Epiphany

I think I had an epiphany today. This morning, during my Cluster discussion, this girl in my class just stands up and sort of sways her way over to the door. She stops when my TA asks her if she's ok, then collapses to the floor. Before I knew what was happening, I'm next to her and shaking her awake. She's fine, just tired...and dehydrated from over-partying last night (not that she would admit that to our TA).

Even though nothing really happened, I surprised myself with how quickly I reacted - without hesitating, or even blinking. In my head, I was going over all the steps to CPR/rescue breathing and thinking how unpleasant it would be to give her direct mouth-to-mouth because I had no breathing barrier with me. It wasn't just my ability to recall my lifeguard training that surprised me, but really my readiness to help a complete stranger. After the incident, I looked around the room and realized that only two other people had gotten up out of their seats to help.

I told this to Y, my RA, and said, "it takes a certain type of person to just sit there, unwilling to move when someone clearly needs help," to which he responded with, "and it takes a different kind of person to get up and help without being asked. You'll be surprised how rare this kind of person is." He suggested that perhaps I should become a doctor - a really intense one (think Christina, from Grey's Anatomy). I agree with him, and this is the career path I've chose, at least for now. I think I'm even willing to put up with another two years of chemistry [note hatred from last entry] plus a quarter of biochem to fulfill the Pre-Med requirements.

So, after a good, long blog session, I've [probably over-] analyzed my morning, stopped fuming, and apologized to the girl across the hall [also from last entry], and now I feel much better. Maybe I'll even start studying for chemistry...but that may be seriously overreaching.

Happy Halloween

Last Tuesday, I boarded the Big Blue Bus with the intent of going to Santa Monica, but, being late as usual and spotting a Verizon Wireless store from the bus window, I hopped off midway and found myself somewhere between Brentwood and Third Street Promenade. I walked into Verizon Wireless with a temperamental [Did anyone else know that "temperamental" has that "a" between "temper" and "mental"?] speaker on my cellphone (it only works sometimes), thinking they'd send me away because the phone is otherwise fully functional. I was pleasantly surprised when the employee took a few glances at my almost-one-year-old Motorola Krzr and offered to replace it at no charge. He even transferred all of my contacts, photos, downloaded ringtones, and speed dials into my new phone without asking! No wonder Verizon is consistently rated best in service. Between that and the unbeatable coverage, I'm not sure how anyone can settle for anything less than being IN.

Wednesday morning, I took my LA Cluster midterm. It was surprisingly reasonable, and I emerged from the testing room feeling fairly confident. Still, I'm set on dropping that class as it bores me to death. Only one out of the three professors can hold my attention long enough to get his point across. I would rather take retard-English than suffer through another quarter of that nonsensical, irrelevant course.

Today's chemistry class put me in such a bad mood. I have nothing against my professor, but the way he teaches makes me want to take my own life. I can honestly say I feel as if a boredom knife is stabbing me through the heart...encore et encore et encore. It even sounds excruciating. The worst part is that next semester, I have to take the same professor because he's the only one teaching the class. He has a fucking monopoly on chemistry classes. Tell me, in a capitalist society that thrives with perfect competition, HOW IS THAT FAIR?

[Cute little joke from my chem professor: What is CH2O?]
[Answer: Seawater!]
[See? I actually kind of like the old chap aside from his teaching.]

So I come back to my dorm, fuming the entire time because I don't understand anything in that class. Instead of studying for my midterm, I straightened my hair because I thought that would make me fume less. Apparently, it didn't work because I just exploded at my neighbor across the hall for taking my laundry spot. We both have places to go later, but I signed up for the spot, so I had every right to be angry. Still, I don't think she deserved the multitude of death stares I gave her... maybe I'll go apologize later.

Tonight is Halloween night. What are my plans? Game night on my floor, and a party afterwards. I'm not even in the mood to go out anymore. Fuck chemistry. Fuck my life.

Midterms: The Beginning

I brought Lappie with me to class this morning and we actually took notes together. Professor Zasloff, the interesting law professor, lectured today, and kept me entertained the entire time. After the lecture, I returned to my room and had a nice turkey and garlic & herb cheese sandwich. As I was washing the dishes from my lunch, I realized I was late for my Math midterm. I grabbed my bag and ran across the campus, but was still a few minutes late. Even so, I finished the test with time to spare and felt like I did really well, hence the facebook status, "I raped it." One down, three to go!

This was my Math-midterm-conquering outfit:



tunic/dress: Zara
tights: Xhiliration, Target
moccasins: Minnetonka, Nordstrom

I'm now sitting in a midterm review for my LA Cluster with K and TJ, listening to quite possibly the most ridiculous questions being asked. One example: "How should we allot our time between writing short answers and the essay?" Seriously? I can't believe I pushed dinner back for this.

Tomorrow is Tuesday. ME-day! I should probably be studying for my next midterm, but going to Santa Monica is rightfully higher on the priority list.

Warm Fuzzies

Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron complement each other almost too perfectly. They don't even have to fake the chemistry between them on camera. Watching it all in High School Musical 3 was mind blowing. Not only is that movie naively feel-good and cheesy, but the entire cast is adorable (Who can argue against Corbin Bleu's fluffy fro?). So take Gabriella, a curly-haired, beautiful braniac, and Troy, a sensitive jock with beautiful eyes, put them on a rooftop, and watch them sing and dance in the rain. This song is called "Can I Have This Dance." It's my favorite from the movie and it's just magical.





The only thing that bothered me througout the movie was how Gabriella calls her boyfriend "Wildcat" instead of his name. There's a scene in which she actually says, "I love you, Wildcat," as opposed to, "I love you, Troy," which would mean so much more. I forgive her, though.

So I actually went to the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood to watch a special screening of the movie. They had this little shrine set up outside the theatre:



These are the costumes from the scene "A Night to Remember."
Ahhh, Disney. They know just how to make a movie I want to watch again and again and again. Warm fuzzies all around.

Obsession

This was me yesterday, without homework:



This is me right now, looking at my essay:



This is what I need to do tomorrow, with my chemistry book:



[pictures from I Can Has Cheezburger]


p.s. I bought shoes today while I was supposed to be writing my essay. I think I've already said how obsessed with shoes I am. I got it from my mom, who has closetfuls of shoes.


Asics: $38


T-Strap sandals: $18

My euphoria after the purchase: priceless

Just Staring

As I got up late this morning, I was forced to go to class in a sweatshirt and oversized tee. Feeling particularly schlep-y, I returned to my room right after class and changed into one of my little black dresses and felt much better.

I decided to skip math today because we were reviewing the chain rule, again. I was strolling campus aimlessly when I ran into Pretty Boy J. He was hungry, so we sat down inside Ackerman and chatted over my second lunch. In an hour, I had learned way more about him than I had expected. I came to find that Pretty Boy J is far prettier on the inside than he is on the outside, and god knows his outside is pretty (keep in mind that I refer to him as Pretty Boy). After munching, we walked to chem and got there early enough to get a seat towards the front.

After class, Pretty Boy J left with some friends and I nearly walked into R as I was saying goodbye. Never one to pass up an opportunity to socialize, I stayed in the chem courtyard and chatted with him until the shade from the tree moved so far that we were left standing in the over-90-degree heat.

Earlier, P and I were iming via Skype because we were bitching about all the things we couldn't bitch about out loud. She informed me that D was staring at us, and had been for some time. When I looked up and asked what she was doing, she responded with, "Oh, I'm just staring." Now I have to ask, who seriously admits to staring at other people?

My outfit from yesterday (I tend to change during the day if the weather changes):



sweatshirt: UCLA (well, obviously)
leggings: Forever 21
boots: Steve Madden



cardigan: Mossimo, Target
tunic: unknown brand, Crossroads
boots: still Steve Madden

I really need to stop procrastinating and get on top of my school work. (Excuse the image.)

p.s. PARIS, TU ME MANQUES BEAUCOUP!



Here, we see brie (Champignon brand, not President) and spreadable garlic & herb cheese on wheat bread (not fresh-baked baguette).

I hate my cluster.

I brought my laptop to my cluster lecture today because I've noticed that most people do. I've also noticed that, within the first ten minutes of class, most people are already well into their mindless Facebook stalking routines. I brought my laptop today not really to Facebook, but mostly to keep me awake in class. Between staring blankly at quite possibly the worst PowerPoint presentation ever made and taking notes via Microsoft Word, I've checked my email, facebooked, and read all the blogs I follow. (A bit counterproductive, I know.)

I was reading A's blog earlier and came across this:



On the left, a video call shot of A (taken by yours truly), and on the right, Kevjumba (taken from his "Girls Are Like M&M's" video.

For a second, I forgot I was sitting in a lecture hall with over a hundred other students. For a second, I forgot I was bored out of my mind. For a second, I laughed out loud and quite a few people stared.

I looked back up at the PowerPoint and realized I now have no idea what my professor is trying to say. She has this unique way of lecturing in a monotonous drone that sounds more like a lullaby than an engaging professor. T and I are counting down to the end of class - 21 more minutes.

This morning, I walked into the hallway in my usual half-asleep, groggy state and was shocked to find Halloween decorations adorning the walls and ceiling. I then remembered that today is All Hill Halloween. UCLA is involved in a program where inner-city kids are transported to the campus to trick-or-treat in the dorms because their own neighborhoods are unsafe. G and I are going to partner up and tour the kiddies around the dorms. Can't wait!

One last thing... I went to Ralph's yesterday to fill my refrigerator and spent over $40 (!!!) on a loaf of bread, a quart of milk, a container of orange juice, a hunk of brie, some spreadable garlic and herb cheese, Kraft American singles, some sliced honey-roasted turkey, yogurt, Nutella, and organic grapes. If you haven't noticed, I really like cheese. Now, this may sounds like a lot, but it didn't even fill two paper bags. Since when were groceries so ridiculously expensive?

...11 minutes to go. Tick tock.