workouts!

did 15 minutes last night and 20 tonight of the 30-day shred... i think it's called "shred" because it shreds your knees, ouch! Walking to class in the rain/in pain should be interesting, lol.

Off to get my edumakation on :)

First day at the new internship = success.
Dude who just did the splits on idol and ripped his pants = not a success.
New blog background = success.
Getting caught in thunder and lightning twice today = not a success.

Over all, interesting day!

armageddon, much?

It's still pouring, power outages are occurring, and my parking lot is flooded. Sweeet. Here's a pretty crazy picture of Strawberry Creek, which runs through the Cal campus-

Stay dry, blogosphere!

laundry, hail, and 40s.

I decided to do my (massive amounts of) laundry today... which would have been fine, had it not been raining cats and dogs. When I lugged it all into the laundry room, I met a very interesting woman.  I'm not sure if she's homeless or living in the creepy basement that's right below my apartment, but either way she was pretty dirty and definitely not in her right mind, not to mention practically toothless. She started talking to me (albeit I didn't understand anything she said) and as she gesticulated I noticed she was drinking a 40 of beer. At 10:30 am.

Oh, Berkeley.

My classes this semester look to be good though- one is a 10-person seminar, and having to do a research paper for that--on top of my thesis-- is going to suck, but the professor is having us to his house for dinner one night and also wants us to try to publish our papers!  The other class is a huuuge lecture on the cultural history of Broadway, essentially.  It mostly covers the early shows (we'll be seeing South Pacific, West Side Story, etc.), but it should be nice to get my musical theatre fix in on a weekly basis.

Tonight, I bought books for my TWO classes- with a 10% discount on used books, only 2 new books (7% discount on those), and already owning 3 books, I STILL spent $130+. OUCH!!! The worst part is, I'll get maybe $10 at best if I go to sell them back. Publishing houses must really be rich. Guess it's not the worst industry to go into after all!

Also, it's freezing in the apartment. Makes me want to curl up in bed to do my assigned reading for the night...

it's raining, it's pouring

and it's my first day of my last semester at Cal! Eeek!

Tomorrow, I start my internship at North Atlantic, then one more day of classes before my weekly 3-day weekend. Yes!

It's a good thing none of my shows are on tv tonight... I have to read, get my books/readers, fold laundry, make lesson plans for the physics study group, and work on the online class!

The physics class I'm helping with is called "Physics for Future Presidents," and it's podcast for free on iTunes. Here's the site: PFFP. It's a great and totally useful class for everyday life. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in current events and understanding things like nuclear energy, global warming, and even how air conditioners work.

This semester, I'm taking a class on the cultural history of Broadway... expect lots of random bway-related facts :)

Off to get ready for class, hasta pasta!

golden globes...

i want to BE her...

diana is sooo prettyyyy.

and, well, i just want to marry cory...

Also, NPH is adorable and I love him even more after he sang in the 100th himym episode-

procrastination time!

I just found this amazing list via Kirtsy.com, called "100 Skills Everyone should Master."  The highlighted ones are the things I've mastered (or done) thus far in life! And for good measure, a picture of fatty mcfatty, Finn...

1. Set goals
2. Keep a plant alive
3. Care for a baby:
How to Hold a Newborn Baby
The Five Ss from The Happiest Baby on the Block will soothe most fussy babies
4. CPR-- well, in 4th grade
5. Feel confident naked
6. Interview for a job
7. Bake a birthday cake
8. Use a fire extinguisher
9. Use a compass
10. Express condolences
11. Tell a joke-- albeit poorly
12. Remember names-- working on mastery of this one, ouch!
13. Sharpen a knife
14. Dump a poisonous friend-- work in progress
15. Check your oil and tires
16. Relax/Meditate
17. Apologize
18. Be polite
19. Get a good night’s sleep
20. Dress appropriately for the situation
21. Type- 80 to 90 wpm, thank you very much!
22. Fight fair
23. Read-- always!
24. Ask for exactly what you want--- this one is HARD.
25. Trap a rat or mouse
26. Basic stretches and/or yoga poses
Yoga Sequence for the Novice (Thanks, Kelli)
27. Heimlich
28. Please a partner sexually (I'd like to think so) (also, sorry mom and dad, if you're reading this!)
29. Tell your partner what you want in bed
30. Shine your shoes
31. Make your case in writing
32. Tie a scarf or tie (bowtie too):
Scarf Tying Guide (Thanks, Louise)
33. Jump a car
34. Mix a signature drink
35. Delegate
36. Make a simple meal for company
37. Give a neckrub
38. Drive a stick
39. Ride a bike
40. Swim- like 39, not well... 
41. Use chopsticks
Chopstick Etiquette (Thanks, Mindy)
42. Make a new friend
43. Build something simple (ie: shelf, desk, treehouse)-- i love my power tools!
44. Change a tire and put on snow chains (thanks, Toni)
45. Give a toast
46. Make a perfect egg
The Great Fried Egg Tutorial (Thanks, Tara)
47. Speak in public:
Public Speaking Made Easy
48. Improve your mood
49. Simple mending (Thanks, Maureen)
50. Travel light:
Rick Steve’s Packing Light Tips (Thanks, Sandy)
51. Steam vegetables
52. Negotiate
53. Be a good listener
54. Be alone comfortably-- this is HARD but it's getting easier!
55. Select good produce:
List of seasonal produce generated by state and month
Locavore App for iPhone (Thanks, Samantha)
56. Maintain your weight:
The Steve Ward Diet
57. Build savings:
The Wealthy Barber isan accessible book that teaches the basics of personal finance
58. Say no/disappoint someone
59. Use a drill
60. Flexibility/equanimity in the face of the unexpected
61. Make small talk
The Rich Resonance of Small Talk by Roxanne Roberts (Thanks, Pamela)
62. Skip a rock
63. Set personal boundaries:
The Relationship Two-Step by Martha Beck
64. Organize your home
65. Deliver a eulogy:
How to Give a Eulogy
by Tom Chiarella
66. Shuffle a deck of cards
67. Dance socially
68. Know a second language
69. Win the affection of a dog or cat (see above pic)
70. Write a quality love letter
71. Play one card game well- does solitaire count?
72. Eat healthfully
73. Create a budget
74. Take a decent photo
75. Order the wine
76. Know what makes you happy
77. Flirt-- not so much...it's hard!
78. Make a good first impression
79. Write a thank you note:
How to Write a Thank You Note by Leslie Harpold
80. Find a perfect gift
81. Assertiveness
82. Arriving on time
83. Make a little kid laugh
84. Kiss well (i think so?)
85. Make a good mix tape
86. Tie basic knots:
IWillKnot.com
87. Dress to flatter your shape
88. Build a campfire
89. Change the subject
90. Acquire or shed a habit
91. Treat a hangover:
Hangover Cures by The Morning News
92. Be a good judge of character
93. Season a cast-iron skillet
94. Give a compliment
95. Accept a compliment
96. Contribute in group situations
97. Judge yourself by your own yardstick
98. Calculate the tip:
Michelle said this in comments, and it’s what I do too: Simple trick to calculating a tip. Move the decimal over one place and double that total. So, if your bill is $100.00, it would be $10.00 x2 = $20. Or if your bill is $5.23, your tip should be .52 x2= $1.04
99. Ask for a raise (Thanks, Amber.)
100. Build a shelter

Good reader suggestions:

-Do a load of laundry
-Keep your living space clean (Thanks, Megan)
-Write legibly (Thanks, Robin)
-Choose a good mate (Thanks, Pamela)
-Ask for help (Thanks, Mavis)

Hmm, not half bad. What about you, dear readers? What are things you want to master?

-Got the internship @ North Atlantic! Yes!
-Did yoga today, always entertaining. For a good workout resource, check out Jeff's blog, it's got a lot of great information (and he's a great friend of mine, too)
-Discovered that there are many different kinds of fried rice, and that in the place in the Asian ghetto ("Durant food court"), Mongolian fried rice is way better than vegetable fried rice!

more to come soon...

{new}

-internship interview this morning @ North Atlantic Publishing in downtown Berk... keep your fingers and toes crossed!
-new haircut yesterday... looked better when I woke up this morning with extreme bedhead than it did coming home from the salon
-falling behind on exercising, gotta get back to that tonight!
-5 days left to finish my online class before school starts... eeeek.

amazing poem...

While researching for my next (I hope) tattoo, I found this stunning poem by e.e. cummings-

may my heart always be open to little
birds who are the secrets of living
whatever they sing is better than to know
and if men should not hear them men are old

may my mind stroll about hungry
and fearless and thirsty and supple
and even if it’s sunday may i be wrong
for whenever men are right they are not young

and may myself do nothing usefully
and love yourself so more than truly
there’s never been quite such a fool who could fail
pulling all the sky over him with one smile

- may my heart always be open to little by e.e. cummings.

ETA- also stumbled across an old favorite-

“I must learn to love the fool in me – the one who feels too much, talks to much, takes too many chances, wins sometimes and loses often, lacks self-control, loves and hates, hurts and gets hurt, promises and breaks promises, laught and cries. It alone protects me against that utterly self-controlled masterful tyrant whom I also harbor and who would rob me of human aliveness, humility, and dignity but for my fool.”


- From Love me, love my fool: Thoughts from a psychoanalyst’s notebook by Theodore Isaac Rubin

Scrapbook Layouts

It doesn't look like I'll be getting any natural light today so no new pages... but here are some older ones in the meantime!

30-day shred, day 1

Just did my first day of Jillian Michael's 30-day Shred video... ouch! Although, she's pretty funny- as I was about to pass out from exhaustion she goes, "Don't give up, I have 400 lb pound people that can do this!"

Apparently, 125 lb me is more out of shape.

----
Last night, I had the chance to scrapbook a bit so I'm hoping to get some pictures of that if the clouds go away later and I can get some better lighting! Keep an eye out for those :)

apartment fixing-up

Mom & Dad arrived last night! After a delish dinner at La Med on College, we started working to fix up what mom deemed as the "squalor" that I've been living in (I swear, it's really not that bad!)

Things we learned:
-switching the way fridge doors open (aka right to left instead of left to right) is a lot harder when your kitchen is the size of a postage stamp
-if you're hammering a nail into the wall and you hit something, it's a good idea to stop hammering
-my cat can fit into impossibly small spaces, like a hole leading into the wall under my kitchen sink
-my behemoth tv is really not worth any money, stupid CRT's.
-whoever patched up the walls in this apartment did a scarily bad job... here's to hoping they weren't the ones who originally built it!

It's so nice having the parentals around. They're visiting the younger sis in Davis now, but tonight we're hitting Ikea, Michaels, Home Depot, Best Buy AND Barnes and Noble... heaven!!!

exciting news!

I seem to be lucking out again with the interviews... although so far no jobs as of yet. It looks like I'll be interviewing for a "community manager" position at Ink Foundry next week, and then an editorial internship at Seal Press in early Feb.  While Seal Press' internship is paid and in the publishing industry (aka where I hope to end up for my career), I won't know for a while on that one... so it could come down to hedging my bets a little.  Luckily, the community manager position is mostly telecommute so I wouldn't be schlepping into the city on days when I don't have class!

Also, I've decided that to embrace my passion for crafting/pretty things, I'm going to apply for jobs and internships with event coordinators in addition to my publishing/editing/literary agency applications! Despite my mom's reaction when I told her ("We paid for 4 years at Cal for you to be a party planner?!?"), I know my family will support me in whatever endeavor I choose, as long as I'm happy... and not a stripper.

Speaking of mi madre, she and my dad are en route from LA to come visit for the weekend. They're gonna help me organize and hang stuff up in my new apartment, because apparently this building has no discernible studs in the wall (eek!).  I'll blog bout the home improvement stuff-- replete with pics-- as it happens!

And there's your first glimpse of me (and moms) in Alaska last summer :)

nye goals follow-up

So far, I've done pretty good with some of the goals- I've worked out 4 of the last 5 days, and only totally boinked once (the tri team kids use that for when your body totally crashes), and I've stayed at around 1500 cal per day!

I think the toughest goal progress so far has been my "best friend" break-up.  As part of the getting rid of negative influences in my life, I finally had to end the friendship with my ex-boyfriend.  We've had this talk many times over the past year and a half since we broke up, but this time it feels very final, at least for the next 6 months until we graduate.  Like I told him in a lengthy letter (which I'm sure he barely skimmed), this was an excruciating decision but hopefully it'll be for the best. If our friendship can flourish later, then I suppose it was meant to be... and if not, well... that speaks for itself. Without going into more detail, all I can say is that it's going to be a rough few weeks at first cutting off all contact with him, and we will no doubt have some awkward social run-ins... but that's part of the healing process, I think. Looking back in 10 years, I'm sure this will seem ridiculous and trivial, but for now, it sucks; I've lost my best friend and my anchor and I feel a little bit adrift.

BUT, it's a new year, so what better time to start fresh? Here's to optimism and working toward good goals!

first 2010 post!

Let me start off by saying I don't know wtf is up with the photos... I tried a new layout and it messed up all the html somehow :( Granted, I don't think anyone else reads this right now...

That aside, HAPPY 2010, whoever is out there!

Everyone makes New Year's resolutions, but I'd wager to say that most of us fall very short of accomplishing most of them. This year, I'm going public with my goals, hopes, and my "one little word" that I'll be striving to achieve.

Drumroll please...

• My one little word this year is "presence."  Basically, I'm going to be working towards having a better presence, in everything I do in life, both online and off. A lot of my goals for 2010 are based on achieving a greater presence, which I think will come from feeling and looking much better about myself and my life!
• #1 goal- staying accountable to my goals through blogging at least twice a week. Hopefully I'll also develop an audience (thanks to the movie Julie/Julia for inspiring me!)

More goals:

• Ideally, I would like to get my weight down to about 105-110 lbs (I'm at 127 now, meh)... and if not that low, certainly much more in shape. No more being winded hiking across campus, work on a flatter tummy and toned thighs. 
• Get my thesis done in stages, rather than stressing the week before it's due. I'm an awful procrastinator, so this may be tough. However, I think having a good advisor will certainly help with this.
• Save money by eating in as much as possible and trying to pick up either a regular job or just gigs on my days when I don't tutor. Also, only buying food that's on sale, only replacing clothes if I absolutely need to, cutting out cable, etc.
• Nurture my creativity and my hobbies.  This is a big one for me. If nothing else, I need to scrapbook and crochet more often, and sing as much as possible when I'm at home to keep my voice somewhat in shape still. I also want to keep reading inspiring and creative blogs, like Apartment Therapy and Hostess with the Mostess!
• Limit my contact with people who truly don't contribute anything positive to my life, and try to increase contact with people who add good things and make me happy to be around! I think that this and losing weight will be the two most difficult goals, but at the same time, I think they'd be the most beneficial in the long run.
• Drink more water and moisturize FAR more often to get my skin lookin stellar!

that's it for now... time to hit the books for this online class. more goals to come in part 2!