You'll Be Proud, So Read This

I got the internship!! 2 months long. It'll be an one hour commute via BART to Fremont until the end of June. When I move back in July, it'll be a car ride away (reuniting with my baby, the corolla). Soon to come, details of start date and stuff!

P.S. Thank you for all the love & support. <3

P.S.S. I get my own desk. (!)

Back from Hiatus

Hello hello. I wasn't expecting to be so blog-deprived for this long! I got caught up with finals and twitter was simply so much more easier to keep up with. ;]

Currently, I feel that I've been living life with a lack of purpose. Of course, until today. You see, it's been reading for leisure, playing video games, and... sleep? It's been nice, but where's the greater incentive to it all? I don't see my life moving forward from all of this. But today. I went to my "internship" and we finally laid everything out. It'll be an extensive 4 weeks, but it'll whip me into better shape within the field of graphic design and visual communication. I'm excited, but also scared.

I also heard back from another internship I applied to with a health clinic, where I will be assisting with their marcomm biz. I need to go in for an interview... but granting I passed the phone interview, my chances aren't so dampened. ...right? I think it'll be exciting to commute a bit, and considering that it's only an internship (aka not permanent), I won't be too bored or start disliking work too, too soon.

So there. My summer has suddenly turned a 180 and I'm in for some jam-packed days, even if I don't get the health clinic internship. Wish me luck... with whatever comes my way :]

Creative Projects... Oh How I Miss Thee

I just finished up editing a Vietnamese video project. From this, I realized that 1.) iMovie 2009 is fun, 2.) it's rewarding in the end, and 3.) I miss creative projects like this.

Somehow this leads to me feeling excited about taking on creative projects after I graduate. I can't wait to work with personal visual projects, from more vector art to Flash Macromedia. I can't wait to pick up my pencil-deprived drawing pad for a flip. I can't wait to take on amateur photography at scenic spots. I can't wait to read for FUN (I got a list of books going already).

Although I've been stressing out about not securing a job by now, I know it will come and I will be okay. So for the mean time, I'm trying to appreciate what is "securely" good to come! ;)

What's new?

I won a 19'' TV.

Suweet.

SF Date w/Alice, Tony, & Silvia

Last Sunday, Alice, Tony, Silvia, and I ventured off to San Francisco at 11AM. We first went to Shanghai Dumpling King and had a good wait until we got a table. One of the new things I tried was this minced beef noodle thing, in which I thought was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! :) The flavor was a median of savory and saltiness. I now want to go back for 3 things: xiao long bao, sugar egg puff, and the minced beef noodle! Yum yum yum.

Noodles embedded below. Yum!!

Afterwards, we went to SF Japantown. I thought we would spend a maximum of 1 hour there, but 3.5 hours elapsed somehow. We saw many cute things and gave into such cute persuasian by purchasing and pinching our wallets. I saw some things I really liked but couldn't bring myself to buy it, so instead, I took pictures of them! Hahaha :P

SF Japantown!

Having fun w/the cardboard thingys

Cute GREEN wallet... I didn't give into buying it though >< Stitch Bentos

Postcard Stamps!

Pomegranate, Star Fruit, Kiwi, Papaya, and Guava

I went to the Post Office today to mail off a postcard and a letter. In addition to that, I bought 10 postcard stamps. They're of the exotic/tropical fruit collection or something. I like! :D

How Berkeleyans Think

I realized today that many Berkeley students think the same, in that we're very anal retentive. Thoughts of, "how much of our grade will it be?" "when is it due?" "what's the average, SD, etc.??" I also like how the professors at Berkeley know how we think, and answer our questions before we can ask them. For example...

Scenario 1:

I got a bSpace announcement about an optional assignment. The fact that it was optional was repeated twice at the start and at the end of the assignment. Each disclaimer was 3 lines long, in CAPS.

Scenario 2:

I got a midterm back today with a 68 plopped on it.

WHAT?

The GSI announced that the average was 78, generally pretty low for an average.

WHAT!!

Although she had no idea what the SD was... geez, I was having a heart attack about scoring 10 points below the mean. 

Then I found out you're supposed to add your short answer points to the score. Putting me at 7 points above the average. *phew*

Grr...Puma

I've been eyeing a particular Puma sweater online for a while, and one of my best friends gave me a gift card to help me buy it for my birthday. When it came to the final stages of processing the order, it gave me options of payment with only one bubble. Credit.

The eff?! Why do you provide options, plural, when there is no choice?

Later looked up FAQ on gift card use and this is what I found:

"Can I use/buy the Card online?

No. The PUMA Gift Card cannot be purchased or redeemed online."

I hate stores that don't sell the same stuff they do online, in-store. The actual Puma store sells funky clothes. I don't need the obnoxious purple lines all over the sleeves. I don't need the zipper to be zig-zagged in odd places. I just want a normal black sweater, pop-collared and Puma logo plopped on it. Is that so hard?

Ok, I'm done being branded and materialistic. :P

Whoa

What a whirlwind of events happening since I last blogged! After my hell week, it was pretty much me alleviating stress at the beginning of spring break, just to jump right back in throughout. The stress was just studying for GMAT, but let's focus on the de-stressing parts :)

I went to Shanghai Dumpling King in SF with Max on Saturday before DCON, where I got to try xiao long bao, lion head meatballs, tread bread, savory soy milk, spicy chive and pork dumplings, and decadent sugary goodness egg puff pastry! The place was packed! We waited a good hour before we were seated. They delayed our order, which set off our tummy's temper :T Supposedly, they dropped the order sheet on the ground, so our order never made it through. Grr. Food overall was pretty delish, though! I would like to go back, especially for the dumplings and egg puff pastry (in which, got awesome reviews on Yelp!)

Xiao Long Bao :D :D :D

On Tuesday, I spent the whole day with my best friend to celebrate her 22nd birthday. :) We went to Red Robin for lunch and Cheesecake Factory for dinner. Then we hit up BJs for drinks. On Thursday, I had dinner at Sushi Factory, an all-you-can-eat place, with the bestie, her boy, and my boy ;). We stuffed ourselves silly and made our ways to D&B's to play games and I guess, again, drink.

Happy Birthday, Love!

Finally, DCON. I was very pleased with everything! It was definitely a good, last DCON. The entertainment was superb, notably the dance (awesome DJ!) and the talent show acts. The theme tied in nicely with every aspect, from decorations to fundraisers to CNH Idol. This DCON has made me reflect on the huge impact Circle K has had on me. Circle K was more than just doing community service and feeling good about it. It gave me more: it made my college experience awesome, it blessed me with my closest friends at Cal, and most importantly, it shaped who I am today. <3

Dang, busy.

It amazes me how anticipating a hell week will make the previous week so busy. Mainly because I'm trying to alleviate my hell week by "studying" early or whatnot. Didn't really work. Can't say I haven't tried, though!

Weekends have been packed with dinners (I got one with Tony & Silvia. Jealous, much?), on-campus events (LUNAFEST, Vagina Monologues, etc.) and work (Pi Day: Celebrating the irrational). No work, much play...what a mistake. :P

I'll recap eventually, with pictures! Now, I need to re-enter the beginning of hell week.

Till then,

Au Revoir~

Suspicious Cupcakes

The head chef gave Gail and I these mini cupcakes the other day. It was a nice but unexpected gesture. We ended up giving it to Johann :P

Ace of Cakes

Ace of Cakes: A bunch of campus organizations showcasing themselves through crafty cakes. Lots of mingling and good entertainment. Circle K's very own JC Alhambra performed. Many cupcakes were decorated. And many tummies satisfied from the dessert buffet.

Linda, Me & Joe at Ace of Cakes

I contributed my currant oatmeal cookies. They came out terrible, though. I didn't have enough oats :( Damn oats.

Another Belated Post -- Dinner w/Nga

That's right! I scored a dinner + coffee date with my cousin. Geez it's hard to get a hold of her unless you book her days in advance :P When we finally do though, it's totally worth the additional effort in planning. :)

Cousin and I went to House of Curries and hit up Cafe Milano. We updated each other with every aspect of our life (well-needed at that).

Me & the Cousin :)

Divine Mocha Bianca

Our next date will/should be when Crossroads or Cafe 3 has our beloved tomato bisque soup. Can't wait!

Happy Much-Belated V-Day

My Valentine's Day was celebrated a day early because actual Valentine's Day was my aunt's funeral. I won't dwell on that too much... for this should be a happy entry.

So ... what happened on such a commercialized, overrated holiday? :P I used it as an excuse to go out of course! Hahah. Max and I went to Crepevine (again!) for lunch. I enjoyed a club sandwich and he got a New Orleans Benedict -- English muffin, crab cake, poached egg, and thousand island (?) sauce. Man! Every bite was an explosion of flavor. I definitely want to get it either next time or the time after or... ;) I just know I'll be coming back again hehe.

New Orleans!

Me & My Club Sandwich

After being stuffed and tummily (yes, tummily) satisfied, we took the Rockridge BART to SF for some shopping. We came back with goodies from the usual preppy stores (i.e. A&F and HCO) and I got my early birthday present! My MacBook is now shielded with a clear plastic casing. I have to admit... it adds to the weight :(

Carefully selected cover :)

On our way back, we stopped by Safeway and bought ingredients for our dinner. Dinner came out to be... lamb rack, instant-mix mashed potatoes, and boiled broccoli. I made currant-oatmeal cookies for dessert (and also will be making these endlessly-well-commented cookies again for Ace of Cakes)! We enjoyed our delish food while watching Star Wars: Episode IV.

Entree

Currant Oatmeal Cookies

As for V-day presents, I gave Max a liter of Canada Dry Green Tea Gingerale. Avant Cards + CKI roses for Becky and Alice. In reciprocation, Becky and Alice got me two orange roses (my fav) and cookies with strawberry filling.

<3

My Awesome Saturday

Saturday was awesome. No school. No work. Just plenty of time "stimulating the economy" :D I got to go to Crepevine down on College Ave. near Rockridge. I really like that place! I need to somehow incorporate that into my birthday celebration haha. ;)

Cool menu!

Max and his Catfish Po Boy Sandwich

My Santa Fe Crepe

After Crepevine, we went Ici! I sampled the dulce de leche and nutmeg gingersnap and settled down for the latter. Doesn't hit the spot quite like honey lavendar ice cream, but this was pretty darn good, too!! ^^ I was happy.

Nutmeg Gingersnap!

At 2PM, I met up with Alice and Becky for our Roomie Day. We went to Whole Foods for their Chocolate event. Whole Foods had a deal, where you buy two chocolate bars and you can spin their guaranteed-win wheel. They also had a bunch of tables set up throughout the store, allowing us to sample various types of exotic chocolates to help us make our decision. We really wanted to buy a bar called Velvet chocolate, but they ran out. :( I ended up buying 2 trusty Scharffen Berger Nibby bars (w/coupon!). The aftermath of the spin...?

My bars of chocolate + awesome water bottle I won!

We dropped off Becky a little before 4PM because she had a BBQ to go to. Alice and I made our way to Emeryville and enjoyed each other's company sipping Starbucks and wholesome (haha) shopping at Bay St. We left with a little bag of Teacake Bake Shop goodies and Abercrombie jackets. Oh! And Fuddruckers to-go. We were happy campers :)

We picked up Becky and we all ate massive Fuddrucker burgers for dinner while watching Desperate Housewives. So twisted!! Anyway, to end the night, we hit up Blakes' for a round of drinks and got the munchies so I drove Alice's car to Safeway for a frozen pizza. :P

I've Seen a Lot of Famous People Naked, and They've Got Nothing on You!

Soooo... I went to Barnes & Noble today with my roommates because Alice wanted to find a GMAT book. Of course, I didn't mind because I wanted to swing by the children's section for some Paddington Bear literature ;) The first thing we noticed were bins of books all on sale for $1! Rummaging through, I found a book titled, "I've Seen a Lot of Famous People Naked, and They've Got Nothing on You!"

Yeah... I know, right? But quickly reading from the cover flap, I discovered it was a business entrepreneur book. Awesome! Skimmed oh-so briefly and decided to buy it. I looked up later on Amazon and it's listed at about $17. Oh good deal. :)

Oh, and about catering to my deprived-Paddington childhood? Fail. They only had ONE book about Paddington Bear. It turned out to be a novel and was a new story about him. I wanted to learn about this character from the beginning. Le sigh.

Paddington, the bear!

I never heard about such a character until this year. I instantly recognized Alex's Paddingbear stuff animal when I saw the little guy tucked away between the futon and Max's mean backside.

I forgot how my interest came about, but how can I resist learning more about him when this anthropomorphised little bear favors maramalade sandwiches and cocoa? I've gone to his website and got very little information about him and wish I can get my hands on some of these children books. I think I'll be curled up at B&N sometime reading these, for the sake of my deprived-Paddington childhood! :)

Life is mean.

Now that the my grandmother's death has fell upon my family...there's an uncomfortable stress and eeriness in the air. Denial. Abrupt outlashes. Loud silence. I never seen my family so united on the day of, yet so broken apart. My mom phoned me. Took it out on me -- vented. And hanged up.

I've reflected a lot this week about how these sad, cruel moments are a part of life. How we react to life changing, permanent, events... with denial, tears, and acceptance. How people get older... to the point where outspoken personalities can't even cover up the aging lines. How the future looms in front of me... and the decisions of its outcome depends on the immediate steps i choose to take. How life continues, not slowing, and doesn't care where you are and how you are.

I've cried. Just did. And I hope that's the last of it. Right now it's best to move on and make the best of it.