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| it's kinda late, but b/c i ate a late night snack of cookies, I feel like I can't go to sleep yet... Summer highlights: - Bonding with co-workers: I really love the ppl at my CVS, what can I say? The pharmacists are kind and great at their jobs. The other interns and techs are fun and my buds. The patients are mostly nice, and well, dealing with those who aren't is a character building experience. haha not really, but let's just say it is to make ourselves feel better. I've actually hung out with my co-workers outside of work for the first times this summer. We checked out a cute restaurant in La Jolla, and hit up the usual yogurt/boba joints.
- Seeing old friends: With the habitat crew: Watching a movie with H's high school friend/eating Pizookies, random and fun Target trip, Curry House x 2, Yogurt world; Randomly hanging out in boring RB with glam, catching up with some HS friends, etc. It's always good to see ppl from a past stages in my life. I feel like they understand me pretty well.
- Watching K-dramas with my mama: You are my destiny, Landscape of my heart, Mom's dead upset, etc. =)
- Cooking this random recipe from Rachel Ray with my mom. I love looking at recipes and stuff and picking them out, but my mom rarely does this. So, it was really fun and surprising when she came home with all the ingredients (including a big bottle of wine) for this RR recipe. It was good. I'll make it for you if you're nice to me. =)
- Watching Summer Pops by the SD Chamber Orchestra outside with the parentals. The SDCO is directed by this endearingly nerdy Korean guy. He is so unabashedly enthusiastic and he kinda swings his hips as he conducts. It's great.
- Awkward set up that turned out okay. haha My mom forced me to have coffee with her old friend's son (grad student at UCR). It could have been dreadful, but he was really outgoing, so it was actually pretty fun. That's all, though. hahaa
- RB Donuts: it's right next to my work and I can get the perfect snack (coffee + 3 donut holes) for $1. Score!
- Talking with the young Korean pharmacist at my work....She's this really cool Christian mom who homeschools her kids and really shares a lot about her life/family. Good to learn from ppl like that.
- Having a car. Oh the joy's of radio listening and instant access to Trader Joe's. I even found some old tapes (like really old) of sermons from my old church to listen to (gotta love the cassette player in my old school car!). Good to hear Pastor Joe's voice again.
- Feeling useful at work. Even though retail pharmacy is not my destiny (I hope!), I look forward to work b/c I feel like I actually contribute!
- Olympics! Didn't they feel more exciting than any other year?
- LA trip (see previous entry hehe)
- .....still another week left, so hopefully I'll be adding to this list!!
As you can see, it hasn't exactly been an earth-shatteringly exciting summer, but I've enjoyed it. =) | | |
| Are you surprised I am blogging again? Thanks for the comments on my last posts...haha loyal xanga readers, I salute you! It's been a pretty tiring week--working my booty off at CVS (I like it a lot though!) and my grandma's been sick (she's doing okay though, now). So glad for this weekend, which I am spending in the LA area. I am currently at my dear friend's house in La Canada, but alas I cannot sleep, so instead, I am blogging on her laptop. Today was a fun and memorable day. I drove up to La Canada to meet up with M. Then we headed over to Westwood, picking up another friend on the way. Westwood is VERY cute and fun. Very date-y streets with quirky shops and restaurants. and cool vintage theaters. Within westwood are two precious LA Jewels ; ) 1. Deedee Reese (sorry...i know that's spelled wrong): truly a cultural treasure...amazing ice cream sanwiches for the price of an elementary school lunch. AND they sell hot dogs too. lovely. 2. Top Shoes: a store full of quirky, unique, and nice shoes...75% are $20 or less...i tried on about 15 pairs, but restrained myself to two. Before visiting these two landmarks, we toured UCLA. I have to say that I LOVE campuses. I think they're part of the reason I want to be a professor. UCLA is beautiful. Royce hall (i think that's what it's called) was my favorite. I didn't notice till M pointed it out, but the building is slightly assymetrical in it's design and details. IF you pass by quickly, it appears to be a grand brick building, but when you look closer, you see how much more complex it's design is. You appreciate it much more after looking a bit closer....hahah kinda like with people! I almost went to UCLA...sometimes interesting to ponder what would have happened if I did! Big decisions like that...you never know what could have happened if you'd taken the opposite path. I can't imagine it being better or worse than the experience I had a UCSD, but just different. Maybe i'd be a bit pudgier from eating a lot of cookies from DeeDee Reese. =) After our westwood adventures, we met some more friends in K-town for dinner. Then we hit up Korean markets (which I also enjoy!) and went to Scoops for gelato. Scoops is another LA treasure. First the gelato is cheap--2.75 for two huge scoops. haha i love cheap stuff!!! Secondly, it's run by a korean genius who thinks of the most random (but surprisingly declicious flavors). The flavors change daily. We all sampled each other's so in total I tried raspberry balsamic vinegar, hazelnut honey, green tea dulce de leche, passionfruit (vegan), chocolate jasmine, salty chocolate, basil something (?), and brown bread. the flavors were all amazing--not too sweet, not too pungent, balanced etc. except for the first one. mmmm..... okay, i'm sleepy now...really sleepy...until next time! | | |
| So....it's been forever since I've blogged...but I start all my entries that way, don't I? I'm in SD for the summer. It's been overall good. But....summer always feels kinda sad because it goes so fast. How can it already be August? I think I can never fully enjoy summer because I never feel like I take full advantage of it and then I get a little melancholy. hehe And there's a lot of pressure to enjoy this summer b/c it is THE LAST SUMMER OF MY LIFE. hehe That phrase flashes in all caps just like that in my head occasionally. I've been keeping busy to say the least. 4 full days at CVS + 2 full days at UCSD as a TA. It wouldn't be so bad, but then when I get home after work, I get all distracted by the parentals and don't end up finishing my work till 4 in the morning!! Well, what can I say? They miss me! hahaha I held my last section ever this past Thursday for the last class I will ever TA. It's pretty ridiculous that I've been a TA for 10 classes at UCSD. Clearly, when I really like something, it's hard for me to let go. hahaha. yeah, yeah, it's time to move on..I know!! I actually felt really nostalgic and sad after my last section. I've gotten up in front of various classes about 80 or 90 times over those 10 quarters to do my little song and dance. God has blessed me so much personally through all of my experiences as a TA. I think mostly it's really built up my confidence and stretched me. I've also made a surprising number of good friends with my students. haha and honestly, if I'm feeling kinda down I sometimes look at my old TA evals for a little boost (lol --especially the ones where my students say I'm cute!! hahaha I can't believe I'm admitting that to ya'll!). Hopefully, the next time i'm in front of a class....it's as a professor!! That's the dream for now. =) Being on campus where I spent so many fun years was nice. Such a pretty place! And it's changed so much. When I'm there I feel really relaxed and at home. haha I walk really slow and just look around, drinking my favorite espresso-chocolate-banana drink from my favorite coffee cart. =) It's very true that one really does appreciate meaningful experiences in life more after they're over. There's just rarely the chance to really reflect when you're in the moment. Everywhere I go at UCSD reminds me of a fun memory! haha I'm really trying not to take my current stage of life for granted, but I think I've already been careless with my time at UCSF. I hope that I'm not missing out on lessons I should be learning (not school stuff, but more character/life stuff) because I really don't reflect or sit and think about things. The past two years have flown by so quickly! Goal for the new school year: make time to be quiet and think! Oh, and find a husband. (kidding!) Seeing old college friends has been so great! I feel so blessed to have met such fun, kind, and slightly ridiculous friends. I really appreciate their humor, openness, and acceptance/love of each other. =) If I look back at the end of college, their friendships and my whole experience with Habitat really helped build me up as a person. They really gave me confidence to do things that I wouldn't have ever really though of doing...Would I have auditioned to be speaker at Grad without them and Jen? I don't think I could have realized that insane dream that I had for a long long time without them cheering me on. For sure without the whole habitat experience I would have never even considered seriously getting involved in ASSP. Because of the big impact they've had on me, I guess it makes me realize that being a good, supportive friend can really make a difference in other people's lives. At UCSF, I've met amazing friends too. I really love them sooooooooooo much. Oh my gosh, I could NOT EVER survive without them. haha I remember being sooo scared that I wouldn't find good friends at UCSF, but then on my first day at orientation, haha I slept in the same tent with two of them. God is soo gracious to me! It's nice to be able to confidently add more people to the list of "friends for life." This summer I also have gotten to spend time with my oldest sister, Michelle. For those of you who didn't know, besides Jen, I have another sister! haha She's my half sister and she lives in IL, so we didn't grow up together. But we really try to stay close. She came and played with us in SF for a few days (we biked across the GG bridge! haha I was kinda dying but it was fun!). and we then all came down to SD to play together. It's soooo interesting to me to see how we are each similar to my mom in different ways. Michelle and Jen both look like my mom (clearly, my mom is good looking!). They also have her neatness. It's also fascinating to me to see how michelle is different from Jen and I. She's really athletic (haha obviously, I do NOT have this trait) and really organized and on the ball with things. I really admire that. The three of us have such different personalities (yes, even Jen and I---We are NOT one person!! hahah). It's so wonderful just to hang out together. I WISH she lived in cali so I could see her all the time. =( One day I hope she moves here. It's also cool that we can talk about more stuff (more personal things) now that we are all older. There's a big age gap between us, so for most of our lives, we were kids and she was an adult. Now we're all adults and our relationship has changed for the better. Well, friends, thanks for reading. I just felt like jotting some of my thoughts down. =) Maybe next time I'll try to fill you in on some of the highligts of year 2 at UCSF...don't hold your breath ;) | | |
| So bizarre seeing my small suburban community in the national news....i'm wishing we were still an anonymous suburb of San Diego, instead of being jolted to the front page for having lost so many homes in these fires.  A few old friends lost their homes with little warning. Can't imagine how that must feel..... My parents evacuated for a short amount of time but we ended up being the lucky ones. Our subdivision was untouched. The main area of RB that burned is only 5 minutes away... From the Washington Post: SURVEYING THE DAMAGE Smoking Rubble, Police Barricades and a Lot of Anxious ResidentsWashington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, October 25, 2007; Page A06 RANCHO BERNARDO, Calif., Oct. 24 -- Strange things happened on Cloudesly Drive. Houses simply disappeared. At one address, there is a swimming pool, transformed into a black lagoon. There is a metal lump, still warm to the touch, that appears to have been the dishwasher. What else? A pile of charred red roof tiles. And that's about it. But the strange thing is the house next door. It is pristine. Untouched by fire. Roses in full bloom still hang on their stems. The lawn is lush and green. The stucco bright white. The owners locked the door and left. They will come home, while their neighbors will return to smoking rubble. This is how it went Wednesday, as residents struggled to get past police barricades and back into their neighborhoods to find out the hand they had been dealt. With as many as 400 homes destroyed, Rancho Bernardo was one of the communities hardest hit by the Witch fire that burned across northern San Diego County. The pattern of destruction was a crazy scattershot. Three houses were melted to the ground, next to five houses that were unscathed. On one block, almost all of the houses were gone. On other streets, all of the houses were spared -- except one. For most of the day, police kept increasingly frustrated residents out of the most damaged sections of Rancho Bernardo. San Diego County Sheriff Bill Kolender said, "We are doing everything we can to get everybody back into their homes as quickly and as safely as possible," but he warned that "it is not only the condition of the fire -- it is the condition of the water, the condition of the power -- that we have to take into consideration to get people safely back into their homes." On Tuesday, San Diego City Council member Brian Maienschein posted the address of every house damaged or destroyed in his district. The list is 11 pages long. "I'm not on it, but what if they missed me?" said Deborah Jenkins, who waited with other residents of Rancho Bernardo and the other developments in nearby Poway at the local Albertsons supermarket. Police told residents that they feared open gas lines and the possibility that fires could suddenly return. In fact, the homes themselves were still smoldering, and here and there small brush fires could be seen stubbornly consuming backyard plants. But reporters and emergency workers got in -- and it was like touring a ghost town or a movie set. No one stirred on the streets. It was quiet enough to hear birds singing. The air smelled like burned plastic. Inside the destroyed homes, there would be a seared pot or pan, but not much else. Satellite dishes, however, were spared. A new Toyota was parked at the curb of a house reduced to ashes. The car was dusted with cinders but otherwise unharmed. In another driveway, a charred husk of a minivan, but the home was spared. Because it is Halloween season, plastic skeletons and tombstones dotted the front yards of houses burned to the ground. One home had a FOR SALE BY OWNER sign in the yard, but there was no longer a house to sell. There was a sense that a great heat had passed through. Garden hoses were melted where they were dropped by fleeing homeowners. Blackened tricycles crumbled with a touch. Plastic patio furniture, at the edges of the fire, melted into spaghetti. Michelle Lee, who helped her mother evacuate from Rancho Bernardo, said, "I think a lot of homes on her street caught on fire." She was anxious to see what had happened to the house, but she thought maybe she should go first, when they let residents back in. "I don't know. What if there's really nothing left? I don't want my mom to see it."
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| Today I sent 36 emails. craaazzzy! As you can see, life has been hectic. But, life has also been very good. Summer was CVS and UCSD TA-ing, spending times with friends and family that i've missed, and trying to get ready for the insanity that is fall quarter. lol I actually owe summer a few entries, but its getting shafted. sorry, summer, you were a lot of fun. Now, i am in the midst of the insanity. =) I am feeling a lot of pressure as I am trying to plan Skit Night....more than I have ever felt before. I hope that it goes well! I'm a little disappointed at how few skits my class is doing this year. =( but, everyone is really busy, so i understand. A few pics for kicks! some of my favorite people drove up to SF for labor day weekend. we explored the city, had a game night, ate a lot, and took lots of pics. *heart!* 
waiting by the bus stop...i'm glad that i have patient friends who tolerate my bad tour-guiding! they are the best, even if they demand ultimate omelettes for breakfast. ;) 
adorable cdinh with her elephant! i'm peering in from the side with a pizza hat on. 
what can i say? we love our beer. 
i beat gary at a boxing game. then i beat gary. 
*tourists!* Orientation activities were a lot of fun. I can already tell some of the P1's are going to become good friends. 
P2 orientation counselors (we took the P1s camping!) 
lol love this pic! 
city tour to Ghiradelli (i went there two weeks in a row...not that that's a bad thing!) I also turned 24 recently. Yeah, its weird! I still feel maaybe 20 years old. I was blessed to be able to celebrate twice--once in SD with SD friends (complete with a homemade, multi-colored cake!) and once in SF. On the night of my actual b-day there was a big clubbing event to welcome the first years. After having a small dinner with my little group (arranged by my kind sister), it as nice to be wished happy birthday and offered lots of drinks by tons of my classmates. =) 
i had a nice bday dinner with my fav UCSF pharm ppl. i felt very, very loved. =) 
me and my unhee at the restaurant with my two cakes. =) deelicious! (just in case you were curious....regarding my last post....the dinner sold for $65 a person!!! i have very generous and kind classmates!!!) | | |
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