"all we ever do...

...is say goodbye." -john mayer

my second semester junior year has been completed! after grades are posted i can officially be considered a SENIOR!! huh?!?! already? ...scarrry...

all of my classes are done and i'm in my apartment alone because my roommate already left for home.
there are pros and cons to being alone at the moment:

pros:

• i just ate an entire bag of popcorn to myself
• i'm wearing a sports bra and soccer shorts
• i'm blasting music
• i just finished all of the leftover food and cookies that would have gone to waste over break

cons:

• i'm cleaning EVERYTHING by myself
• i'm by myself

i'm looking forward to going home for break! it should be good times. but it's hard to believe it's over! Christmas is next week! wowza!

i have lots of great memories from the semester. it just all flew by so quickly! my most recent highlight was seeing mr. john mayer perform a mini-concert for free!!!! i've determined he is my favorite artist. so it was fantastically fabulous being able to see him perform! i was literally around 25 feet away from him. it was great.

since there are so many stories and i was so busy i didn't get a chance to write them all down i'll just share one:

so there's this boy named Steven my roommate and i just met this semester. i say hey to him all the time and every time i do [without fail] the Taylor Swift song "Hey Stephen" comes into my head. this time, rachel and i saw him in the computer lab and sat next to him. next thing i know rachel is staring at me giggling. wanna know why?...cuz i was humming the song OUT LOUD. !!!! uhhh...ha.ha.? lol complete accident! woops! oh well...hopefully he doesn't know that song...

well, gotta go pack! :)

"see the time we shared it was precious to me...

...but all the while i was dreamin of revelry" -kings of leon

i totally scored the jackpot at a thrift store today! it's called AmVets(american veterans) and it's a huge warehouse down the road with basically anything and everything. now, i wouldn't consider myself much of a shopper...but i am definitely a thrift store shopper! i lovvvved it! haha it was so fun! and funny! now i know what people mean when they say they love shopping! deals you just can't pass up!

our original reason for going was to find an ugly Christmas sweater for a party my roommate and i were planning on attending as well as getting white elephant gifts. and boy was the trip a success! i almost bought three ugly sweaters just because they were so cheap! three!!!!! i ended up with two wildly fantastic sweaters at a total of 6 dollars. then i bought a book for 95 cents, a movie for 4 bucks, and a random book for the gift for 2 dollars! but wait!...there's more!

before i had the random book for a white elephant i had found one of those really cool plastic balls that scrunch down into a star shape and then pop up into a ball...you know what i mean? (they have them at like the discovery store in malls) and the lady in front of me bought it from me for $5! i tried to give it to her for free but she was so excited that she didn't have to search for it online. cuz really what would you type into google? scrunchy plastic star ball? it's quite a difficult item to track down...i seriously just tried. no luck.
so i spent around nine dollars on two sweaters, two books, and a movie! :D:D:D:D:D:D

i learned what an abba-zaba candy is.

i've drunk more tea in the past few days than i have in my entire life due to a sore throat. no joke. no exaggeration. more than my entire life!

also i thought i would bring some floss with me from home and i ended up picking the weirdest floss known to man...i chose the threaded, grape flavored floss which is who knows how old. gross.

this world is messed up but God is good.

"give, give, give...

...until there's nothing left" -relient k

man, i'm tired. it's a good kind of tired because my days are full of productive work...but it's tiring being tired. haha

so our school experienced a total campus blackout last night. quite entertaining! :) my roommate and i sat around our one borrowed candle, lit by a borrowed lighter in our living room.

i also had two new experiences this morning. one was the fact that i wore socks with my toms shoes. and the second was that i found myself quoted in the school newspaper regarding an art show i was a part of.

i wonder how ridiculous i looked in my aerobics class this morning when attempting to complete a "full inversion" which i found is merely a fancy way of saying "handstand up against a wall."

on my way home from class i saw a girl wearing pants straight out of the movie Grease. no. joke. seriously they shouldn't even be called pants-in the final scene of Grease when Sandy has black leather plastered to her skin, with a high waist and tight zipper-is exactly what this girl had on.

tomorrow i get to go to a printing center with my production for print class! should be fun!
i'm also planning my halloween costume with 2 of my friends...so far we're incorporating glittery, orange wings...yeaaa...i'll keep you posted.

catch up with ya later!

"everyone back...

...my heart's at war." -jon mclaughlin

i've been so swamped lately! it's insane!
today i left for aerobics at 7am, cam back at 8:15am, left again at 9:15am for chapel and i didn't get back until 9:30pm! in all seriousness i had a 20 minute break the entire day. and during that time i wandered into one of the libraries on campus and sat on the floor amongst the books. one book caught my attention in particular. it was a simple white hard cover with the title boldly written along the spine. NOISE. interestingly enough i pulled it off the shelf and despite my tired eyes i began to read the preface just becuase. and it was interesting! an entire book devoted to noise. written by a man who hates noise. which defined by him is an unwanted signal of any kind. not limited to the audible. that was my fun adventure today. :)

bed now! woo!

"though the battles rage...

...Your blessing still will come." -tim hughes

so the bank denied my loan yesterday. ick.
but then i decided to go on a hike and had quite an amazing experience.
there are bigger problems in the world. all i want to do is what God wants me to do. He is still awesome. one door is closed...i just have to wait for another one to open.

Peace. Be still. And know that I am God.

as i decrease, He must increase.

"it's a little bit funny...

...this feeling inside." -elton john

it's amazing how much precious time a single person can spend doing something completely useless when there are tasks at hand which should be done...tasks such as, hmm...homework?

well it's the first monday of the new school year(technically tuesday now) and it has been quite a day. aerobics at 7:15am, chapel, digital imaging, history of modern art, work, and women in art which ends at 8:55pm. to top it all off it was my roommate's(rachel) birthday! i'm in no way complaining - i had a fabulously filled day! there are some days you wish would just be over already, but today was not one of those days.

a surprise birthday party was attempted to be thrown together by rachel's mentor this friday when she e-mailed me asking to ask some of her friends to come over. so this morning before aerobics i dropped off cake mix and eggs at her friend's apartment and went on with my day. she went out to dinner with some friends while i was still in class and while out i got some other people to come over and surprise her when she got back. so it turned out nicely and she was only slightly suspicious this afternoon. in the end we pulled it off pretty well with such late notice and mediocre planning skills.

i'm going back down to mexico this friday and saturday for a weekend visit to the site i worked at this past spring. i haven't had a chance to get all that excited yet(not that i ever show it outwardly) but i'm sure i will get there.

i've seen most of the people from my team around school which has been very fun indeed. i visited the apartment of two of the guys today on my way to work and i must say that they make me smile long after i have left their physical presence. :) i am proud to call them friends. aka be jealous they give me hugs. haha

my classes are energizing! i'm excited about the projects ahead of me...granted it will be difficult to juggle several classes with multiple projects going on all at once, i am ready to embrace the near future. my creative juices are really starting to flow...

chapel has also impressed me so far this semester. either chapel in fact has improved, or i have matured in my walk with Christ...maybe both. we sang this song today which i feel both encouraged me and challenged me:

You stood before my failure
Carried the Cross for my shame
My sin weighed upon Your shoulders
My soul now to stand

So what can I say
What can I do
But offer this heart O God
Completely to You

So I’ll stand
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the
One who gave it all

So I’ll stand
My soul Lord to You surrendered
All I am is Yours

so now that i've successfully procrastinated yet another hour of my time(although this was much more productive) i shall return to the duty of a scholar at a wonderful institution of higher education and learning.

happy tuesday! :D

"only the heartaches have given me sight...

...they bring me to you." -joshua radin

termino.
finito.
hasta la vista sophomore year.
i'm done.

it's been a fun-filled, busy, crazy, wonderful semester yet again. and though it may seem to be overwhelming sometimes. or seem like the weeks slowly drag by without end, here i am at the end. that always seems to happen. long days and short semesters. i am officially amazed that my second year of college has been completed. it wasn't too long ago when i was first deciding where i should go. it has truly been a rewarding and growing experience so far and i still have so much more room to grow and learn!

last night since my roommates and i were done with finals we went to chick-fil-a for a lovely dinner in the sun. it really felt like a summertime activity. no big papers looming over head or the thought of an upcoming test. just dinner outside chick-fil-a with the sun dropping behind the trees and recognizably Christian songs playing through the speakers.

and then we decided to hike the trail on a mountain by our school later that evening. but we didn't make that decision final until about 10 o'clock. also we decided to walk instead of drive which isn't really a big deal but it probably added about 20-30 minutes each way on our little adventure. we got to the bottom of the trail at around 10:30, got to the top at 11:30, and got back home at about 1:15. it was the perfect night to take a nice stroll in the moonlight because it wasn't too hot, yet incredibly comfortable in shorts and a tank top. plus, we needed some exercise in our lives. :)

so now i am stuck. without a job. and with a couch i don't want.

"those two words are...

...bullets in my chest." -jason reeves

finals.
tomorrow.

i can't believe the end of the semester is already here! ahh!
when this week is done i will only have 3 semesters of college left! whoa. talk about scary.

"we could keep chillin...

...like ice cream filling." -jason mraz

this weekend has been pretty great. :)
i went to an LA Angels vs. Seattle Mariners baseball game with my roommate, Sarah, who is from Seattle. she's a big sports fan so was super excited when she got to see her team play, granted the players were the size of ants by the time we got to our seats. haha we were literally in the highest section possible 2 rows down from the very very top. but they were the cheapest tickets and it was still really fun! and then there was a fantastic firework show afterwards played to the tunes of the beatles. it was quite a show. the poor little boy sitting behind us cried through the whole thing though. lol

then yesterday i got to meet up with my mexico team again! which of course makes my whole day better even if it's already a great day. :) haha and the girls decided that since it was a barbecue we would be attending at the doctor's house we would all wear sundresses. so we went to ross and sundress shopped. i didn't like anything i tried on so i borrowed a dress from one of the girls and it was so cute! she got it at a swap meet too. then we went to the bbq at a beautiful home with a gorgeous backyard. everything about the house was so warm and homey. it was nice. and even though not everyone from our team was able to make it i just love being with those people. it's always so happy and good. i would wish for every person to find such a loving community as the one we somehow have. everyone just fits together basically flawlessly. it's amazing. we were meant to be together. :) cheesy but totally true. it had to be God.

so i only have 1 week of class left and then 1 week of finals and i'm done. what?! uhh...i need to figure out what i'm going to do!!
but i'm looking forward to whatever lies ahead and am excited to see what's going to happen! :D

"i could not ask for more than this time together...

...i could not ask for more than this time with you." -edwin mccain

so basically mexico rocked my world. i am in love with my team members and the kids i got to work with all last week. i want to go back!!! i got to do some physical therapy with kids with cerebral palsy, down syndrome, and autism. it was amazing! God blew me away through seeing my team serve and be served through these incredible people! i still cannot stop smiling. :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

i have been so rejuvenated and energized! Easter was lovely with my roommates. we went to a church service and then enjoyed the sunshine on the lawn with a mini picnic. it was fabulous!

ok, when i got back from mexico i couldn't find my keys and i could not remember where i would have placed them! last night when i was searching, brittany asks, "have you checked the couch?" and i was like "no, i don't know why they would be in there." but knowing our couch to be quite infamous for swallowing random objects we decided to check. here is a list of recovered items from our hungry little monster of a couch from the salvation army from this year:

• the remote (multiple times)
• my keys! (how in the world, i don't know)
• a sharpie (also mine)
• my iPod (which i could not figure out where it had gone-i was so confused...)
• a wishbone bookmark (surprise gift from previous owners! lol)
• a pair of scissors (crazy!)
• ID cards
• and probably countless other random items...

now we know, if anything goes missing, it was the couch!

in the mail today i got a postcard from my friend studying abroad in orvieto, italy! it was quite exciting! she is loving it and says it is beautiful! i can only imagine.

tonight there were 4 art show openings meaning 3 things, both of them good. 1)we get out of my 2D class earlier to go support our fellow artists 2)we get to see some good art and 3)free food!!!

and that meant i didn't have to buy/make dinner! yesss! :) there was sushi at one, pita bread and hummus at another, cookies at all of them, and fudge at the last one!!! mmm, mmm, good!

life is SO good!

"you can either sink or swim...

...things are looking pretty grim." -jack johnson

5 page paper must be e-mailed in by tomorrow. status: in preliminary stages

leaving for mexico tomorrow. status: in preliminary stages of packing.

woot woot. rock out.

"say my name say my name...

...if no one is around you, say 'baby i love you'" -destiny's child

so my roommate just burst through the doorway after her 10 o'clock pm intramural basketball game with quite an exuberant bounce and said "GUESS WHO KNOWS MY NAME! it just made my night." who? "jonny!" bahahahaahahaha so mr. good lookin refs some women's intramural basketball games as well as attending the church we have been going to. lol so sarah has been in just a splendid mood and has forewarned us if she's randomly smiling throughout the night we should know why. hahaha

my roommates and i have been trying to be a little healthier lately by going running and we recently started using a pilates ab workout video. it is so difficult! and the first time we did it we were all just kind of laughing at the ridiculous positions and exercises they were trying to get us to do. the most hilarious thing someone said was "man, these ladies are hardcore!" and they really are! hardcore! abs like rocks. :D but we've already improved from that first time and i can tell that i am more able to do some of the exercises more easily than before. bikini bod, here i come! lol just kidding...sort of.

sunday night sarah and i went to a contemporary music worship night at baseline community church(where we have been going) and were treated to pizza dinner through the college group. it was very nice of them. there weren't too many people there but it was fun and we got to meet some new people.
speaking of new people...today was a good day. i randomly ran into a couple people i am slightly connected with but don't know very well and we talked as if we have been friends for a while. for example: this guy named joe is on my mexico team and is friends with my roommate. so i've seen him around before and he has come over to our mod but we never really talked. so my morning class professor never showed up and i was walking to the coffeeshop when i saw him sitting at a table studying and i said hi and then i sat down and a conversation casually and very non-awkwardly began. it was nice. and then a guy i met at church once walked by and said hello and asked how church was and our little chat also was very flowy and easy.

you gotta have flow. talk about anything. ask me about cheese. do you like cheese? why yes, my favorite's gouda! see, we're flowin!

she's the man, anyone?

i got a package in the mail from my mom with valentine's and easter gifts inside. haha. and she made me a cute sundress and everyone wants to meet her and have her make them clothes as cool as mine. :) heehee

here's a little sample:

"just stand still...

...look pretty" -the wreckers

i got an email saying my missing ID card was finally found! haha weeks later...it was found in the event center so i lost it at a basketball game just like i thought.

i did a whole bunch of laundry on saturday and everything is so clean and fresh now. it is soo nice. mmm

for my mexico team we had a bake sale on saturday evening at an event promoted by my school every year. Night of Champions is a huge event for high school students and literally thousands of high schoolers were there. it went from 2-8 and it began outside with blow up obstacle courses and rock climbing walls, and free in-n-out burger, and games, and music. and then everyone goes inside and there are speakers like bryan clay. i'm not sure but i think they talk about being a Christan athlete to a giant room full of kids. so we were selling cupcakes, brownies, cookies, and candy like no other! yesss. i don;t know how much we made in the end but it was quite successful and i had a good time. :)

i went to church with my roommate sarah today and we stayed afterwards for a free college student lunch provided by some members of the church. it was deeelicious! and the new(as in 6 months) worship leader told his story about how he got to where he is today and i had no idea. Steve Bertrand. he grew up in a small town and knew he was meant to make music at a young age. moved to LA with not much money on his own right out of high school and eventually got signed and got a record deal. toured in a band called The Tories which had to abruptly stop because of a fold in the record deal, worked in the film industry acting and doing commercials(like the show Jesse with Christina Applegate), then created a new band called Avion which had some songs up in the charts, and is recently married(to a girl he met through his best friend who plays Chuck in the show Chuck) and is not traveling as much but still writes songs for people like Teddy Geiger and Miley Cyrus(you know, no biggie), is working as a solo artist for now, and leading worship at our church. i was blown away. he tried to live an honest, sincere life while reaping the benefits of success and fame and believes if we change LA and New York then we can change the world. he was not in Christian bands and his intentions were to affect all of the people he could reach and was surprised to find that he was more effective in the lives of the people he worked with such as his band members and managers. it was just really cool for me to learn more about this guy i see every sunday but knew nothing about.

so now i've got to get ready for the upcoming week! woo mondays. ha.

"and i'm free...

...free fallin" -tom petty

so a really strange thing happened today. it was such a lovely day that after my roommates and i had lunch we sat outside to enjoy some sunshine. honestly the past couple of days have felt like summer. i wore shorts and a t-shirt all day and was not once cold! :) but today, the strange thing that happened...my keys and phone were sitting on the table and out of no where a flying object comes down onto the table and lands right in front of us. it startled all of us that we jumped and maybe even squealed. a pine cone had fallen out of the tree branches above the table we were sitting on and actually hit my cell phone causing it to fly off the table and slide across the ground. i had to stand up and walk over to pick up my phone which was half covered in sap and now has a crack on the plastic covering(nothing too major but quite a funny story). haha

so i didn't get into the oxford program at my school which is a little disappointing. because think about it...how cool would that be to study for a semester at oxford?! but oh well. what happens happens. i did all i could. i'm on a wait list now if anyone drops out i could go in the fall but it doesn't look too promising. i could reapply and try again for the spring but i don't think the classes would actually help me graduate when i would like to(which will hopefully be a semester early!).
but i'm excited for all the art classes i have been academically advised to take in the fall. now i just need to figure out where i will live since my roommates will be in south africa...

i'm getting excited about my mexico trip swiftly coming up in the next few weeks! there was a fundraiser at a local frozen yogurt place which each team member received $6 off the total price of the trip which was nice. AND i had forgotten about these 2 checks i had which i deposited the other day which coincidentally will basically pay for the entire cost! such a blessing! $100 from my aunt from Christmas(?...if that's true i realize how much a slacker i am) and $209 from a rebate from an apple product which was purchased in october of last year(wow, yes i am a slacker when it comes to depositing checks). this means $309 i forgot i had will now go towards the $312 i owe for my mexico trip! how awesome is that??!!! SO awesome. that's how awesome. :D

all of the music on my iPod was accidentally deleted. poo. i left the pod plugged into my laptop and i closed it without ejecting it(can you match each "it" with it's proper(as in appropriate) noun?...haha english is such a crazy language with weird grammar). so don't do that to yours. it erases all the music.

also, since we are still supporting the scraps initiative at my school and try to use as little electricity as possible i was eating a bowl of cereal tonight while watching a movie in the dark and spilled some milk on my pants. nice, i know.

looking forward to a filled weekend. in the best sense.

"love is so unexpected...

...just like a happy accident." -jason reeves

random smiles of the week:

• i got a free gallon of milk - the date on the container was march 06...i got it on march 11. but i still used it for a bowl of cereal and a glass of milk before it went completely bad.
• i found a pair of matching socks - i've been mixing and matching socks for some time now.
• i went to the grocery store and had a gift card. without counting i only had to pay 19 cents for everything i got.
• several times now my roommates and i have seen our neighbor (who happens to be on the basketball team) sneakily climb through his window. very strange. lol we suspect he lost his key and doesn't want to buy a new one. his butt/boxers hang out of his shorts when he climbs in. hahaha
• i got a free hotdog and bag of chips on saturday for lunch
• i met two of the guys from the band one year yesterday
• my roommate bought a new straightener and said i could have her old one! - which is still in wonderful working condition
• i find out if i get into the Oxford program for this coming fall TOMORROW! AHHHH! i want to know! lol

life is so happy if you let it. :D

"because maybe you're mine...

...we just can't get enough." -new radicals

i had a pretty wonderful week.

nothing new happened on monday.

then tuesday i had my drawing class and then my theology exam and my 2d class. i was really happy to get my theo test out of the way and hopefully i did well! then there was a free show on campus of the band one year yesterday and twentyfour64 which i went to see. it was very entertaining! twentyfour64 has just released a new album so they had a show at my school because 2 of the band members are students here. i had to leave just a little early because i had a mexico meeting coming very soon! woo! :) next tuesday i will probably learn more about what i will be doing exactly but i will be working with children with special needs so i am super excited to serve them!

then wednesday was the "common day of learning" at our school meaning we did not have any classes before 4pm. then throughout the day there is a schedule of different lectures going on campus-wide covering a variety of topics. students are encouraged to attend and some professors give etra credit, while otherwise the day is basically free. and since that was the case my roommates cody and sarah went to see a taping of the ellen deeneres show!

it was a really fun experience though we had to wait around for a while before we actually taped the show. we got to see melissa from the bachelor and some other people, and of course, ellen. haha obviously not that exciting. the only disappointing thing was that the audience from the taping the day before us got to see "the fray" perform, then got tickets to their upcoming tour, and also got their newest album, as well as womens soccer tickets! and what did we get? to see a crazy lady who used alcohol for beauty tips, a silly engaged couple who've only been dating for 2 1/2 months and the lady swallowed the engagement ring because the dumb guy put it in her frostie at wendy's(real classy place to get engaged) who ellen gave a 7 day cruise, and a college student who works two jobs and still has trouble buying books who ellen gave $2,000 and a tv(which was actually really rewarding to watch because she had no idea and she was so happy she was crying).

then thursday i had classes

and friday i had a class and watched the movie sydney white for the first time and i thought it was really cute!


this whole month there is a grass-roots student run organization called the "scraps initiative" which is awesome! everyone is to try and conserve as much water and electricity as possible throughout the whole campus including, dorms, classrooms,a nd offices and whatever money the university saves on those bills for this month will be donated toward building water wells in countries which do not have clean drinking water. so some people have been going hardcore and taking military showers and only using 20 watt bulbs for the entire house. it's a fabulous idea that i fully support and am happy to contribute. just another way all the little things can add up to do great things.
i think it was mother teresa who said "We can do no great things, only small things with great love." and i must agree.

"i guess we made it...

...or at least we made it this far." -relient k



FFFRRIDAAAYYY!



finally.

whew.



i just got back from a birthday party tonight. my friend just turned 21! woo hoo! and i realized it was the first 21st birthday i have attended. and boy, was it interesting. haha he definitely went a little passed tipsy...i hope he's alright tomorrow. :/



as we were dropping off some other people in the car my roommate brittany and i rode in something funny occurred.

i got tired and went to bed. so now it's 12:34pm on Saturday...
so brittany and i were laughing at something and then this cute guy walks up to the car because he knew our driver but she didn't see him and when she turned to the window and saw him there she literally screamed! ahahaha it was hilarious! she said at first she was startled because she didn't know someone was there but at the same time it was this particular person. i was speechless. i couldn't believe she actually screamed. haha bu then she rolled down her window and she said "hey jonny" and he was like "o, hey brittany." lol SO funny!

at BJ's where we ate dinner there was a large party that came in after us who was seated at the table across from ours and was waiting for their food. the table consisted of young filipino-americans around my age and i am convinced that they know aj rafael and all those talented unsigned artists you can find on youtube from around this area. but i didn't see anyone i recognized so i didn't say anything.
today i read aj rafael's blog and was disappointed to find out he was here last weekend and i could have driven just 20 minutes down the freeway to hear him do a little show at a starbucks. :(
he and some of his friends also had a benefit concert for the children's hospital in anaheim for $20 called "feel the beat" and there is tons of footage on youtube from fans that went. it looked pretty amazing. they are honestly on their "way to fame" and i believe they will go far.

at my school for the past week there has been this crazy game going on across campus called "humans vs. zombies" it is open to anyone and everyone who is a student and would like to play. everyone starts out as a human and signs up online to get a number. if you are playing and you are a human you must wear a bandana around your upper arm. at the very beginning there is a zombie who is hidden as a zombie and has to "eat a human." in order to do this you just have to tag the person. then when you become a zombie you have to wear a bandana around your head. when you are a human you can protect yourself by hitting a zombie with a sock ball to "stun" them meaning they cannot tag a human for 15 minutes. this makes the game get insane because people walk around campus looking frantically around prepared to fire a wadded up sock. it's actually really funny. there are "safe zones" like classrooms and trolleys and off campus and your living area. and then there are lots more rules i don't know about but there are missions that happen every night which get really intense. i think it's a great idea and a good way to connect our students. the point is to survive and stay human but i think in general it's just a fun fun game.

i'm going to see confessions of a shopaholic now with my roommates and some friends, so i hope it's good! :)

"it ain't gonna stop...

no, it just won't stop." -OneRepublic

after i wake up tomorrow morning i will be busy to the max.
church, free chipotle burrito from the ticket stub from the basketball game i went to tonight, then homework, possibly kick around a soccer ball with my intramural team, get ready for bed and maybe have the oscars on, leave for a taping of good morning america at 12:30am.
get back from good morning america and go to class, chapel, class, work, then my boss's house to help make cookies for academic advising this week, more homework, bed.
class, eat, class, class, homework, hopefully go see black history month coffeehouse performances, homework, bed.
(now this is wednesday if you couldn't tell)class, chapel, class with presentation and book report due, work, homework, bed.
class with a shaded drawing due, eat, class with an exam, class with a 20 hour project due, bed.
finish oxford application and art portfolio.
and finally...

breathe.

"love is in the air...

...everywhere i look around." -john paul young

Happy Valentine's Day!
it is a four day weekend!!! yesss. :)

I don't have too much to say but I am going to be on Good Morning America on the 23rd! woot woot! I have to be there at 2am because they start taping at 4am because it has to air on the east coast at 7am. I don't know who's going to be there but it's the day after the Academy Awards so...excitement!
Also I will be on the Ellen DeGeneres show on March 4th. I don't know who will be guest starring on that yet either but it shall be fun!

I'm planning on going on a missions trip to Mexico this spring break which will be April 4th-11th. I'm not sure what I'll be doing yet but I could be working with people with speacial needs, working at a hospice, or working with kids at an orphanage.
In the fall I hope to be studying abroad at Oxford University! I have to turn in the application by March 1st and will find out if I am accepted sometime after that.

There is so much to look forward to! I'm so happy that I'm doing instead of just dreaming. :)

"i've been losing lots of keys lately...

...i don't know what that means" -jack johnson


ugh. *sigh* inhale. exhale. finally! this week is coming to a close! it has been quite a busy few days. i am going to shower and drink a cup of apple cider and then go to bed! ahhh, sounds so nice!


on friday evening my roommates and i went to the basketball game and since then i have not been able to find my id card. poo. that is how i survive! so i finally succumbed to the hunger(haha jk) and paid 20 stinkin dollars for a new card...

saturday my roommate and friend spontaneously went to the griffith park observatory in hollywood! it was quite an adventure. we all got dressed up nice and perty and drove out at about 8:30pm. when we got there is took us forever to get a parking spot. but when we finally found one it was really fun! we'll have to go again to spend more time there though. there was a lot to see and it closed at 10 so we only had less than an hour to look around. here's the view of LA:

sunday i did homework. an assignment we had in my typography class was very enjoyable for me. we were given 10 words and the assignment was to choose 4 of those 10 words and use the word to illustrate itself. can you tell what these words are? ;)

monday i went to class and work and then met up with some people in my theology class to do an outline of the first half of kierkegaard at 9pm. when i went home to do my section it took much longer than i expected and i didn't go to bed until 4:30...

tuesday i went to my classes from 9:45am until 7:20pm with an hour and a half break from 1-2:30 (as always on my tuesdays and thursdays) and then i had to stay up again to finish my typography project and mount them on illustration board.

wednesday i had class and work and stayed up until 4am to finish a multiple object drawing due today as well as a 2D abstract piece also due today. and now i am back from class, there is rain outside(which is funny considering it was 80 just this monday), and all i have tomorrow is a music test! yay!

"life is good...

...eternal life is better." -stellar kart

wow. have i had the most amazing start to my week! it has been grand.

so last night as i was heading off to bed around midnight i was sitting in my living room and i saw a flash from outside. the night before there had been neighbors taking pictures so i assumed they were doing it again...but then i heard this low rumbling noise that almost sounded like a giant dumpster being dragged across the floor. but as it continued it finally came to a final roar leading me to open the front door to detect the source. at this point i realized we were having a lightning and thunder storm! also as i opened the door another curious neighbor was at the threshold of their own apartment and exclaimed, "What in tarnation?!" with quite a funny hick accent might i add. then i decided i would brush my teeth on the front porch just to check out the rare lightning sightings with my roommate as i taught her that counting every second after the lightning strikes to the clap of the thunder is equivalent to how many miles away the lightning struck. we were heading off to bed with a grumbling sky when all of a sudden we heard rain begin to fall...but then it was more of a clinking noise then a pitter-patter of raindrops. HAIL! we threw on our rain boots and sweatshirts and headed out the door along with almost every other student in our community hootin and hollerin over the mini ice balls falling from the clouds. and it was amazing! we were witnessing the closest thing to snow southern california will probably ever get. everything was being covered in sheets of white ice! and nothing can turn sophisticated, intellectual college students into childish, happy five-year-olds more than "snow" in southern california...so my bedtime got pushed back and i woke up literally 7 minutes before my class this morning. haha woops...but i made it nonetheless.

before chapel i stopped by the coffee shop and bought a chocolate chip muffin and an ice water and didn't realize until i was half way to the other campus that on my cup was written "H2O Mike" so i am sorry for stealing Mikes water...it was a complete accident. all the girl said was "water" so i went up to the counter and grabbed it without pause. again, whichever Mike it was, i apologize.

i got out of class early and went to the nice and quiet theological library where i read some assigned reading and then headed off to work. which was another contribution to my splendid monday! apparently the school of nursing was just accredited and they were throwing a little party. my boss and i got to go out and eat the delectable finger foods they serve only at special occasions which was bomb! little teriyaki chicken skewers and fresh cut fruit like pineapple, strawberries, and raspberries, pita chips and hummus, crackers and cheese...you know, the good stuff they don't serve to just anybody. it was so gooood. :) not to mention the little desserts! white chocolate covered strawberries, little brownie truffle type things, key lime keish, and chocolate pudding creme puff type things with a hint of delicious! so i pretty much got paid for eating free food...sweet!

and now back to reality i have reading and a drawing to complete by tomorrow so i am off to accomplish more great things one smile at a time. :D

"raindrops bang like rocks...

...on my windowpane." -kelly sweet

the weekend has arrived!
monday i had the day off of everything. tuesday i had all of my normal classes. wednesday i didn't have my morning classes which meant all i had to do was work. thursday was the same as tuesday. and todayyyy....it rained! and is still raining at the moment.

in my drawing class i began my first graded drawing and it is turning out to be better than expected! woohoo!
last night i stayed up until 2am working on a project i hadn't started on and did not start on until 9:30pm.
this morning i got to wear a long sleeved shirt, a jacket, and my rainboots!!! i feel invincible in my rainboots...i can walk anywhere i please without getting wet or muddy. it's fantastic! :D

completely off topic...i am using my new computer charger now! i had a stretch of time when my luck with any kind of electronic chargers just wasn't going my way. my computer cannot run without being plugged in and my old charger was out of order. then i came back to school and forgot my phone charger so i was sporadically turning my phone on and off for a week just to check for messages while keeping it alive. i also misplaced the cord which connects my ipod to my computer which charges it. but i was unaware of a replacement charger for my computer so i happily did not need to buy a new one; my mother sent my phone charger to me in the mail; and i am borrowing my roommate's ipod cord. it always seems to work out in the end. i love how life can do that. :)

"it started out as a feeling...

...which then grew into a hope" -regina spektor

the new semester has officially begun!
here's a little outline of how my first week went:

sunday:

• got on a plane and sat next to a lady with a 5 month old baby named Kamalei which is Hawaiian for "beloved child" - as i was getting off the plane i didn't ask her if she needed help with anything and then felt bad... :(
• my roommates came and picked me up from the airport and as we were on the freeway we saw at least 6 cars pulled over on the right shoulder all with flat tires...weird.
• watched a tv show on my laptop in my bed which is the top bunk and too tired to put my computer down i thought i could sleep soundly enough with my laptop still on my bed - i woke up in the middle of the night to a rather loud tumble and thud as my computer landed on the floor...

monday:

• i woke up to find my computer is still in good working condition heh heh
• had music fundamentals at 8:20 in the morning and was surprisingly not late
• had typography with a fun quirky lady

tuesday:

• had drawing with an amazing artist who's paintings and drawings look like photographs
• had contemporary christian thought with a professor who is apparently a great theologian based on the number of students in the class
• had 2D design
• went to the men's basketball game...we lost by seven - 98-91

wednesday:

• music fun
• typography
• work
• gave myself a paper cut while trying to read Kierkegaard during American Idol

thursday:

• had drawing...found out i have an incredible amount to learn but i am excited about how potentially good i could become
• sold my books back from last semester...got $73 i will spend on art supplies for this semester
• theology...assigned group presentations
• 2D...teacher had a bad day so gave us homework and we were allowed to leave! :D

friday/today:

• music
• chapel
• work meeting/lunch in my tummy/$8.20 in my pocket

it is a 3 day weekend which means more time for me to get ahead on my homework...(aka procrastinate on my homework)!

Thank you Martin Luther King Jr for so many things much more important than a day off of school! :)

"i'll be seeing you...

...in all the old familiar places" -billie holiday

it's back to school for me now!
goodbye days of fun and freedom, hello sleepless nights of studying...
it isn't really all that bad actually. i really enjoy school. i love learning. i know...i'm a nerd. :P

at home i must defend the claim i have on one good black hair tie and must keep a close watch on it or sneaky little hands may find ways to take it away from me. i must keep alert and aware to the end of the rinse cycle on the dishwater in order to beat the frenzy of which part to empty. i must choose which piece of furniture to sleep on for it is fact that my place has been taken from me in my absence...
at school i must keep an eye on my hair ties for i will have none to blame if they appear to go missing. i must wash my own dishes because of the lack of a dishwashing machine. and i know exactly where my bed is located...

i miss my friends and family from home but i am also so excited and happy to be reunited with my friends from school. i have an 8:20am class tomorrow morning and must get to bed now. i haven't woken up before 8:30am for the past 4 weeks of my life!

<3

"it's a new dawn, it's a new day...

...it's a new life for me" -michael bublé

Well hello there 2009.  You came a little more quickly than expected...

i can hardly believe it's already the new year!  i had a fun time closing the 08 and welcoming 09 though  first we went to our neighbor's house and had a delicious dinner consisting of sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and chocolate cake.

then my family and i watched the ball drop and my friend, jana, stepped through the door with less than 10 seconds to spare.

jana and i then went over to our other friends house at around 1 am and began playing an intensley hardcore game of pokemón monopoly...we were forewarned there was no quitting allowed and found ourselves counting our money 4 hours later.  5 o'clock in the morning and i had won my first board game of the new year! haha

over the course of my Christmas vacation i have adopted an incredibly irregular sleeping pattern.  friends come over and we watch movies, play more board games, and end up going to mel's which happens to be the only place open after midnight.  i have visited the city of san francisco three times and enjoyed the freezing beach, the de young museum, my aunt's house, iHop, a stroll through little Italy and Chinatown, and SF State.  my lazy days of break are soon to come to a close so i must enjoy them while they last...as for today i have yet to leave the comfort of my bed and my sisters have already been through an entire day of school.  i have been reading the final book in the "twilight" series but am beginning to feel the need to get some nutrients in my system.  i look forward to the new semester ahead of my but also desire for these days of break which seem so carefree and blissful...

shalom