its too hot to sleep

It was really really hot in Berkeley today. And now it's 2:30 AM and I find it too hot to sleep. Even as I'm wearing my STSM 2k8 t-shirt and these really uber fobby lightweight pajama pants shwang got me from Korea. (i'd take a picture but it's kind of embarrassing, you'd understand if you saw me in these)

This (it being too hot to sleep) reminds me of the days when we lived in Jersey when the summers would get super hot and humid my sister and I couldn't stand sleeping in our beds so we'd spread one very thin sheet on the floor in the bedroom we shared and sleep on the floor. For some reason it's so much cooler sleeping on the floor. My floor looks kind of enticing...but Sarah might get freaked out if she found me sprawled out on the floor....

Junior year?

I've been on what feels like a short blog hiatus. I just didn't have anything to write, and even still I will forewarn you that I have not pre-organized or planned this blogpost at all, I am just free writing which may lead to a very jumbled & all over the place post, bear with me folks. (is it bare or bear? I never quite figured that one out...)

Lately I've been really into "Shining" by Phil Wickham. I heard it for the first time in Matt's car with the windows down soaking in the nice summer breeze. The beginning doesn't really sound like a Phil Wickham song but the lyrics are just really nice, just being in God's presence and resting in it.

The first week of junior year has already come and is almost over (TGIF.) I only had 1 day of classes but it was a jam packed day and its worn me out. I don't know if this "pack all my classes in 2 days a week with 4 lectures a day" is a good idea for me...I have no choice though, so gotta suck it up and keep moving along. I need strength to keep it together. It's weird being a junior, it's just around the time when you get the hang of things -- somehow I feel that has sort of zapped the excitement that I remember feeling this time around last year and the year before that. The excitement of starting a new school year, having new professors and classes. I am definitely taking some interesting classes (ie: Sociology of the Family, Effects of Mass Media) but once again, I am playing that all too familiar game of "look for last minute classes because you didn't get into the class you really wanted due to a ridiculous waitlist" I hate playing this game that I play with Telebears at the beginning of every semester. Without fail, I always get jacked of one class and have to look for a class after everyone's already been enrolled. Sigh...the life of being a UC student.

I reopened my academic schedule Moleskine journal that I haven't touched since the last semester ended. I flipped the pages to August 27 and it said "Prague!" I guess that's where I thought I was going to be today....back in January last year. Things change, plans don't fall through. But man today I was just looking around and thinking "this is not Prague.." In the end, that is still okay because I am still privileged to be here at all.

Don't let me burn out, this is still a beginning of sorts.

the end

The past four days have been nothing but straight researching, writing and researching and writing, preparing for presentation and more writing. I kind of feel like a zombie doing the same thing every day. But! Looking forward to the upcoming weekend has kept me going -- I can't wait!! Today, my mom, who is going a day or two early to visit Boston texted "hi ddal we r already in airport i can not wait to see u on saturday have a good day" she cracks me up.

new york! FTW!

now if this paper would just write itself...that'd make my life so much easier :)

ps: weekend in socal was probably not the best idea timing wise, but it was just what I needed to not burn out this week! An annual hike to the Hollywood sign [that started this year], discussing politics over dinner with my dad, coffee date with close friends, seeing LW people at Ekko, and getting stuck in good ol' socal traffic -- all in all a great weekend!

pps: I've been spending breaks in between paragraphs to just about deplete youtube of anything 500 days of summer related. Why is Joseph Gordon-Levitt so cute?? He's become my first celebrity-twitter-follower (read: kind of stalker) Something about those sweater vests and that perfectly messed up hair...hmmm

ddddang

What a G.

(via Sartorialist)

awesome things

I was inspired by the blog I mentioned in earlier post to come up with some awesome things of my own...

1. When you're at work pretty bored and then someone fun IMs you and you have a fun conversation that makes 30 minutes feel like 2.
2. When you're expecting a package in the mail, you come home from a long day at class/work and you see a fatty brown package sitting on top of your mailbox!
3. When you figure out the title of a song you randomly hear on the radio or in a public place over the speakers (restaurant, shopping mall, etc.)
4. When you get a good news email on your Blackberry! (For some reason, it's even better when it's good news and it's on your phone. Am I alone in thinking this?)
5. When the red light on your blackberry is blinking and instead of spam mail or a useless Facebook event it's someone texting you just to say something funny or to say hi.
6. When you buy nailpolish and the color on your nail looks just the way you wanted it (or even better!) This rarely happens for me...so when it does happen, it's the best!
7. When you turn your engine on and realize that your mom filled up the tank the last time she used your car.
8. When you print out your boarding pass for Southwest and realize you're boarding group A and not C!
9. When your favorite bloggers have all updated simultaneously!
10. When you were totally forgetting about it, and then you check your bank account & realize it was pay day!

okay, just 10 for now! What's awesome for you? leave a comment! :)

and again

And again, my heart finds its way back to You, knowing you are the only one for me. The best listener, the one I can rely on, the one who will never fade away...

***

Don't you just love it when you stumble upon a random blog that you really really enjoy reading? Isn't that why we blog surf anyway? In the hopes of finding something that will a) help pass the time when you're at work b) inspire you in some shape or form c) inform you of something you didn't already know (ie: how your friends are doing, how to cook/bake a new dish, etc. etc.) Well I found one today that was so easy to relate to! www.1000awesomethings.com, a website just simply listing some of the best/awesome feelings. The ones I especially liked...Turning the corner just as the bus is closing in to the bus station, stepping into the shower when it's already the perfect temperature, sleeping with one leg under the covers and one leg out, when the lights turn green just as you're nearing the intersection...etc. etc. etc. check it out!

all around

First, Clinton is a hero today! Laura Ling and Euna Lee, the 2 journalists who were sent from Current TV (based in San Francisco) were released from North Korea. I remember reading a quick article last night before I went to sleep about how Clinton was visiting Kim Jong Il, I was just thinking how cool it was that he was our ambassador to go. Clinton is so charismatic when he speaks, so many people have tried to negotiate with North Korea for the lives of these two journalists and Bill Clinton has finally done it. I'm genuinely just so happy for those two. 5 months of being imprisoned and looking toward 12 years in a labor camp and now..they are free.It's such amazing news that they've been released.

Second, I can't wait to go to LA this weekend for 80+ degree weather. I really prefer wearing summer clothes in the summer time, when else am I going to be able to wear my skirts & shorts & tanks.

Third, I cannot wait for New York. I've already come up with my list of things to eat, places to shop, things to see (central park, eeep!) and people to meet up and play with!!! I also really want to go back to my old house in Emerson. It's something I always make sure I try to do when I'm back in the east coast. I just like being able to see how it's been over the years.

Fourth, one of my books finally came in the mail! The Secret History by Donna Tartt. I especially love reading in airports and airplanes for some reason, so I'm super glad this one came before the weekend did. Still waiting for The Time Traveller's Wife to come!

Fifth, 1 1/2 more hours of work!

ps: i love lists.