The Lighthearted Wanderer

It was extremely nerve-racking leading up to the actual performance, but once I started speaking, it felt great! It's funny because a lot of people commented on how I didn't have any notes, but this is probably the most performed piece Archi did while I was at Brown, so it came pretty easily :). A couple of my classmates came, and one of our professors was there too! The next Monday in class, not only did she share with the class the fact that I performed, but she also said that she spent most of Saturday looking up other Archi videos and watching them! The whole experience has encouraged me to take on these opportunities, and even start working on my own pieces to share. It feels really good to be making a little niche for myself on the crazy large UCLA campus, and connecting with some good people along the way. 

Tonight, I'm going to perform at UCLA for the first time. I'll be performing one of Archipelag-a's pieces from the spring of my freshman year. I've practiced out loud, and in my head. I've made adjustments to the piece and mentally summoned the support of my sisters. What's great is that it's for a really important cause, and bringing the community together.  I hope I don't screw up! 

  What is the purpose of higher education?  (Purposes) Who should attend colleges and universities?  (Who are the students) What should be taught?  (Curriculum) Who should teach? (Faculty) Who should pay? (Finance) How should higher  education be structured and  governed? What is (should be) the role of the federal government? What is higher education’s responsibility to society?   8-10 pages due on Tuesday...let's go. 

Monday: In addition to getting a spontaneous haircut, I also had my Pecha Kucha talk - 20 slides, 20 seconds each = 6min40secs of very fast explanation. My topic was Baxter Magolda's theory of self-authorship. Tuesday: Work and play. I took the "morning" off by coming into work an hour or so later than usual. It totally made a difference though, knowing that I was going to stay up later that night to write my paper, simply being able to move through the morning without rushing seemed like a good idea. Wednesday: Tuesday and Wednesday sort of blended together since I only slept for about an hour and a half. In the morning I turned in one of the most atrocious papers I've every submitted, but the afternoon was a fun treat because I had my first student organization advising meeting. After the meeting, I met up with my buddy Matt, who was visiting from Japan. As usual, spontaneous me set out to explore the touristy favorites, as well as find a new spot. ...

So for the past few weeks, I've been watching New Girl. In addition to unintentionally getting advice (because literally...my life situations on tv!), I decided to go back to bangs. It's an adjustment but I do enjoy my new look!  This is Casper, he kept me company while I got my hair cut :) I hope Chelsea didn't get jealous.  

9.1.13 I started off September with a beautiful day trip of an adventures. One of my college buddies and I didn't have plans for Labor Day Weekend, and so we drove to one of the nearest places to LA without actually being in LA anymore...the beautiful beachy town of Santa Barbara.   The weather was crazy-amazing, blue skies, warm but not humid, and bright . I couldn't get over how bright it was. The pictures were just so beautiful!  This is from the top of the Courthouse in the middle of downtown. This lookout is about 4 stories high, and nothing else in Santa Barbara can be built higher than this tower.   Our first stop was the mission, which I had never been to (at least from my memory). It really wasn't as pretty or ornate as the churches in Europe, but it does have its own charm.   For brunch we went to a restaurant called Fig & State, (on Figueroa and State streets!), and our waited commended us on ordering so simply...I guess thos...

I know it's been a while...but I'm almost done with my first quarter of Grad School! It's been so wonderful making new friends and getting more experience in the field where I envision myself making a really great career. Life feels pretty wonderful, even considering some of the big changes I've been through the past few weeks. There's always going to be something on my mind, but I can tell that I'm moving in positive and forward directions. Maybe this year is going to be about "doing me" as some of my new friends have articulated to me, "You've gotta do you, girl." If there's a time when I should embrace that, it should definitely be now :) 

(via  http://www.terranea.com ) Sometimes it's just more fun to go outside and explore randomly. A few Sundays ago, my boy and I decided to get a little exercise and wandering time by the Trump National Golf Course in Palos Verdes, even though the June gloom was pretty all-encompassing. We were rewarded though, because that meant that not that many people were in the mood to go outside (and parking was easy). We found out that there are hiking trails in this area via yelp, and after parking we found ourselves on a friendly cement/asphalt path weaving between the greens of the golf course. I guess June gloom means it was a slow day for golf too because we only ran into one pair of golfers on our way. (via www.palosverdes.com) After a short walk, the path reached the coast, one direction continuing the friendly asphalt, the other with a more dirt/rock clearing like in the photo above. The asphalt looked like it was going to lead to more paths along the way, going al...

How did I meet this person that I'm talking with right now? Are there any funny details I want to share with them? First impressions, including asides about our states of mind at the time when we met...drunk or kid? (HIMYM Marshall anyone?) Why is it so hard to remember? How would it have been different if we met just a little while earlier? Or at a different point in time? If I enjoy your company now, would I have benefited from meeting you earlier and having more time to enjoy you? We absolutely have to talk through all these details of that time at so-and-so's party that this and that happened.  Why is it so interesting to re-hash over events that happened so long ago that I can't even remember the name of the person throwing the party? I wonder where he or she is now... What was your impression of me at this point in time? How about later? How about before? What changed?  Gosh...everything can be written and rewritten over and over again. Even memories aren...

So clearly I didn't finish the #BEDM (Blog Every Day in May) topics, I basically stopped the second I hopped a plane to the East Coast for Boston, Brown, and family shenanigans. I can't say I regret it though, since I really had one of the best weeks of 2013 with so many wonderful people: I went to  Harpoon  for their brewery tour with the boys almost immediately after I flew into Boston. The tour was alright, a little long and since it only took place in two spots inside the brewery, it felt like a long time of standing and listening. The tasting portion at the end was pretty great though, we each received a small glass and had about 10-15 min to drink as much beer of different kinds as we wanted! Campus Dance is one of my favorite events at Brown, and this was my first year as an alum attending :). The weather was horrible and it rained and was cold and could have been really miserable, but when you're with people you really care about, it all just seems...