"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