the yellow submarines.

so today was good. i woke up late and read stiff, by mary roach in the sun until our 10 am meeting. then at like 11:30 am, i ate with natalie, john, keara, and some of the students. at 12:30 pm i had office hours until 1:30's meeting which ended in 10 minutes. i finished my office hours at 3 pm. at that time, i walked with keara and mallory to walgreens and random stores. i bought two dresses. and i looooove them. then i took a nap before going to dinner with jess and katie. keara and alterrell joined us later and then we had a 7:30 pm meeting... it was a good time, though my girls are late and i don't know how to stress that it's important NOT to be late. we prepped for Color Wars and i lead the yellow team: the yellow submarines :) i loved my group! they were pretty enthusiastic, but sometimes there are debbie downers, like one particular student. it was tough to hear him spread pessimism. i guess it was an improvement to see that he was having fun, but putting a front. we had check in at 11 pm. curfew. what is their curfew is my curfew. sometimes i wonder what i just got myself into... high school students are mad difficult.

anyway, the only thing that worries me is that although each and every girl on my floor is spectucular - they are all so different. it's hard for me to figure out how to plan events for them when their interests are 180 degrees apart. at least i have my fellow RAs, they are pretty stellar.

"navigator, what's our next stop?"

this morning, i met katie and natalie at the foothills fitness center. it was a good work out, i've only been using the elliptical since i've been here. soon, i shall progress to the treadmill when my knee is more consistent and then possibly... the berekeley hills. i had a floor meeting with my residents at 11:30 am and then we had lunch and a scavenger hunt. vy was our navigator and michelle read our clues. we were done like an hour later and a lot more tired. that last hill up hearst ave was insane. then we hung out until 5:30 pm and met up with john and jess's group for dinner. it was fun to play an ice breaker (but a bit more difficult with all of the international kids who didn't quite understand what "trainwreck if..." was so we changed it to "meet in the middle if..." i had mac and cheese with broccoli and a salad. i met lauren a few other girls. lauren was homesick for the upper east side. new york represent!!! i had a good phone conversation with emily today and i got a bit homesick too. it was hard to stay nostalgic for long though... the california sun is wonderful (though i'm a little sunburnt on my cheeks from our scavenger hunt). then we had an evening meeting at 7:30 and then we went to the speed friending event. at 11 pm we had check in and tomorrow will be another day...

go bezerkley!

these past two days have been a lot of fun. yesterday i woke up early and went to the gym. i love having such easy access. then we ordered sandwiches for lunch but i had my leftover taco salad from burritas so i ate that instead. man, having buckets of chocolate and laffy taffy around me will certainly be my downfall. we went over administrative stuff and then for dinner, we went out. john, jess and i walked around music stores and book stores. there was a shakespeare & co. like the one in new york on broadway around washington place. i bought an "authorized edition" of the jungle book by kipling and a kerouac book... it was most appropriate. then we went to blake's and i stole some french fries from jess and john. we met up with natalie, katie, al, mallory and keara before going into a pub. it was really fun to just chat and hang before the kids arrive. we got back around 1:30-2 and as i brushed my teeth and washed my face. with suds still lathered on my cheeks, john, al and katie came to catch me up on my youtube haha. it was funny.

today, i did not wake up early. since we went to bed at like 3, i just woke up at the last possible moment before being late. i had blueberry poptarts from tj's and a banana. so good. natalie and i sat in the sun for a while and then we all worked on the monster calendar as well as staff photo stuff. for dinner we ordered from zachary's, which has the most amazing deep-dish pizzas. i had a red stripe to go with it, it was a perfect dinner. i moved into my room D from A and then finished hanging the door tags. now we're watching 500 days of summer. i LOVE that movie... sigh, i have to be ready at 7:45 am to go to sfo and pick up some students. i'm pretty pumped to get this ball rolling... it still boggles my mind: has it really only been five days since i've been here?

gutter balls, strikes, and spares - oh my.

today was fun. we had bagels and cream cheese, yogurt, bananas, chocolate muffins, and so much more for breakfast. we met the berkeley maintenance staff and hung out eating chocolate while telling laffy taffy jokes. we talked about rules and programming and acted out some role play. then we met the asa professors after some orientation stuff and lunch from a sandwich place. my pseudo greek pita was pretty good. we went to dinner at la burritas around 7. i got hungry early though and eat pita with tj's chunky peanut butter and a blueberry poptart-esque pastry so i barely ate 1/4 of my taco salad. then we went to albany bowl on san palo avenue and i bowled a 72... the lowest on my team :( however, i did get a strike and that is the one thing i aim for when i play.

i need to go to the gym tomorrow... too much free food. i just can't resist. i am pretty stoked to get my list of the girls on my floor and to start planning our activities. plus, my grandma is coming up july fourth weekend so hopefully i can hang out with her and the rest of the family (with a big IF i can get a day off).

GO USA.

Go TEAM USA. I didn't wake up at 6:30 to watch the game, but I'm super proud of the US to have scored a goal and make it through to the next level. The time difference is a killa.

Today, the ASA team had breakfast and meetings. We had ice breakers and hung out outside. Some of us went to Bongo Burger on Euclid and I had a falafel :) Then we had some team builders and went on a scavenger hunt in San Francisco via the BART to the Embarcadero stop (Millbrae line). We went to the Ferry Building and took a team 2 picture (Natalie, John, Jessica, Keara and myself) with the clocktower in the background. Then we went to Pier 35 to take a picture where the ferries depart for Alcatraz and walked over to Pier 39 and walked around Fisherman's Wharf. We saw the seals and took pictures everywhere. Walking to Jefferson, we went to In N Out burger and John ordered an Animal Style burger (burger fried in mustard with onions) and I totally took a time out of my vegetarianism to try it. Then we walked to Lombard and Hyde to take a picture with the crookedest street. It was really awesome. We hopped on a bus and went to City Lights Bookstore where the beatniks of the 50s used to hang out. Tim Wise was having a reading there, it was pretty cool. It was an exhausting day, but we went to Vesuvio across the alley after ordering a medium Greek pizza from Nizario's. Since Vesuvio didn't have food, they let us bring it in. Chris and Katie joined us from the other team. I sipped on Pyramid's Audacious apricot ale (locally brewed in Berkeley), which was delicious. Better than the pear sparkling cider I had at Blake's. We walked for hours, up and down hills. It was such a great day in the sun around campus, but also a little brutal in the fog and howling wind near the bay.

Go Cal BEARS. I'm so happy here.

fulfilling my west coast envy

i'm exhausted.

monday, my parents and i drove up to hanover, nh to apartment hunt at 7 am. i found what i needed in a four-bedroom house. unfortunately i will be the only girl living with three boys, but hopefully they will be clean. my neighbors seem nice, and it's a fifteen minute walk away from campus. i look forward to getting a bike up there to peddle. we bought some dartmouth clothes and then had lunch/dinner at molly's. i had the maple glazed salmon and snow peas. my mom had primavera penne and my dad had chicken carbonera linguini. it was delicious. then we drove back and got home around 11 pm. the drive lasted 13.5 hours. the visit itself lasted 2.5, but it was worth it to soak up the crisp new england air.

this morning, i woke up at 4:30 am after going to bed at 1ish and drove my parents and me to laguardia via the gps. it was straight forward and i got us there in an hour and 45 minutes, right on time for my flight to my connecting flight to denver, co via frontier airlines. i never heard of them. it was a little sketchy. then i flew into san francisco. the bay was seafoam green and i could see the golden gate bridge in the distance. danny came to pick me up and we went food shopping at trader joe's. i have plenty of pita, hummus, bananas, and chunky peanut butter to satisfy any food needs outside of the dining with staff. i met the senior staff and my fellow RAs. everyone is really nice and friendly, i look forward to getting to know them better and for the high school students to arrive. tonight, we went to raleigh's to eat. i had a veggie burger topped with cucumber, hummus, bean sprouts and tomato AFTER nachos. the large mug of hot green tea warmed me up. and then katie and i shared a cheesecake and strawberry frozen yogurt twist before a bunch of us went to blake's for a beer to chat and occasionally glance at the world cup game going on. korea was up 2-1 against nigeria from the last i saw. i had the pear cider, it was DELICIOUS and light and bubbly.

tomorrow, we're going to have an outing to watch the game at 6:30 am. i may or may not be up then, but it would be a good time to watch the us play. we'll see....

"you must be a real new yorker"

As I picked at my pasta salad with my fingers down broadway, I hear a "how you doin' girl?" It was business as usual in NYC during the late night so I kept walking without acknowledging the voice behind me. Then I hear someone to my left asking me what I was eating. I told him pasta salad and he asked me "no fork?" Of course I would have eaten like a barbarian...but I slightly complained that I had forgotten it. Then his friend who already started crossing the road told the guy to leave me along. I only smiled graciously in response. The one across the street said, "I like how you handled that, you must be a real New Yorker."

the road ahead

as i allowed the car in front of me to dictate the flow of traffic on route 70 east around 1 am, i noticed how bright the roads were lit. it was really neat to see everything illuminated. then, i glanced back in my rearview and saw complete darkness with a hint of red from my tail lights. there's truth in the saying, "when you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." who else would light the road that you travel for you if not for you? i've been better at reaching for what i want and stating my preferences. how else would anyone know what you like if you don't tell them?

around 7:20 pm, i drove my parents to philadelphia to meet up with dave and vi. it was a wonderful drive... straight west on 37 and 70. we met up in chinatown and had dinner at penang. yum, the roti kanai and chicken and noodles... all so yummy. then vi let me drive the pathfinder to their apt while dave drove our parents. i still have bad memories from when i was 17 and am kind of uncomfortable driving sometimes. i have to watch the road divider in my side view mirrors and rationalize that there is no way i can collide with cars if we both stay on our side of the road. peanut happily greeted us, and we checked out dave's finished basement. it looks awesome. dave and vi surprised me with a vanilla-chocolate-cookie crunch ice cream cake for my medical school acceptance. it was wonderful. i gave dave his early birthday present and vi a belated birthday present. it was a lovely time. on the drive back around midnight, my dad and i had a long conversation about bp, driving, changes from nj/ny to nh, cost vs worth, how to correctly say 510 in cantonese (mm bak yut sup, instead of the assumed mm bak sup), etc etc. i would also break into song every once in awhile, like the acoustic version of heaven, you belong with me, and omg. haha. good times.

beside all that, i felt agitated today over little things that couldn't be helped, like the late delivery man, unfamiliar parking in philadelphia and my mother's repetition. i need to learn to be more patient... because if i can't just go with the flow, it will certainly be a long and stressful road ahead.

the unconscious

i just woke up from a dream. it was so gloomy. first, i dreamt i was the one asian/ethnic person at dartmouth and nobody wanted to be my friend. then i dreamt i was talking to my friend who told me she didn't have time to talk, so i should shoot her an e-mail. there were more bits and pieces of various scenarios, but they were all just as sad. it's probably indicative of how amazing and comfortable this past year has been. i just don't want to start over... my friends i have now are the best. we'll seeeeeeee, i should be more open but change is hard.

i just got my order form for my otoscope, stethoscope, tuning fork, and reflex hammer. i'll need these medical supplies for when i go meet patients! i'm so excited... except it's steep. i wonder if it'll balance out in the form of groceries. i told my mom that while i have been wandering around, i've kept busy and haven't eaten as much when she told me i looked skinnier (doubtful though, it's only been a week since these "changes" occurred). she told me to "keep it up" and my dad shoved a plate in my face and told me to eat more. i think that's why i unconsciously have more guy friends sometimes.

last night was really funny. i woke up from phi's couch and said goodbye to sharon since phi already left in the early am to catch a flight. i met up with meera, anj and gary to get dunkin' donuts. i had a bagel with peanut butter. yum. and then gary went to the bbq fair at madison square park and meera went to a restaurant in tribeca with her parents. anj and i hung out watching america's next top model - guessing who would be eliminated. so bad, but so good. i met up with gloria in the upper west side not too long after and we went from crowded bar to crowded bar trying to watch the fifa world cup game between the us and the uk. we ended up at uno's of all places. it was AWESOME. i can't believe the uk scored so soon, but that green let that goal for the us slip through his fingers. as i got from ken's away: "hey england, your goalie is as leaky as your oil rigs." before we knew it, it was almost 6! so i went to meera's to hang out and play with my new ipod touch. it's amazing. if you have any app suggestions, please let me know. i prefer free - but i'm considering shelling out $40 for the netter's anatomy app. it seems really sweet. i made my way to evolution to meet up with emily, meg, and aman for a free open bar. after a few watered down vodka sodas, emily and i went to arlo, one and one and decided time would be better spent eating. so we got chips and snacked before meeting up with meera. then... we just went home haha so meera picked up chicken and rice from her block and we fell asleep to the perfect man. i think i had a dreamless night since it was so familiar, so comfortable.

sunnyside up

the smell of garlic wafts in the air while phi is cooking late night sardines and rice. sharon has her head full of braids since i played with her hair as we all watched seinfeld. i'm still full from dinner with alexa at momofuku. we shared pork kimchi, pulled chicken, and cheese tamales. then i had pork belly buns (amaaaazing) and alexa ordered the chicken wings. she let me have one and it was so tender and juicy and yummy. we went to the momofuku milk bar, but went in at 2nd ave to the ssm bar but she figured out why there were only three dessert options: we weren't at the milk bar. going down the long hallway to the 13th street entrance, we ordered the canteloupe honey ice cream with the crack pie. SO GOOD. then i went to queens to meet up with phi. we happened to both be on the train when i called him when i got off.

this afternoon, i left mengwei's and walked around to meet steph during her lunch break. we walked around broadway and went to ann taylor loft. i met up with florine at pinkberry to talk about our lives. then i eventually wandered into madison square park to read "an american doctor's odyssey" which i bought at strand for $1. it is pretty cool: set in the 1900s about a young doctor traveling to 45 countries when the main translatlantic transportation was in the form of boats. i like it so far.

tomorrow i'll be having bfast with anj, hanging with gloria, chilling with em and meera at night. it sucks saying good-bye. sigh, but if any of you guys are around, come to piano's on the 17th to see alexa perform! there's a cover, but it'll be worth it hearing her sing circles.

i just booked a new flight from california to nyc a week earlier than my previous flight. i can't believe i just spent $173.40 to replace a perfectly good seat... it will be worth it though :)

yesterday, i went to the forbes exhibit on 5th ave and 12th street. it was really lovely. then i went to book club at jordan's for a bbq. so good with our make-shift techniques (like how i chucked foil- and butter-wrapped corn on the cob onto the grill and how jordan substituted little forks for metal tongs)... regardless, the kebabs, chicken, corn, hot dogs and s'mores were scrumptious.
today, i finished the forever war. loved it.

i need to start a new book... suggestions?

later, i need to get a haircut and then off to potluck i go.
tomorrow, after work, i'll be meeting up with steph and mengwei.
friday, after work, i'll be getting momofuku with alexa and hanging out with whoever's around.
saturday, i may or may not stay in the city.. let's see if the kayaking plans with gloria work out.
sunday, i'll be in jersey... wash, rinse, repeat.

next thursday, i believe eymon and i will be biking around the city.
next friday will be governor's island during work for a lab outing!!!

then in two tuesdays, i'll be flying out to norcal. time is slipping through my fingers like sand.

a cause for celebration

dinner at the blue water grill, union square.

i had this fancy rose champagne with my red snapper and eggplant/pomegranate. then i went to meera's apt. there were a ton of people in the common room. from nyu alum: em, neehan, savita, saad, anjali, deb, gary, neil, jason (who also shared the same birthday!); to morristown folk: karen and their other hs friend; to uva: arjun and krishna. it was so much fun.

at r bar on rivington and bowery, we met up with hearst, jack, ben, adam, florine, barrett, bijal, puja, jordan, matt, etc etc etc. i kissed so many sweaty cheeks and foreheads, it was a little gross. haha, but all in all a good night. i went back to emily's and slept in her bed with her before i had to leave this morning to go to toms river for cynthia's surprise bridal shower. it was so great to have months of hard work pay off. we all had a great time and the food was delicious! then we went to buy a handle of captain morgan for $28 and richie got pbr for pong. i just threw the ball in but refrained from drinking... i'm getting too old for this.

"what a heart racer" -r de m

happy birthday meera.

i can't believe i move to hanover in two months.

what makes a good hair day good?

this morning i rolled out of bed at 5:40 am to the sound of my mom's loud alarm clock. i met up with rachel for the 6:30 am bus and we arrived in port authority around 8:10 (much later than anticipated since we sat on the side of the road for what seemed to be forever before heading into the lincoln tunnel). my hair kind of fell over my head, but i liked it. i don't remember brushing it. i don't remember doing anything to it be push it out of my face in the morning as i brushed my teeth. today, it was effortless. there were no expectations.

now i remember countless other times when i wanted to look presentable for an occasion. my hair wouldn't look right... up, down, half up - half down. there was too much anxiety about it that when the dust settled, there was only disappointment. i speak of my hair as metaphor of course. vi and i had a great conversation about expectations and "settling". but not in the way you expect. our social grooming as kept us waiting for something that is unrealistic. whether it is the perfect spouse, the perfect job, the perfect whatever... it's not real. and so long as the pros outweigh the cons, "settling" could mean the happiness we all seek in our lives. now there's the issue of trust and unconditional love. we should all take a look at that nyt article about what our pets can teach us about loving relationships...

wash, rinse, repeat

on monday, i moved out of my apt. before doing so, i went to the gym in my building for the last time. i went to brooklyn with emily to hearst's bbq. we had hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, italian pasta salad and an asian pasta salad with mixed berry pie. it was so great to just chill with everyone. there were sudden outbursts of downpour but all in all, we had a lot of fun. yesterday, i ate some spare ribs that my mom made and ginger shrimp for dinner. jena came over and we chatted about our lives. when i went for a run today, i noticed the lilac bush had lost its flowers. i noticed a bird flying by me was super flat, like a paper plane. i noticed that only some of the blocks on the streets had sidewalk, something i didn't notice when i would drive by in a car. it was really peaceful with the squirrels and birds roaming around all over the place. i had moo shu vegetable that my mom made with pancakes and hoisin sauce for lunch. it was so good. then for dinner, i had some meat and vegetables. of course, i had to top it off with cadbury chocolate with fruit and nut and haagen dazs strawberry ice cream. yum.

life in surburbia has made me tired. since moving out of my apt, i have felt a little sad about not being in the hustle and bustle of the city. although my sleep has been deeper and more rejuvenating, i miss nyc. i've unpacked all my things and repacked them for california in a few weeks and for medical school in august. i read. i watched movies. hot tub time machine is super funny. i really like john cusack as an actor, he's so awesome. the back up plan was predictable but really cute. alex o'loughlin is super handsome, and reminded me some people can be trusted. i think that's a big issue i have... letters to juliet was heartwarming and reminds you that feelings are unpredictable and surprising. i think i have had my fill of movies for a really long time (though satc2, the a-team, and grown ups are on my queue).