habits

Sarah and I often talked about how funny it is that we sometimes fortunately (and, unfortunately) find traits within us that lead back to our parents. At times I'll catch myself saying phrases that I only heard my mom say or I'll stop in my tracks as I remind myself how eerily familiar one of my actions is. The more I spend time with my parents now that I'm back here in socal, the more I learn that many of my own habits and preferences are indeed those of my parents. Today the three of us headed out to the 찜질방 (Korean spa, ish). The three of us met in the main room, each person carrying out a book. I was trying to finish Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Saffron Foer (highly recommend). Both my parents also both enjoy reading and I had a lot of fun just sitting in the backseat of the car, watching them discuss their respective books. I flipped through my dad's book, just for fun. As I flipped through the pages of his book that was titled (roughly translated) "Do you know what a loving church is" I was surprised to find lots of pages with underlinings and check marks. It's the exact same way I love to mark my books while I read lines that stick out to me or the ones I want to remember for a very long long time. It made me unnecessarily giddy, knowing that I could identify just one more thing that linked me back to him...something that made us more or less, similar.

Notting Hill Ruminations

Today, I watched Notting Hill for the first time. What was supposed to be an adventurous drive to Napa with four girlfriends for a scenic drive and a rather sophisticated attempt at wine tasting was thwarted by the bipolar Berkeley weather. Instead, we spread two blankets out in the center of our soon to be old-apartment and had a grand picnic within dry walls. We tried horseradish cheese for the first time (quite yummy actually) and then decided to watch Notting Hill, it was my first time.

While watching it the thought occurred to me, the beauty of being in love with your best friend. Of course it’s an idea that I’ve entertained before and decided would be the best feeling in the world. Now granted I was watching Notting Hill where the two main characters are in fact not best friends but actually somewhat estranged lovers (the movie with the best friends is When Harry Met Sally) but even still, in the scene where they just spend an unexpected wonderful day together led me to thinking…I would love to spend our days just lounging around the living room. Each one reading their newspaper, sharing funny articles with one another and favorite lines, watching movies and rating them, sitting out on the porch (being that I am from New Jersey I have an affinity for porches and decks) and drinking coffee :) Perhaps I romanticize it a bit too much, but whatever….I can romanticize if I want. To others that may seem boring but to me, it is rather comforting and beautiful. The joy of being in love with your best friend. The one who loves what you love. Perhaps because it genuinely interests him too, or perhaps because you love it, it’s enough reason for him to love it too.I hope we will spend many moments like these, and I hope we will never ever get bored of them.

perfect translation

I think Koreans are better at translating books to the silver screen. I love that the movie portrayed the character exactly as I imagined them in my head when I read the book a long long time ago.

And to think...I used to read Korean books. Maybe I'll try one again this summer.

All I wanna do is read. Instead I'm studying and coming up with body worship moves and getting around to packing...

little letters

dear new co-worker,
welcome to my boring but comforting job at haas, i hope you will enjoy those hours you spend scanning and erasing and pdf-ing all summer long

dear three korean ladies gossipping at panera,
did you know that i was korean? and that i understood every snide comment you all made? please, show discretion the next time you decide to park yourselves and your rude attitudes in the study zone of panera.

dear residents of the 5th floor in our apt building,
thank you for not staring at me like a weirdo when you see me talking on the phone in the stairwell. our walls are thin, you know.

dear daddy who randomly called me today,
you made my already great day just a little better. it was so great to hear your deep and thick voice over the phone, discussing summer plans with me. thank you for treating your 21-year-old daughter like a grown up because she asked you to.

dear telegraph apartment,
i really don't want to move out of you. i really really will miss you, you have been my favorite berkeley apartment so far with your white walls, interesting floor plan, mice poop, stubborn heaters and all...i really find you adorable

love,
rachel

chosen words

Have you ever read an entry where the words were just so honest, it felt like you cleared up on the insides too?

where the writer was just so honest, just so clear about what he felt
just reading their description makes you feel every hurt
every heart wrenching decision as if it were your own to make?

i just stumbled upon an entry where the writer described
her heartache in exactly the same way i felt it
{with all the words i did not have}
i love it when you can read writing that chooses each word so carefully
that it ultimately paints the picture you see in your head
just the way you see it

white walls

I love white walls and especially white kitchens. I can't wait till I have my own someday.

"When you hit a wall while writing, just take a break and read some good writing. That should get you back on your feet."

- Tom Goldstein, my journalism professor at the end of the semester

agh frustration!

Take home finals are indeed tedious.
I knew that if I answered one question of 300 words every day since Thursday, I'd be done by Monday.
But instead I'm doing anything possible without answering one question.
Like blog. tumblr. yelp. twitter. buzz. youtube. facebook.
Frustration.

In other news,
I just recommended a movie to my favorite Berkeley professor.
And she agreed with me.
Ahhh she makes me blush!

summer reading list

1. Velvet Elvis, by Rob Bell
2. The Surrendered, by Chang Rae Lee
3. Half the Sky, by half the sky movement


any further suggestions?

checklists

Anniversary + birthdays + mother's day = broke broke broke

I had my first beer the other day and it was yummy!! I am starting to think I may like beer more than wine...somehow I feel less feminine and girly for thinking that way. Oh well?



This song makes me smile. It is the current repeat song of the week.
[edit] wowza, why is the youtube clip so huge on my page?

what i will miss about this semester

1. Interesting classes that simply and solely cover journalism
2. Living 5 mins walk away from Sather gate
3. Watching intense fights break out on Telegraph from the safety of our apartment
   
4. Sarah's green tea muffins, those are delicious.
5. Ed 190 class, I will never forget this about my years at Cal
6. Smallgroup leading & smallgroup girls

On the other hand, I won't miss

1. Waking up to unnecessary construction noise, crazy people yelling for no apparent reason
   
2. Finding little tiny pieces of undesirable mice poop in our kitchen (gross)
3. 8 AM classes where I don't shower or wash up for at all because I woke up at 7:55
4. All the rain that poured this year

Spain 2011

I am going to Spain summer 2011 and nobody stop me.

The Supply

SUPPLY

I stumbled upon this site because a friend of mine is on staff for this non-profit. I didn't think much of it because it's inevitable you'll come across a mess of links on facebook. There's the funny links, the ones that waste your time, and then there are those that make you stop whatever you were doing and get sucked in. For me, this link sucked me in.

They're a non-profit organization focused on improving education in developing countries around the world. Right now, they are doing a drive collecting $20 from 1,000 people in 20 days to donate $20,000 worth of school supplies to students in schools.

As someone who's been to Cambodia and seen the way that schools operate there, I can't help but donate to be a part of the greater mission this org is trying to accomplish. $20, $20,000 are all arbitrary numbers. It doesn't matter whether its $20 or $10. What matters is that schools need better tables, chairs, and books. Schools in these countries need teachers who will actually commit to their students and show up on time for class. Schools need building space and students to fill those buildings. Schools need your help.

Be the supply!

(This pretty much turned into an ad for this organization-it's also a break from my 10 page paper. But really, give it a second thought.)