Channeling Carrie

Wearing: H&M tank, Forever 21 mesh tiered skirt, Lela Rose for Payless heels

I finally bought a Carrie Bradshaw-esque skirt and debuted it last Thursday for a night of clubbing with the girls. A fairly drunk M told me that I looked "just like Sex and the City, but just the Sex part!" And just like the ladies of Sex and the City, we were four friends walking the city in heels with fruity drinks and lots of boys (some gay, some not). It was a great night.

In other news, I'm happy to report that my social life is picking back up. Okay, so I've been making an effort to get up earlier to see friends and I've been going out on weekends. Let me just say, having friends and a job and a life is exhausting.

Sunny Monday

Wearing: Forever 21 oversize tank, H&M leggings and ruffle purse, Minnetonka fringed boots, miscellaneous jewelry from Urban Outfitters

I shopped online last night. I spent 2 hours and $80 at urbanoutfitters.com and I'm happy to report that I got some good deals. Still, I really need to find a more constructive outlet for my boredom.

This morning, I woke up to typical foggy-and-cold San Bruno weather. I put on leggings and a sweater and headed to San Francisco to meet up with friends only to find it ridiculously sunny in the sunset district. I had lunch at Hibachi with H and M on Irving, then headed over to Fillmore to visit P, who was working, and the Marc Jacobs specialty store there. We saw lots of cute things, like this sad puppy



and this Paris Je t'aime charm necklace

that I bought at the marc by Marc Jacobs store. A good day indeed!

The only downside to waking up "early" on a Monday is that I can't get my sh*t together in time to get out of the house when I need to. I forgot to bring extra shoes with me, but thankfully, I had an extra pair of flip flops in my work locker so I didn't have to lifeguard in fringed booties. I showed up to work almost an hour early, which was lucky because the pool was at maximum capacity and extra help never hurts. I guess the unexpected sunny weather drove lots of little swimmers to the Brisbane Pool.

p.s. That is my car in the pictures above. Just for the record, I don't stand in the street and take pictures with random cars.

Lazy

Wearing: Steve Madden sunglasses, American Apparel unisex zip hoody

I love buying sunglasses. I love eying the perfect pair of sunglasses from afar and venturing closer to try them on for the first time. I love going through the store's entire inventory and trying on every single pair of those sunglasses (because they all fit differently though they're all the same model/make) only to discover that the first pair I picked up fit me perfectly all along. Ever had that experience?

I've decided that I need to see my friends more. I hung out with S today for the first time in a looooong while. We shopped around, ate, and dropped by the Pink Cherry Spa in San Bruno for some much-needed body maintenance. Ennee was so sweet and she really knows what she's doing. The trip wasn't exactly cheap, but I'm not opposed to spending money on seemingly fruitless things like spa trips. Like I told S, I show more skin on a daily basis at the pool than a porn star. I think I meant that I show skin longer (or something). Whatever, you get the picture.

I've been really lazy with blogging lately because I've been really lazy with dressing myself lately. I wear my uniform (red swimsuit, lifeguard tee, black yoga pants or red shorts depending on the weather) more than anything else, and it's not really something that needs to be blogged about more than it already has. Anyways, I've been trying to dissociate the two things (blogging and dressing myself) along with trying to find inspiration in things that I don't normally do. In an attempt to do so, I made this wrap bracelet a couple of weeks ago.

Bracelet: 100% silk lilac cord, cheap gold [colored] metal chain, leaf charms - knotted all at one end and braided

Yosemite

(Lower Yosemite Falls)


(pedestrian-sized stop sign!)

Day One, hiking look: plain Gap beater, Thank You Mart studded shorts, Asics running shoes, Wet Seal floral sunglasses


(His name is Ace!)


(Half Dome)

Day Two, riding look: American Apparel deep-V tee, Forever 21 high-waisted shorts, black Converses, vintage bag

I spent the Fourth of July weekend in Yosemite with my family. Despite being eaten alive by mosquitoes, mites, fleas, and god-only-knows-what-else, it was a wonderful and relaxing trip. The park is full of giant trees, cascading waterfalls, and heartbreakingly beautiful meadows. Parts of the park were closed for seasonal burnings, and the smoke from the forest fires made for some really foggy views. From high elevations, the smoke looked a lot like clouds. I really wanted to take a free photography class, but I couldn't find it within myself to get out of bed at 6am in order to do so. I guess I'll just have to make do with the unskilled raw shots that I took.


Yosemite Falls from afar


I love playing with the effects of sunlight. The giant sequoias don't look too bad either.


more sunlight on the hike to Yosemite Falls


The ground looks golden, or covered in snow.


The view from Glacier Point. The cloudy smoke makes Half Dome look like Olympus.


At just 28 inches tall, this is officially Yosemite's smallest waterfall.


The Merced River at Valley View


Sunset over a place I like to call Edward's meadow.

Lucky

Wearing: Urban Outfitters Kimchi & Blue floral dress, Nine West knee highs, Forever 21 boots

Yesterday, the closing pool staff and I shared a combo pizza and a chocolate mousse sheet cake from Costco for no reason other than to celebrate our love for food and Costco (and food from Costco). W was nice enough to pick up the food along with a few frosting pens for us to decorate our cake. It was so perfect that I didn't even mind that my pants were wet as a result of sitting in a puddle. Hey, it happens when you work at a pool.

I know I say "I love my job" a bit too much, but really, I can't get enough of the pool. It feels weird to wake up excited about going to work every morning, but I'm not complaining. I'm really lucky to be getting paid to do something I love.

Now let us have a moment of silence to commemorate my social life. Since getting back from college, I haven't even called the friends I promised to hang out with this summer. I feel like a bad friend, but after getting off an 8 hour shift at the pool, all I want to do is go home, eat, and sleep. Then rinse, repeat...

On a brighter note, my GPA is close to 3.0 for this past quarter! I never would have excepted to ace my math class. I either mastered all of probability in the last week of class or got really lucky on the final. I like to think it was the former. As for my organic chemistry and life science classes, I'm just happy I passed. Taking those two together was such a mistake. I should probably start looking into classes to take next quarter as enrollment begins next week. Yikes!

flashdance

I may have forgotten to bring my camera to the wedding, but my cousins didn't forget theirs. One of my rather photographically gifted cousins caught me spinning on the dance floor. These pictures are the result of good music, flashing lights, curly hair, and E's photography skills.

I spent nine hours at the pool today. I'm not even sure if that's legal. I'm exhausted but I still love my job.

The Wedding Singer

Wearing: BCBG silk dress, Lela Rose for Payless heels, Forever 21 bow clutch

I love this dress. Besides being silky, stretchy, and comfy, it hugs all the right places. Tonight, my family drove out to Woodside to attend my cousin's wedding. The wedding was unconventionally beautiful, and the bride and groom were flawless. Being the absent-minded idiot that I am during the summer, I forgot my camera at home, so these pictures were taken in my room after I got home. That still doesn't explain why the first two pictures are yellower than the others.

Summer has been pretty wonderful so far. My life at home consists of three things: food, sleep, and work. Relaxation and a paycheck - what more could I ask for? The only downside is that my work schedule (4-8 hours a day, six days a week) has pretty much murdered and buried my social life. The only people I see consistently are my parents, my brother, and the pool staff. I really want to (and need to) get out and see my friends despite being exhausted from work. Our new Wii can only keep me company for so long.

I just finished the week of in-service hell training at work. The pool staff spent the past week reviewing CPR/AED, first aid, rescues, and other miscellaneous procedures. We also swam 500m daily. We finished off the week with a fattening potluck and a scavenger hunt that that ended in the deep end of the pool. Tomorrow is the first day of swim lessons and I'm excited to meet the little kiddies. Oh, and I found out that the the lifeguarding staff is to swim a paid 500m weekly. I'm essentially getting paid to exercise. I love my job.

p.s. I miss my photographer/best friend/roommate!
p.p.s. Happy Father's Day. I love you, Daddy!