extravagantly, talking about how they've been singing for ages. It scared me. I've been formally singing for all of... one year. Even so, I've always been ahead of the curve as far as UCSD's undergraduate voice department goes. I spent last year duking it out with Chrissy over upper division professors. We know how that ended. But it really surprised me how threatened I felt by fresh talent. I was actually very worried that I would somehow end up second best.

But as the newcomers sang their songs, I began to relax more and more. It might be egotistical of me to think so, but I no longer feel threatened. There are some decent voices in the mix, but for all the agony I caused myself, no female voice to call my rival.

There was Michael Wu, however. He was incredible! But male voices do not worry me. He is one person I will never compete against for a role :)

I guess all the work I put in over the summer has paid off though! Repertoire-wise, I'm way ahead of Chrissy, what with two arias and four songs already under my belt just in the first two weeks of school. She's still getting wrong notes on stuff she's worked on all summer long. Even vocally, although she still has the edge in terms of maturity, I've definitely overtaken her in power and stage presence. I really need to keep taking good care of my voice. I've treated it well for about a week, and it really rewarded me today with a vocal vengeance. Range, dexterity, focus, I had it all today!

Also, I need higher aspirations. It isn't enough to be the top undergrad voice at UCSD. I need to push harder, stay diligent, and keep up with consistent improvement. Now that I'm discovering more and more of what I can accomplish with what I have, I am set on going out and being the best I can possibly make myself. I'm starting to realize that I may have more potential than I previously gave myself credit for...

My WANT!!!

Best. Wedding. Party. Ever.

Except I think I'd go for the Flash. Or Batman. Maybe Nightwing ;)

My Voicey Schtick

Today, I heard my former teacher, Stephanie, warm up to an A6. Awe-inspiring.

For the record, I'm still trying to stabilize my F#. Sometimes even my F.

I've realized that I really need to kick that cigarette habit of mine. The occasional drag doesn't seem to affect me, but after smoking my "breakup pack" and screaming karaoke every week, my voice has not been happy for me for the past two days. It's a little tired. And a little sore. Throw in the fact that I haven't been sleeping regularly, and that's a recipe for ugly sound. I'm surprised that I can still make sounds. Even when it doesn't feel quite right, I can still somewhat sing. It's nice to have that little bit of stamina.

ANYWAY... lots of stuff to work on. A set of Debussy songs, some Strauss, and a pair of arias (both pants roles, since my voice seems to be heading in a dramatic coloratura ish direction). Love it :)

My Newfound Anemia???

I've been a regular blood donor for the past 4 years of my life. So it came as a little surprise to me when I was deferred last Saturday for being a little under on iron, but it does happen once in a while, so I just rescheduled for today.

Well... guess who was low on iron again despite having had a burger for dinner and a steak/egg burrito for breakfast. I don't know what it is about my current state that is so different. I don't exercise half as much as I did when I started donating. I'm running on a calorie deficit, but that doesn't mean I'm not ensuring that I'm chock full of lean proteins, whole grains, fruits, and iron-rich vegetables. I've paid exceptionally close attention to that. And no, I'm not menstruating.

I'm going to give myself some more time and try again next week, but I'm not going to change what I'm doing. I really want to get to the bottom of whether these two instances have just been anomolies or if my new gym/eating habits have been screwing with my hemoglobin levels.

If I'm low again next week, I may re-think my approach to achieving fitness, and make some dietary adjustments.

FYI, I'm not really anemic. The reads I've been getting on my iron count have been too low to donate blood, but still in a healthy range. For those who are curious, the range of my iron levels have been between 10-12 g/L. Not low numbers in and of themselves, but in the context of my personal experience, definitely lower than usual.

It's not a big deal health-wise. 10-12 g/L is a good number to maintain. It's just that blood donation is a pretty integral part of my life, and it's something I would really like to continue doing throughout and beyond my journey toward a healthier me.

My Fall Quarter

I feel like I'm doing a lot this quarter. At the moment, I'm boiling up some ginger tea (so I can have some on my drive to school). It's been an interesting few days. I hit the gym every weekday at around 7 am. That's new. And it's nice. My body is totally in achesville right now, but it's a small opportunity cost I'm willing to pay. My mornings aren't rushed, parking is easy peasy, I feel more energetic throughout the afternoon, and I don't get any guilt over the occasional indulgence (Japanese curry for dinner!)

Lessons with Phil. I have only had one, but I already have a feeling that this year is going to be big for me. Really big. It hasn't even been a week since I started school, but my voice feels different already. I can do more with it than I ever have before, and I am damn excited. There's less tension in my upper range, and I'm gaining dexterity in all directions. I've also checked out a couple books so I can pore over rep for this quarter. The possibilities are endless, and I don't want to miss a thing!

I should wash up and get ready for bed. I know it's early, but I woke up insanely early this morning, and will have to do the same tomorrow morning since I have a phone meeting bright and early with my broker. (Do they HAVE to do everything on EST?) There's a big day ahead. Trading! Gym! Lecture! Section! Audition! Rehearsal!

I'm pretty pumped... although I'm not sure if there will be a part of me left that isn't sore tomorrow morning. Wuh oh.

My... Backtracking?

Rewind to the middle of my sophomore year. When I dated Mike "Ted Mosby" Chang. Because I think I just had a date with Mike "Ted Mosby" Chang.

We had lunch. We hung out. We had dinner... and hung out. And he was a perfect gentleman... and he kept paying for everything UGH. It was so easy to talk to him, it was as if we just picked up where we left off a year and a half ago. And I didn't realize this before, but he actually really likes opera. I figured this out while we were chilling while Joyce was practicing. He goes to the opera. He went to La Boheme, La Traviata, and I think it was Romeo and Juliet? So that just makes things even more confusing. Plus, he didn't go all Casanova on me at the end of the night.

Yea, NINE HOURS of yesterday. WTF? I guess there's no harm in hanging out with him, but what the hell am I doing???

My Facial Freakout

Call me spoiled, but I'm really not used to breaking out. Face stuff has always been majorly awesome for me, probably because I cleanse, tone, and moisturize borderline-obsessively. A single pimple is so rare for me that I can't even remember the last time I had one. So you can understand why I would be completely baffled when I discovered a good 15 or so small, inflamed bumps on the right side of my face yesterday afternoon. WTF???

Out came the salicylic acid toner and tea tree oil face wash, which usually banishes the occasional blemish overnight. But this morning, I woke perplexed once again. Still there. All of them. Horrendous little suckers filled with gloat and sebum. And only on my right cheek. So I performed some facial magic (steamed those pores open) and copiously cleaned with more salicylic acid. I followed that with a baking soda mask. Then scrubbed that ish off and used a mild cleanser.

I'm really confused about what's going on. Maybe it's bug bites and not zits at all? (EWWWW) Either way, I'm kind of upset about it. Even though it's stupid. I just really don't like it when my skin is unhappy with me :(

My Life in September

Just a quick update:
-Prague was incredible, and I made some of my newest/closest friends there. Couldn't be more grateful, even if the festival itself was stressful and disorganized.
-I'm 21!!!
-Got back to SD, visited Tempe and Pomona, and looped back down last weekend.
-As of 3 days ago, I'm officially single again!

Yea. It's a lot. But I like to think that my life is just moving forward at a faster rate. I know what I want to accomplish, and I know what I need to do to get there, so it's time to do it!

Also, I'm doing this eat-at-home thing, and I invested in many heads of romaine, along with lots of other veggies and stuff. I have plenty of awesome jeans, and I'd like to wear them. Hence, all the healthy eating and stuff.

My Learning Situation

Dr. Marcia Porter.

She is an incredible performer (had the pleasure of hearing her sing two nights ago)

Brandys Castle.

Chamber music venue.

I'm loving the program, but I've never worked so intensely on my music before. It's like... music camp on steroids. When I'm not having a lesson or practicing, I'm desperately IPA-ing my music or reading the lyrics in a poetic fashion or listening to other renditions, or listening to my lessons. It's kind of high pressure. My first performance is Thursday. I'll be singing Schubert and Ives. My first rehearsal with the accompanist is later today...

I find myself pushing myself very hard because of the whole atmosphere here. It feels really good, but also very tiring. After all of the practices/lessons/concerts were over yesterday, I felt like I NEEDED a beer. All of us did. I haven't felt a need to unwind since I was still full time at the VA lol.

Tonight is our first free night. So we're all very excited to go out and explore and drink. After tonight, it will all be insanity preparing for the performances before this weekend. And then we'll be moving from Brandys to Prague proper. Will update. Should get ready for the rest of my day now :)

Missing California and my loves there <3

My Pre-Summer Developments

A few things have happened this last week before summer officially begins:

I received notice from the music department's academic advising office that I passed my upper division voice audition! This fall, I'll be taking private lessons with Phil Larson (MUS132V)!!!

Grades came out! In high school, I dreaded the delivery of grades. I loved getting SAT and AP scores... but grades were an entirely different story. Things have changed a little since then. I excelled my first year in college, though I did turn right around and nearly flunked myself out my second year due to a couple of distractions that really got me down. But I've gone back to my old ways this year, and after last year's tremendous dip in achievement, got three consecutive quarters of 4.0s! I'm really happy to be back on track :)

Today is my brother's last day of high school. Tomorrow is his graduation (and more crazy family shenanigans). I've been playing Zelda over the past few days. I procrastinated SO much before the Forest temple! lol. Basically, I turned into an adult, raced Ingo for Epona, raced Dampe for the hookshot, bombed Darunia's son for the Goron's tunic, got the Bolero of Fire, freed King Zora for the Zora's tunic, got the Biggoron sword, beat the Ice Cavern for the iron boots and Serenade of Water, got the Song of Storms, got the scarecrow's song, went fishing to win the golden scale, and THEN went to the Forest Temple. It's amazing how much you can accomplish in the game with only the most rudimentary weapons! You don't need the fairy bow to do any of that!

Too bad I didn't get the Sun Song... I hate getting the Sun Song. Redeads suck :(

My Favorite Things

So... here are a few things I freaking LOVE:

1. My crazy extended family. I didn't get out to hang out with a lot of my paternal cousins very often because we all grew up in different places (the Bay, Guam, Hawaii, Seattle, Canada, Pomona, France, Hong Kong, etc.) But now that a good chunk of us all live in California, a bunch of us got together over the weekend! Speed scrabble, drinking games, karaoke, dim sum, FUN :D

2. My family and doggy :) My family is so silly, and so is my dog.

3. My friends!!! I don't have all that many friends, I just know a lot of people. But the friends I do have, I am eternally grateful for :)

4. Stuff like this:


5. Food. I love eating it, cooking it, you name it. Food is freaking awesome.

6. VIDEO GAMES! In this order: Zelda (OoT), COD4 MW2 (online), Gears of War 2, Street Fighter (IV), Mario Kart (OG), Super Mario 64, and others... the list goes on.

7. Music. Last, but not least. I never get bored of studying it, I never get sick of listening to it, and I never want to stop making it :)

And these are just a few of my favorite things!!! Nom nom nommmmm :D

My Attempt to De-Stress

As we all know by now, my 10th week is 100% insane.

I got back to San Diego, completely exhausted, in the wee hours of Tuesday morn. Went to class at noon, and was reminded that I had two rehearsals and a concert to do that very same day. Attended both rehearsals (one of which I had to leave early for my voice lesson) and then proceeded to scramble for something to wear for the concert. FYI, I ended up sporting my LJSC dress. Did the concert, had Sam Woo for dinner at 10, and went home. Funny story: I got super excited about plopping down in my bed, since I had been fantasizing about it all day, so I brushed my teeth, changed into my robe, plopped down, and after several minutes of relieved sighing, fell sound asleep.

Today has been a similar scramble. Performance final at noon. Rehearsal at 2. Dress rehearsal at 3:15. Luckily, I had a break during which I cranked out a 2-page paper for tomorrow. Then I warmed up and met up with my ensemble for my concert call time. Performed, and seeing as I completely missed LJSC rehearsal, came straight home.

The rest of the week follows in a similar manner. Rehearsals, performances. Two more concerts on Saturday, then one on Sunday. My voice is tired. My body is tired. My brain is fried. Not to mention I have a final paper due Monday... as well as a final also on Monday. I don't know when I'm going to be able to get those suckers done.

I actually Googled "How to destress quickly." That's how desperate I got at one point on Tuesday (when I realized just how much work I had to do...) The search brought me to a marginally helpful eHow page that told me to breathe deeply for a minute or two, organize my thoughts on paper, and rationalize my fears.



But we all know that's not how I dissipate the pressure in my life. So here's what I did instead:


Over the weekend, I had an extremely successful revelation in my attempt at bread-baking. The final product had a beautiful crumb texture and an shockingly flavorful taste. Good thing I saved some of the dough as a starter for my next loaf! This is my first time making bread from starter, but I have a good feeling about it.

I mixed my slightly beery-smelling starter with a cup and a half of lukewarm water. Then I stirred in three cups of flour and a teaspoon of salt. It's a gooey mixture, just like the one I made over the weekend. I really want to see it succeed. I'm going to let the yeast do its thang overnight, then I'll pop the whole shebang in the fridge in the morning and let it sit for another day or two before baking it. I've found that the key to bread-baking is time. Time, time, time. I didn't even knead my last loaf. I just let the yeast help form the glutens for me!

And THAT, friends, is what truly de-stressed me.

My Good Feeling

Midterm is over! I am so glad I could burst.

I've been feeling a little funny today. Maybe it's because I haven't worked out in a while. Maybe it's because I've been eating poorly. Maybe it's because I've stayed up studying for two days in a row. Either way, I came home feeling off.

But then I started cooking! I did some dishes, put some brown and white rice in the cooker, and started washing and chopping some baby bok choy. I sauteed the bok choy in some garlic, salt, and soy sauce, set half of it aside for lunch tomorrow, and proceeded to dice some tofu for miso soup. I brought that to a boil in a pot of water, added some miso paste, chopped some green onions in, and set into my pre-dinner soup with my lovely roommate :)

Then my rice finished cooking, so I popped some of that on top of my bok choy, opened a can of sardines in tomato sauce, and started eating.

Now I feel better :)

My New Song

Got the OK to start on Donizetti's "L'amante Spagnuolo" translated: "The Spanish Lover."

It's a totally cute song, and I love singing it! But it's really fast... and there's a lot of them Italian words crammed into not so many beats. I've never sung words so quickly in succession before, so I'm totally having a not so bitchin time trying to fit all those syllables into every single sixteenth triplet... whew.

I always thought Italian songs were way easier than French and German... this song may have just changed my mind. Fast Italian is quite the mouthful!

Despite that minor setback, I had a lot of fun practicing just now because the song itself is 100% adorable, and I love singing it :)

My Day Planned Out

OK. So today should be a good one.

I woke up, listened to yesterday's voice lesson while blogging up my thoughts on it, watered my plants, had two scrambled eggs and a banana for breakfast, and now I'm watching Good Morning America, sipping coffee, writing up a grocery list, and planning out the rest of my day.

I'll be out the door in a few. Grocery shopping is first on this sunny Tuesday. Then I'll come back, organize those groceries, practice at home, make lunch (and eat it), go to 12:30 class, hit the gym, go to 3:30 class, head home, cook and eat dinner, study, and call it a night.

Ready? BREAK!

My Update

I haven't made a post here in a while. I miss my private blog!

Lately I've been hitting the gym with Mike 3 times a week. We actually skipped on Friday... and then skipped Saturday's make-up gym date, but we finally made it to his apartment's gym yesterday. I'm really glad that we stuck with it! I'm also getting Mike to get up earlier in the day. It's part of my sneaky plan to get us both a little healthier. More efficient use of the daytime means fewer all-nighters for me to accompany him. Lol... Lord knows those take a lot out of me.

What else have we been up to? I've been drinking a lot of iced tea since the weather has gotten warmer, and I've made a resolution to visit the beach at least once a week. Mike and I went on Thursday. We parked, picked up a root beer to share from the Cheese Shop, and took a walk along the waterfront. It was supercute, the ankle-deep water was warm, the weather was beautiful, and that root beer was delicious!

My first midterm is on Thursday, so there's definitely a little bit of pressure beginning to kick in. I'm also terrified by my vocal workload this quarter... it looks like I'm going to have an immense amount of music on my plate. That doesn't even include the opera scenes I have yet to receive music for! I'm making the effort to practice every day, and I've also been talking to Joyce a lot. I think we're going to start singing for each other a little more so we can receive some mutual input. I'm grateful for all the advice she has given me so far. She's far more experienced than I in interpreting and emoting songs and arias. And I know that intonation is my forte, so it's nice that we can help each other out in these times of pressure! (She has a competition coming up!)

I love the Spring in San Diego, and I'm very happy with my life in general right now. With any luck, I'll keep up with all this school work and singing.

Oh yea. Last but not least, I'm conducting another exercise in frugality and well-being this week: Eating in. I have a menu planned for every day. I may have to get some more veggies and such, but I'm pretty intent on making this happen, both for my health and for my wallet :)

My New Dress

I am going to need a new dress. This is because none of the ones I have are appropriate for either a black tie performance or a spring wedding. Luckily, I have found a dress to serve both those purposes! (And some Macy's coupons came for me in the mail...)

It is the Robin dress. The one she buys to wear to the wedding Ted invites her to. I know. I am making way too many decisions based on that show haha :)

Problem is, I kind of want to look really good in it. Mikey's ex girlfriend is going to be present at the wedding on May 1. She's going to be bringing her new boyfriend. Mikey is going to win that breakup. This package of Jen is going to have to be way more awesome than Sue's boyfriend.

I think that where I've gone wrong in previous dieting-exercising-weight-loss-ventures is that I set expectations too high. While my goals may be totally achievable, the measures I'd have to take are, too often, very difficult to accomodate into my lifestyle. Either I end up too fatigued to work a/o learn efficiently or I forgo physical activity in favor of intellectual pursuits. What little progress I do make still disappoints me because of the standards I had set for myself, and when I reap little to no satisfaction with the way things are going, the plan fails and eventually falls apart.

This time around, I'm going to have myself eat more regularly. And instead of making huge cuts on calories, I'm making some more energy-efficient substitutions. For example, rather than my usual street taco and small side of black beans from Rubio's, I'll be going for the large side of black beans and some snacks to keep hunger at bay throughout my MWF. I'm also incorporating some daily caffeine in my diet, along with plenty of water. I'm finding that it feels good to stay hydrated. Yea, I have to pee a lot, but it makes me feel like my insides are clean.

As far as physical activities go, I know I don't have the stamina to keep up with schoolwork, work work, and a daily workout for the time being, so I am going to start slowly and try for three days of moderate cardio per week, and at-home resistance band and floor routines. Maybe once my body is used to being somewhat active again, I'll move on to some more strenuous exercises. At least I'll be getting a commendable amount of movement into my life for now.

My Slippery Slope

It's so hard to make things work. We just keep fighting, and I don't really know what to do. Is it worth it? There was a period when I'd scoffingly exclaim, "of course!" with some conviction, but now, I'm beginning to weigh some pros and cons. I keep trying to make things work, but we keep fighting about stupid things. I'm just trying to figure out if this is just a phase, or if God is trying to get me to take a hint.

My RAWRAWRAWR

I've been in a moody funk lately. Part of it is frustration with my musical studies. Part of it is midterm stress. Yet another part of it is the inevitability of having to spend money... and how much it sucks. And outside of the obvious issues, I have these stupid little feelings that, on top of being unpleasant alone, also make me feel shitty for having selfish thoughts.

Not that I want a gold star or any kind of hooplah, but it really sucks to feel unappreciated. And I kind of feel that way a lot... at my internship, as a student, and worst of all, as a girlfriend. The first two are to be expected. Students at a public research-based university and interns are totally dispensable, and I committed to those roles knowing very well I'd likely be overlooked and unimportant. But that is not a preconception I had entering a relationship.

I don't consider myself excessively needy, controlling, or any other negative attribute assigned to stereotypically crazy girlfriends. It follows that I get kind of peeved when my boyfriend tells me that I am. Especially when it's because I weighed in on his dilemma last night (to smoke weed or not to smoke weed) by reminding him that he had a quiz on brain development this morning. My words were, pulled straight from Facebook, "don't you have a quiz tomorrow?" and nothing else. No condemnation, no ultimatum. Just a simple reminder that, in case it had slipped his mind, he had an impending appointment of moderate importance to be wary of, and to perhaps prepare for. Somebody please explain to me how that can be considered controlling? I am lost.

To make the whole scenario worse yet, he decided to make his "chill out, controlling girlfriend" speech on the ride to school after he called me at 8:30 am, asking me to swing by his apartment on my way to UCSD so he could have a ride to campus to take said quiz. I paid 4 bucks for visitor parking in Gilman, was five minutes late to my 9 am, and now have to go repark my car at the VA so he could tell me that I was being too controlling over him. P.S. I still don't see how I'm controlling. Seriously?

I don't lord over anybody, let alone over someone I love. I'm freaking pissed, and frankly, I don't really feel like picking up someone's slack in a relationship that's supposed to be mutual. So unless he's going to man the hell up and quit antagonizing me with his stupid non-issues, I could very well be single again, just in time to not buy a present for Valentine's Day.

My Time to Relax

First week was a little bit ridiculous. I'm happy to announce that I made a conscious effort to allot myself a little chunk of downtime every day of this week. Whether it be watching The Office (or Jersey Shore...), getting caught up on HIMYM, cooking and eating dinner, reading for leisure, going on a date, or negotiating fantasy bball trades, time for fun is crucial to one's well-being. Or at least it is to my well-being.

Yesterday was kind of a special fun day splurge. Mike and I went to PB in the afternoon. We walked around, did some window shopping, chilled by the beach, and got dinner at Joe's Crab Shack. Awesome :)

This week in general has left me feeling much less stressed and happier overall without really diminishing my overall productivity. However, I do have a few assignments to complete and a quiz to study for. The focus this weekend will be on getting all that done before the funfests begin.

My Trouble Adjusting

It's been a long week, blog buddies. And it wasn't a particularly good one.

There were some ups. For example, I haven't had a single meal that I didn't make/pack myself. That meant a week of PB&J, but hey. Sacrifices. Another up was that I got so much done. Woke up early every day, did massive amounts of work. All in all, a very productive start to the quarter.

But there were so many frustrating aspects as well. I hate commuting from Scripps Ranch to downtown to La Jolla and back again. It's exhausting, expensive, and environmentally uncouth. And it sucks when people are insensitive about me trying to stay on top of things. This quarter is going to be really difficult, and I'm really making an effort not to get distracted too often. Plus I really wish I could spend more time with my boyfriend. The time is there, but it's really just a matter of getting some time to hang when we're not surrounded by a ton of people... as well as an issue of discrepancies in social priorities. All in all, my first week back has been rough. I'm ready to knock out... although it'd be nice if I could forget this week even happened and then knock out.

My Spare Time

I set my alarm for 7 am. I woke up at 6:30. After a few minutes of trying to squeeze in a few extra minutes of sleep, I gave up and decided to shower and get a head start on my first day of winter quarter.

Ate some oatmeal and tangerines while watching Good Morning America, packed a lunch of PB&J, drove to school at 8, parked without too much trouble, trekked to PC, got a cup of tea at the Sunshine Market, and arrived exactly 10 minutes early to 9 am econ lecture. Lecture consisted of passing out a syllabus. Another hour to spare!

So then I sat down and got my entire schedule into iCal, made a to-do list, and looked up cheaper alternatives to the bookstore for my textbook needs. I'm now sitting outside my next classroom. Super early. Someone is practicing Mozart's Ronda alla Turca upstairs. I really don't know what else to do. My schedule is really not too bad, but I kind of wish this spare time would pop up when I actually need it instead of on my first day back... when I have nothing better to do than to blog about my day thus far.

I hope I can keep up with my schedule. Despite all the floofiness today, I don't doubt that I'll be hankering for breathing time a few weeks from now.

My Decade

Ringing in the new year (decade!) with some mild sniffles here in Norcal.

What can I say? It's been a fruitful decade, and it went by much faster than I had expected it to. In the year 2000, I was 10, rockin' pigtails on a daily basis, and in love with boy bands. What have I been through since then?

Went through graduation three times. (Mission Valley Elementary '01, Hopkins Junior High '03, and Mission San Jose High '07)

Made a semi-permanent move to San Diego. (La Jolla Fall '07 - Spring '09, Scripps Ranch/Mira Mesa Summer '09 - present)

Dated a few guys. (John: Summer '06 - Spring '07, Ray: Summer '07 - Fall '07, Lonny: Oct '07 - Nov '07, Keith: Spring '08 - Summer '08, Mike Chang: Feb '09 - April '09) Plus some others in between. OK... maybe not just a few.

Been dating this other guy. Mikey N. July 28, 2009 to the present. Five months. Whew.

Said goodbye to some. (Grandpa Pao 2001, Uncle Tsu-Hwa 2003, Sophia 2007, Nat 2008, Ray 2008, Great uncle Ngo 2009)

Said hello to some! (My new cousin: Gavin, my cousins' kids: Kelly, Tristan, Ethan, Kai, Chloe, my family's dogs: Anakin the greyhound, Tahoe the Siberian Husky, Leia the Labrador, Lexi the pug, and Amy the pretty mutt)

Maintained some friends. (Eric, Rick, Jonathan, Tina)

Made some new friends! (All of you guys!!!!)

Switched majors a zillion times (Biophysics, biochem/chem, biochem/cell bio, music)

Voted (Obama and No on 8 in 2008)

There's gotta be more, but I doubt I could ever finish summing up the decade. So I'll stop now. Here's to this one being better than the last. Happy new year, guys. It's gonna be something seeing what's to come...