summer thus far

I'm going into my seventh week at Score! It's been a crazy couple of weeks: 1 day of orientation, 3 days of real training, 1 extra day of offsite training, 1 day in my center, 3 days of sales training before I was in my center for good. In my 4th week, I was solo all week. Scary? Yes, but so much fun. I love meeting the families and the kids, and everybody who works at Score! is so passionate, not necessarily about the same thing, but with a variety of the perks of the job. I love hearing about everybody's different experiences, and what keeps them here. The hours are funky, but I don't start super early, but I get out sort of late. I've gone out almost every day. Today will be one of the exceptions, but it's nice too, to come home and relax.

In other news, I am moving. My apartment is beautiful and my roommate is sweet, but it was time for a change. Now I have to deal with the realities of packing. :( I'll be there for at least a year, working in Albany and not biking up this silly hill of mine. I'll be sharing a room (something I thought I wouldn't want to do again), but I think it'll be fun! We'll have bunks and desks and a plethora of nightstands. They are all theater kids; should be fun!

Life is different now, from a couple months ago. I think I'm playing harder than I ever have before; and it's amazing!

from Dagny Taggart to Hank Reardon

from Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged...

"I want nothing from you except what you wish to give me. Do you remember that you called me a trader once? I want you to come to me seeking nothing but your own enjoyment. ... My way of trading is to know that the joy you give me is paid for by the joy you get from me - not by your suffering or mine. I don't accept sacrifices and I don't make them. If you asked me for more than you meant to me, I would refuse. ... If ever the pleasure of one has to be bought by the pain of the other, there better be no trade at all. A trade by which one gains and the other loses is a fraud."

San Francisco... TWICE in two days

Living only a Bart ride away from SF, I don't actually make it to the city that often. That said, I've gone twice in two days, and went to Fisherman's Wharf, Ghiradelli Square, and Coit Tower all without the help of buses. We walked EVERYWHERE, from Powell to Bush/Mason to Fisherman's Wharf's In-N-Out to Ghiradelli Square back to Bush/Mason back to Powell. And then the following day, we started at Montgomery, walked through Little Italy to Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf, and walked along the water back to Embarcadero. It was a lot of walking and my feet hurt, but it was nice to be able to take in the sights without being cramped next to a stranger and without the frustrations of waiting for the (always-late) Muni.

Tuesday, May 29
came back from Saratoga, had lunch w/ a friend at Joshuya's (mmm rock-'n-roll: avocado, eel, cucumber in a sushi roll... AMAZING), picked up a friend from the airport and almost went to Hooter's in San Francisco (but instead, we opted for In-N-Out), devoured sundaes at Ghiradelli Square and strolled back to Powell

Wednesday, May 30
after eating a scrumptious breakfast at La Note, my friend from Cornell/Colorado/Saratoga/Portola Valley and I went yet again into the city with the intent of finding dim sum for lunch, but by the time we were hungry we had walked to the water and craved clam chowder instead. then we found the most marvelous museum of old coin-operated games, except that some of them weren't games. OLD-SCHOOL PORN where you put in a coin and it shows you images when you look down the lens. oh my goodness so funny. we wandered around the water and spent some time tasting in the Ferry Building, then we went back to Berkeley, bought books at the closing Barnes and Noble, had pearl milk tea, and ate dinner at Crepes-a-Go-Go with his friend from Cornell/Hong Kong/Thailand. then we looked at apartments with him (he's working in Oakland for the summer) and didn't get horrendously lost. luckily he REALLY liked the second apartment so he took it on the spot. it was super cool to meet a friend's friend, and it's always nice to see people I know interact with people.

Work starts MONDAY in Albany (YAY no 2 hour crazy commute!). I am super excited. It should be good.

just for fun

Obviously, I'm bored and don't wish to sleep quite yet.

For a quick summary, I passed all my classes. I am graduated and will being full-time work on June 4. Until then, I am moving out of my Saratoga house, entertaining a friend from middle school, visiting the State Capitol, and getting ready for working all the time. YAY!

The "Grown Up" Survey
(Meant to be completed by those out of high school)

Tired of all of those surveys made up by high school kids?
'Have you ever kissed someone?'
'Missed someone?'
'Told someone you loved them?'
'Drank alcohol?'
Here are 50 questions for the people who are a little more "mature"...

1. What bill do you hate paying the most?
Rent

2. Where was the last place you had a romantic dinner?
Romantic, eh?

3. Last time you puked from drinking?
never

4. When is the last time you got drunk and danced on a bar?
never

5. Name of your first grade teacher?
heidel (spl? but i do remember her name)

6. What do you really want to be doing right now?
sleeping

7. What did you want to be when you were growing up?
teacher... and now that i can, i wimped out. i'll get to it soon enough.

8. How many colleges did you attend?
cal

9. Why did you choose the shirt that you have on right now?
something to wear

10. Gas Price?
3.5? depending on where you are

11. If you could move anywhere and take someone with you?
i wouldn't

12. First thought when the alarm went off this morning?
already?

13. Last thought before going to sleep last night?
sleepy...

14. Favorite style of underwear?
women's ^.^

15. Favorite style of underwear for the opposite sex?
hey. if you're hot, you can wear whatever you want.

16. What errand/chore do you despise?
cleaning: dusting, vacuuming, etc.

17. If you didn't have to work, would you volunteer?
yes

18. Get up early or sleep in?
get up

19. What is your favorite cartoon character?
snoopy? charlie brown? winnie the pooh? no great reasons.

20. Favorite NON sexual thing to do at night with a girl/guy?
talking

21. Have you found real love yet?
how do you know when it is real? it feels real, but how do i KNOW?

22. When did you first start feeling old?
graduation. not old in the "twenty is old", but old in the "i'm going to be working full-time!"

23. Favorite 80's movie?
not sue when any movies were made

24. Your favorite lunch meat?
pastrami

25. What do you get every time you go into Walmart?
don't shop there

26. Beach or lake?
lake

27. Do you think marriage is an outdated ritual?
nope

28. How many people do you stalk on Facebook?
... not any

29. Favorite guilty pleasure?
fruit crepes for dinner. or jamba juice for lunch or dinner.

30. Favorite movie you wouldn't want anyone to find out about?
...

31. What's your drink?
lemonade. as long as it's fresh. pomegranate, rasberry, strawberry, blueberry, etc.

32. Cowboys or Indians?
...

33. Cops or Robbers?
cops

34. Who from high school would you like to run into?
...

35. What radio station is your car radio tuned to right now?
...

36. Norm or Cliff?
... who?

37. The Cosby Show or the Simpsons?
cosby

39. Do you like the person who sits directly across from you at work?
yep

40. If you could get away with it, who would you kill?
nobody

41. What famous person(s) would you like to have dinner with?
...

42. What famous person would you like to sleep with?
...

43. Have you ever had to use a fire extinguisher for its intended purpose?
nope

44. Last book you read for real?
bookseller of kabul

45. Do you have a teddy bear?
somewhere

46. Strangest place you have ever brushed your teeth?
in the kitchen when my roommie was showering

47. Somewhere in California you've never been and would like to go?
national parks!!

48. Do you go to church?
nope

49. At this point in your life would you rather start a new career or a new relationship?
i am starting a new career. i don't need a new relationship.

50. Just how OLD are you?
20.

The Countdown Continues...

We have sold the Saratoga house, so as of June 1, 2007, we will no longer own it. Theoretically, by that time, our Cupertino house will be fully remodeled so we can move in over Memorial Day weekend. My dad made the executive decision that I am not going to Taiwan anymore. I would have made that same decision, but I would have appreciated making that decision myself.

Cabaret preview is tonight... it's going to be fantastic.
I am taking the CBEST Saturday, but the practice test was easy, so hopefully, it won't be a problem.
I find out my CSET score on Monday.
SCORE! is calling sometime after that to ask if I am taking the job or not.

I am late. To what? I'm not precisely sure. But I will continue later...

Time does not slip away. It blatantly sticks out its tongue at you while you scramble to fulfill all of your commitments. There is nothing subtle about it. It laughs, it jests, but as it keeps marching by, you realize the futility of arguing with it, and you can only be swept away and hurry to your next destination.

The Countdown Begins...

...

2nd to last day sleeping in the Toga house
1 week and a day until Tech (2 weeks and a day until Opening Night) of Cabaret
<>

Life has been treating me okay. Things are worse, things are better, the ebb and flow of all the positives and the negatives make life interesting. There was a pretty rough week and half, and then spring break happened right on cue.

Spring break has been lots of packing (or avoidance of packing). My poor mother has had to do so much of the packing herself. My sister, too, spent her week back from LA packing and providing manual labor for my mother. We are mostly packed, but it's never really going to be done. In the last couple of days we've packed, packed, rearranged furniture, staged the house, steamed the carpets, and soon we will have agents/brokers previewing the house on Saturday, to be listed on Monday. This has happened all too quickly. It hit me two days ago that we were down to the final days of living in Saratoga.

I have had my issues with Saratoga; I still do. But that doesn't change the fact that I have woken up in this house almost every day from 3rd grade to 12th grade. And even as I began to refer to my Berkeley apartment as "home", "home" was still really this enormous house in Saratoga.

The house is now almost empty of our things, only furniture remains. Most of the decorations aren't even ours. A stager brought them in to make our house look more presentable. Even though I don't agree with all of her choices, the house does look beautiful, just like every single house you've ever seen on sale. Just don't look in the garage. All of the furniture not used in the house and all of the packed boxes are stuffed into the garage, and the cars got moved outside.

The Cupertino house isn't finished yet, but we will move the instant it is done. April 7th, they say. Right, we reply. It is smaller, but remodeled, and will be much cozier than the Saratoga house.

Thanks, Mommy, for taking care of EVERYTHING and packing the majority of the house. I had enough trouble packing my own room.

Next time, graduation. For now, taking my sister to the airport.

Los Angeles, Janaury 2007, Graduation

January 6-8
Possibly the shortest trip to Los Angeles ever.

January 6

• 10am: left Saratoga for OAK
• 11am: arrived at OAK to pick up car, a green Ford Taurus (reminiscent of IF's old car)
• 11:15am: arrived at San Leandro BART station to pick SB up
• 11:30am: departed San Leandro BART station for Los Angeles
• sometime in between: stopped for restroom, stopped for food, stopped for gas
• 5:30pm: arrived at UCLA
• sometime later: ate dinner at Hurry Curry on Sawtelle with the sister, JW, RT, EK, TH and SB
• sometime after that: shopped at the Santa Monica Promenade, forgot to go the beach, oops
• stayed at EK's apt

January 7

• walked around Westwood
• ate breakfast/lunch at Westwood's Novel Cafe (the only reason was because Novel was in the name. no joke.) - it was super expensive, and very LA, meaning we ate outside, people-watched, and enjoyed the beautiful sun
• walked around more in Westwood
• karaoke-ed at Yuu Yuu on Sawtelle with RT, EK, JY, CW and SB
• picked up the sister and ate dinner at the LA Farmer's Market - more food court than market, I had blackened chicken salad with honey mustard sauce, my sister ate about half of it.
• met my sister's friends at Rieber
  
• got lost going to House of Pies, but found it finally
• stayed at CW's apartment

January 8

• ate lunch with JP and her bf
• went home via Monterey
• missed Junction 46, so we took 198, which is windy and hilly, but we got out before it got dark, thank goodness
• missed the exit a couple of times, but eventually got on the right road
• got to Monterey by 7pm
• ate dinner at the Old Fisherman's Grotto - at night, it gets super decked out and pretty: candles, flowers, the whole bit. I felt underdressed with my flip flops. and they gave me a flower when we left. it was cute.
• got back to Berkeley by 10pm. not bad, considering we took a longer route and drove past the right exit a couple of times.

While it was short, the trip had its moments. Thanks to everybody who hung out with us and housed us. My sister drove the whole way down! And I had to drive the whole way up. It was nice to spend time with people in a fairly low-key environment, whether it be over food or in the car. Monterey was gorgeous, and getting back to Berkeley was delightful.

This break has been full of nothing-ness. Probably needed nothing-ness, as I don't know when my next real break will be. I graduate in May and will need to start working ASAP regardless of where I live (hopefully Berkeley). I hope that this break was sufficient. I plan to either work more next semester, or at least do everything I do well. Mat Pilates at 8:15 MWF and Pilates on the Ball 8:00 TuTh. Good luck to me on making those classes.

Everything is good. Sometimes it seems too good. I don't mean that in the too-good-to-be-true sort of way, but in the we-are-very-comfortable-it-might-be-a-problem sort of way. I will remember that we all have other hobbies, and it is for the best that we do other things in addition to spending quality time together. I'll have my hands full worrying about graduation and stage managing a show. He will have his hands full working for the Mayor and serving on a commission. I will remember that break is very unrepresentative of real life. I am going to be more communicative, but at the same time, not feel the need to be upset over everything. I will be more open to other ideas and other people's way of doing things. I will trust that everything will work out for the best. I will not be overly optimistic, but I will not be a pessimist "just for the sake of it" either. We will cross that bridge when we come to it, but there is no need to be worked up about it too far in advance. Everything will be fine. I need to trust.