Congrats c/o 2009!

I'm a little late on this, but we did it class of '09! I know we have amazing journeys ahead for each of us.

Raffy & Roger @ the Henry Samueli School of Engineering Commencement. If I never changed my major I would have graduated with them :p

Although Jay's younger than me, I look up to him a lot. I know he'll do awesome things at UCI next year. And stick to your music!

Thank you to everyone who stopped by to say hey, even if it was just for a couple minutes <3

And of course, my #1 supporter for 6 1/2 years :]

Because it's my last finals week...without the finals part

This weekend, I made sure to bring all of the necessary notes with me so that I could work on my last real assignment of my college career (I hesitate to say "undergraduate", I keep going back and forth with that idea in my head). But of course, I didn't get any sh*t done. I guess I'll never learn I never learned - I can say that now! Haha. Anyways, this blog has been pretty stagnant as of late, but I don't really want to blame it on lack of time or being too busy with finals/graduation/that biz. Honestly, I couldn't have asked for an easier quarter to ride out the rest of my time here at UCI.

I guess I haven't blogged in a while because I honestly don't have anything to say. As I approach the end of a big chapter in my life, I wish I'd have real insightful things to say, but actually I'm feeling a little numb right now. I think all of the anxiety/relief/happiness/sadness just cancels each other out and I'm left just feeling a little blank. I don't want to put too much out there right now until I can actually articulate my thoughts. I don't want to look back to read this and go "I freaking graduated, and that's all I had to say?" Hah.

Even though I'm sort of in this "whatever" mode at the moment, one thing's for sure; everytime I just think about a job search and just trying to get my foot out there during these times, my face starts to get hot and I almost have a panic attack out of nowhere. Not very characteristic of me. But I can't keep myself from freaking out. I don't want to end up one of those grads that search high and low, 12+ hours a day looking for a job, only to realize 6 months have passed so then you resort to going back to working at the mall or Starbucks. Not that I have anything against honest people making a living that way, but I didn't suffer through Organic Chemistry and Micriobiology for nothing damnit. Sucks to be so worrisome when I'm supposed to be celebrating. But that's life, just gotta deal.

Maybe I should just take the advice of every adult that's talked to me about graduation - "Maybe you should take a break first. This is probably the last real vacation you'll have" :/

I sense some interesting posts this quarter

Parts of my syllabus for my philosophy class - Contemporary Moral Issues:

_Euthanasia: "Is there a right to die?"

_Abortion: "The unspeakable crime of abortion"

_State punishment and the death penalty: "An eye for an eye"

_War, Terror and Torture: "The case for pacifism"

Ahh to be back at school. Be back later, lab at 8am :/

Looking back

I didn't even realize it, but I've been blogging on here for a little over a year now. I'm glad I've been able to stick to one place to just let it all out for this long, it's always fun to just look back - from what was going on about a year ago, or even my changes in writing style. That reminds me, I cringe every time I give in to the temptation to look back at my old Xanga. Oh, the embarrassment.

For the fourth time now, I've made it through fall quarter here at UCI. As much as studying sucks during 10th and finals weeks - or more accurately, trying to - I got this calming feeling a couple nights ago just walking through campus after one of my review sessions. Seeing everyone bonding together in their pajamas inside Starbucks, conversing about finals material and non-school related topics, the textbooks and notebooks intermingled with the empty coffee cups and snack boxes, how every student seems to be going through the same thing at this time...I don't know. For some (cheesy) reason, it made me think about how little time I have left here at UCI and how much I will miss it, from the good times to the academic rock bottoms, the sleepless nights due to late night bonding to those in which procrastination takes the credit.

I know I have a lot of planning to do for the future still, but for now I'm going to curl up in my spot at the 198 couch and soak "it" all in, whatever it may be.

Seems so long ago but nothing's changed :]

Classroom LOL of the Day

During lecture for my developmental and cell biology lab, our professor showed us a clip that one of the classes put up on Youtube last year showing their results (Keep in mind this was shown on a huge projector in a lecture hall that fits about 300+ people, and my professor didn't realize anything until after it had been up for a good 20 seconds):

Before:

After:

Not my Proudest Moment, But

I just cranked out a 12-page lab report from scratch for my 9am lab this morning. And you know I didn't even start anything until the wee hours of the night. Had I attempted this in high school, I probably would've given up and not shown up to class. But thanks to the great skills I've learned these past 4 years, I honestly believe that anything is possible.

Thanks college!

A New (& Healthy) Obsession

Like I mentioned about 2 posts down, I've made this pact with myself about purchasing some new books every paycheck, which is about every 2.5 weeks. I'm not sure exactly what's come over me, but I've welcomed this idea a lot more than any other "bright idea" I've had. I've picked up 5 new books since, and I get excited even more each time I step into a bookstore to see what catches my eye next. Call me a nerd, whatever, I don't mind.



Did something just magically click in my head all of a sudden? To be honest I'm not really sure. I've always liked to "read for fun" every now and then, it's just that I guess I haven't had much extra time with the cycle of school and work and going out and family time and however else I've spent/wasted my time that has shaped my college life.

I think almost being done with college is part of this transformation. It's like, despite all that I've learned these past 4 years, going back to high school even, sometimes I just feel like "That's it? Isn't there more to just...learn?" There's so much stuff out there that I feel like I need a better understanding of - how different religions view the world, gender issues, issues of our generation, politics in general, issues that will affect the future, mistakes of the past, etymology, various philosophies, personal stories of people around the globe or even if it's just reading literary classics. I just feel like I need more of something, anything to fulfill this unexplainable void in my head.

"A good book has no ending". ~R.D. Cumming

It's October and It's Still Hot

I feel some kind of obligation to write on here since I haven't done so in a while, even if the content is random or irrelevant. Basically, I feel like I've been literally 9-to-5ing it with school and work almost everyday for a little over a year now (including all of summer) and I'm a little tired right now. Just a little bit.

That isn't necessarily a bad thing I guess. So far I've been keeping up with homework and labs, and even readings - I'll admit I barely opened my textbooks last year, so this is a good change. On top of that, I made a deal with myself that with every payday, I have to buy 1-2 new books for leisure reading (yes, FOR FUN). My book collection up here at the apartment has been looking dumpy to me, so I decided to change that as well. A couple days ago I picked up Slut! by Leora Tanenbaum, which basically talks about sexual stereotyping and the old double standard; it's a little funny because just recently I was realizing how much I started to hate that word. I also picked out Choke by Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club, and I'll let you know how that turns out later. Or you could just go out and watch the upcoming movie, your choice, just keep in mind how that turned out for I Am Legend.

I've also been trying to keep up with the election, and I'm pretty excited to exercise my right to vote this time around since I barely missed the last Presidential one by about a month. My views on that will be saved for another time as well.

Finally here's a little chart from Slut! that I though was interesting, although nothing new.

Positive expressions for a sexually active man:
stud, player, stallion, ladies' man, the man, Romeo, Don Juan, Cassanova, bounder, gigolo, lover, lover boy/man, pimp

Negative Expressions for a sexually active man:
womanizer, wolf, dog, pig, "cant keep it in his pants"

Positive expressions for a sexually active woman:
hot, sexy

Negative expressions for a sexully active woman:
slut, whore, tramp, ho, bitch, hoochie, pig, prostitute, hooker, nympho, harlot, hussy, tart, bimbo, floozy, vixen, minx, loose woman, fallen woman, vamp, wench, slattern, Jezebel, strumpet, skank, sleaze, slag, sexpot, streetwalker, slore

About time

First day of school today! Now I might actually have stuff to talk about on here. I'm really looking forward to my last year at UCI; I'm more determined to really push myself academic-wise since it's now or never, right? Even though I've decided I'm going to pursue a Masters after this year, but that's another story.

The breakdown for this quarter and end of the year:

Schedule/classes:
+Cell Biology
+Human Physiology
+Developmental & Cell Biology Lab
+Work 4 days a week

Stuff to look forward to:
+Dressing up for Halloween (I'm making sure of it since last year was a bust)
+Shocktoberfest? If the line-up gets better, not so sure about Three Six Mafia
+Watching my brother's last band tournaments, especially MC/Arcadia
+Another L.A. trip hopefully
+Work out at least 3 times a week. I'm making it happen.
+Make more decisions regarding grad school
+Thanksgiving Break
+22nd Birthday, yikes
+Save up more money
+6 Year Anniversary

More later, off to class. Bring on the stress! Ha.

Back to Life

I have a little more than 2 weeks before school resumes, and I'm already stressing out about what I'm going to be doing this time a year from now.  Because frankly, I have no idea whatsoever. And it's not like I can depend on the next school year to start figuring shit out - I'm freaking graduating next spring *crosses fingers*

The past couple days I forced myself to try to get back into a somewhat school mode and look up my professors, check out the class websites, figure out my school and work schedule, find out what books I need, etc.  My brain hasn't had to process anything school related in almost 3 months, so even these little tasks hurt my head at the moment.  If that wasn't enough, today my mom proceeded to ask me - as she has been doing all summer - "So what are you going to do after college?" I've been able to get away with "Mom, I'll figure it out when fall quarter starts again, ok" but damn, the quarter starts on the 25th and the game plan for post-college life I'm supposed to be drafting in my brain is non-existent.  I even sat through a 30-minute video I downloaded from the UCI School of BioSci entitled "What You Can Do with a Bachelor's Degree in Biological Sciences".  How convenient right?

The thing is my mom has been hinting to me that she would like to see me pursue more education after earning my B.S.  However, I personally have been leaning away from that option and I have always had this perception of myself entering the work force directly after 4 years. I just wish I had thought of all of this sooner.  If I really had my heart set on a medical school, I should have made sure to maintain a more competitive GPA and take the right prerequisites according to the program of choice.  Same with grad school.  As for trying to find a job right out of college, I'm not even sure if I'm better off with this alternative either.  I just really don't know what I want.  F*ck, it wasn't even until recently that I had a feel for what fields of biology I actually like. How was I supposed to figure out 1-2 years ago what specific program at what specific school I wanted to work towards?  The fact that other people already know what they want at this stage in life doesn't make me feel any more prepared for the unknown.

Another thing that has always been in the back of my mind has been serving in the Peace Corps.  I've never taken that thought into serious consideration, and but the thought was always there as something that I believe would be life-changing adventure from the norm, all while promoting peace in developing countries and serving the global community.  I never thought my life would be able to accomodate 2 years of serving overseas and being away from friends and family; the focus was always on college, then finding a job, jumpstarting your career - you know, what's expected of a typical 20-something year old.  Now more than ever that option is a little tempting.

One thing I am sure about is how little time I have to make some pretty grown-up decisions.  Let's just hope it's not too little, too late.

About time biotch

It took a couple weeks longer than most of you and back to back sleepless nights, but summer is finally here for me! Took my last 2 finals this morning, and I am happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised with how I felt walking out of both of my classes. Kicked multiple ass uggggh son. Haha fck I'm so happy, I don't really have anything else to say right now, I just needed to get this out. Good job UC kids.



Potential topics for upcoming posts (after I've had a little more time to recover):
-Summer schedule/stuff to look forward to
-Personal wank on the classic idea of "soulmates" and why it's stupid
-Second-hand embarassment. I seriously can't take it.

I Need a Breather

I feel like I've just been going and going nonstop for most of the past 2 or 3weeks. First there's been the usual homework and studying, plus a 2-week stretch in which all of my midterms fall in (last one tomorrow, thank God). Luckily I've managed to commit just enough time to study for my tests and so far I've done really well, hopefully tomorrow will be icing on the cake. Then a little over a month until finals; I really hate all of you right now with away messages like "Working on my last project!" or "___ more days until summer officially starts!" As for my summer, I'll be spending most of it in Irvine working at my current office, then towards the end of August or so I'm gonna try to look for a job that actually involves my major. I'm still undecided on whether or not I'm going to take summer classes.

Another thing I've done the past month is hit up more clubs and hotspots than I have during the other months of the year so far combined. First there was House of Blues in Downtown Disney for Best of Both Worlds. Thanks to Vicky and Debbie again for the hospitality, you guys are always awesome hostesses. The actual event was alright, waaay too many people and it was hard to stay in a group so it ended up only being Raf and me for most of the night, plus the DJ sucked. It was too hard to get around without getting humped by people on both sides of you; I made the most of the night but I had more fun last year. I'd still be down to go next time if the venue is right.

Ladies at preparty before HOB

Level 3 in Hollywood was the next stop last Thursday for Annie's birthday. After getting lost, having to cut in a looooong line, lying about being in "Hip Hop Congress" to get inside, and some guest list complications, we finally made it inside only to be a surrounded by a "super-AZN" crowd (according to Mel). The music was a little better than HOB, but they stopped everything for about half an hour for a "lingerie show" on stage. I was expecting some decent models to come out with some cute outfits, but instead the girls looked like they were picked right off of UCI's campus and let me tell you they were not fierce at all. Not too many creepers in the place, except for one guy who kept trying to get me to go onstage to dance with him. After he said "What, am I not cute enough for you" I seriously just wanted to laugh in his face. Fellas, please don't ever use a line like that unless you KNOW you have the looks to back it up aka you better be a 10, otherwise it just makes you look really pretentious/stupid.

Waiting in line in front of 500 people

And finally, this past Saturday was Belo in Downtown for the 24th birthday of Jackie's sister, Tiffanie. Overall it had good music, a good crowd, nice decor, and overall I had a really good time reuniting with the girls. I think part of the reason why I liked the aura so much was that it was 21 and up, it's still a little weird for me seeing 18 year olds get down in the clubs, I don't know. I would definitely hit this place up again. Anyone down? Haha.

MCHS c/o '05

Although not exactly a club environment, honorable mention would go to Sushi, Sake & Karaoke night at Brent's the day after HOB. I wasn't even planning on having fun that day but wow, I didn't know OC housewives could be so fun. Plus free sushi, sake, mochi ice cream and dancing? It really doesn't get any better than that. I also came across 2 new ultimate favorites of mine - Kinsen Plum Wine (only $4.99 at Bevmo!) and this:

Lychee Sake by Hana. Heaven in a glass.

Starting with a bang

Winter quarter has finally started to kick in today. Buying books online (half.com is the way to go), planning the weekly schedule for the quarter, trying to find classes & the like make up a now all-too familiar quarterly kick-start, an attempt to get my ass back into school mode. However, I feel like the beginning of this quarter sneaked in a little too fast because this past weekend was just straight up FUN.

After I found out I had the day off last Friday, 198 & crew immediately concocted plans to take over the world (aka L.A./Hollywood for the day) - and when those plans fell through, we resorted to Roscoe's in Long Beach instead. Not a bad choice I must say. In fact, I never fathomed fried chicken & waffles to be so delectable - together. If I had any doubts at first, I was sold after a couple bites. The strip club-like pink lights and overly friendly manager - Mel & I are both "baby" according to him haha - also help add character to this beloved soul food joint.

The 'Scoes #1

The rest of Friday alternated between mock cocktail-making trials (what a tongue twister), Rock Band, taste testing, and Cranium. But the real highlight of the weekend was the 198 Cocktail Party on Saturday. To make this quick, thanks to everyone who came, I hope you guys had fun. Well by the looks of my pictures, I'm pretty sure about that haha. Also thank you to my fellow 198 peeps for helping set up, pitching in for the supplies, and my cool new LT jersey and H&M card! In the end, wanting to do something a little different from the usual resulted in pretty much a full bar at 198, good times with friends, and damn funny pictures of everyone. I posted all of the pictures on my Myspace but you can get better quality ones from my Multiply site.

Bringing sexy back.

On a totally different note, will someone please refer me to some new good music to listen to? I have most of the "popular" songs that are out right now on my iTunes, but I always end up resorting to my dependable playlists of oldies and classics (think Queen, Earth Wind & Fire, and other stuff that I will never get sick of). Maybe it's just me but the music scene right now is just not cutting it. Take R&B for example. The days when Boyz II Men & Babyface would serenade their way into every girl's heart are long gone. While the whole debate about whether hip-hop is dead remains in the forefront, R&B has withered away in the background. And who will be its saviour? Chris Brown? I like him, but I don't know about that. Ne-Yo? Good start, but still a little early to tell though. Usher? I've been long awaiting his comeback but after hearing this horrendous new track I've opted to save myself from disappointment and keep my expectations low. Really low. Like boots with the fur low.

Anyone else hear rubber duckies being raped?

And I will personally punch anyone in the face who has dubbed T-Pain the new king of R&B. Hooks, yes. R&B? Blasphemy.