Take a Little Time

So, it's either that I haven't had that much free time of late, or that it seems that the free time I have has gone to doing other things than blogging... Which is both good and bad, I'd think. (:

It's Labor Day weekend! These 3 days seem to have been going well, after I stayed back in the dorms. Oh, and it's September! My excitement cannot be contained.

Things I love to buy from Campus Center Dining:

• Cobb Salad (My lunch last Friday! Bacon [which I could actually care less for], egg, avocado, crispy chicken mmmmmm)
• Tazo tea bags (so far out of those offered [China Green Tips, Earl Grey, Awake, Passion + 1 more] that I've tried [Awake and Passion], Awake has already served me quite well)
• Aja's little mandoo packs & things with spicy ahi
• curly fries

On Friday night after a slightly saddening and short session in the lab, and an enjoyable quartet rehearsal going through wedding music, I came back to the dorm a little tired, but also very hungry. Cheyenne came over, and with Megan we headed out, set to go eat some ramen at Goma-Tei! It was getting kind of late (~7pm), in terms of eating dinner out at places that may need a wait and riding the bus for transportation, so once we got to the bus stop and saw the A leave right before our eyes, we plopped down and started considering our options. The cockroaches crawling all over the place on the bushes and the ground weren't so comforting, though.

Pretty soon the wait was getting to us and... a bathroom run was kind of needed xD. So instead we headed down to Curry House! After stopping by the music department and thanking the open bathrooms, we walked down, conversation turning to traffic, crossing streets, and driving.

I ordered the chicken cutlet curry udon (because I wanted to try their udon and curry looking soup!). Megan had her udon as well while Cheyenne had a chicken cutlet as well. I made kind of a mess eating... Curry colored soup leaves spots when they splatter! Hehe! My jeans had taken a little of a beating with some silica gel rubbed all over them as well as wet hands earlier that day, too...

After delicious food, we headed back, talked a bit, relaxed, attempted to do homework, and then slept. Heh.

Megan and I ran some errands at Ala Moana on Saturday (stopping at Shirokiya for lunch) before running back to the dorms to meet Chelsea in order to hop on the UH Spirit Busses to head to the stadium for the first football game of the season! It was such an experience... including the sunburn we all got from sitting in the section designated for students, directly in the path of the setting sun. It was worth it, though, because we won.

Sarah, Grace, Briana, and Alyssa were all there as well, and I learned a lot about the game from Sarah. You know me; I'm totally not a sports follower. I can say though, that I did have fun making noise and banging those white noisemaking balloon things together like the rest of them. And the wave was pretty fun as well! Much respect for the marching band, the cheerleaders, and the dance force.

It was overall a nice experience, though I don't really want to be around all those crazy dudes and dudettes who have obviously been drinking too much swearing and raging all over the place. Not nice. Positive attitudes, man! It was fun. Afterwards we grabbed ice cream from the Market before some Doctor Who and Torchwood was watched, Spanish homework attempted, and sleep achieved.

Today I got to see my family for a bit before they had to run off on their busy schedules. Aside from doing homework, I really have not done much today except eat. I tried that Passion tea bag and boy did it taste like lemongrass. As a result I drank it with some pieces of the giant konpeito in my mouth, dissolving.

There is a lot to drink to the refrigerator and a whole week ahead of us that seems like it will be entertaining! Plus, we've still got a day or so to enjoy (or rather, study through). I know I haven't been keeping up, but there are many other things which I should take more to keep up with, instead (like, coughcough, physics).  Hopefully I'll keep in touch, in more brief encounters, but for now, farewell!

Stuck in head: Borodin String Quartet No. 2 - Notturno

Here We Go Again

I'm all settled in the new dorm (it's air conditioned!) and ready to get back into the swing of school! Or, at least, knd of. This last week before school started was hectic with running errands and moving, so now it's time to take a little break and get set for tomorrow's surprises.

Sophomore year! I cannot believe it. Time passes so quickly now.

After I got my goggles back last Friday (after sitting through traffic going through Chinatown), I picked up my new set of textbooks from the bookstore, and went to read through them until rehearsal. My chem class this year will be more organic chemistry! I'm both excited about that and dreading it. The class size so far looks pretty small.

The next day included noming on delicious steak plate, from the high school's Project Grad fundraiser! Yummy food for the good cause of seniors enjoying their last day together as a class. That evening was filled with eating more yummy food and nice skies.

I don't know why, but I totally love the way telephone lines cut through the beauty of the sky. It's horrible, thinking about what the mess of these telephone lines reflect, but I enjoy the sight of them when the sun is setting (which is why of some of these photos have them in them).

After some fun time shopping for birthday gifts on Sunday (which involved going into Sephora and smelling a bunch of Philosophy scents), Monday was filled with running errands at UH, like ID validation, and looking for classrooms. Thank goodness I got those things out of the way. Good thing my professor changed for Sociology, 'cause now the book became cheaper!

The next day I walked over to the shopping center and got $5 off of a haircut. I chopped off my tail. If you haven't seen my new short hair, I'm sure you'll see it soon. I'm trying to make up for the shortness with use of bows and hairbands, but no matter what, I feel (and look like) a little child. Hehehe. Now I've got to remember to send in my hair for the donation, sometime. ^^ Good cause. On the way to rehearsal that night, I got told the story of legends/myths from PI, regarding  hair. Cultural exposure!

Wednesday was filled with more visitation of UH. I spent an hour in Hamilton attempting to increase my knowledge and understanding of possible future careers prior to making the meeting time with a professor that I had set up. After that, I had lunch at Ninja Sushi with my mother. It was very nice and the food was yummy (I very much enjoyed the tempura inside of this Tiger roll [if I remember correctly])! I love being with my mother.

IT WAS TOPPED WITH SPICY AHI! -drools-

Boy, do I long for such things now that I am in the dorms on this wonderful 10-meals-a-week meal plan. *_* After that I hung around at the mall before I got picked up for a wonderful ride to Phoebe's casa for a little get together before she left. ):

We watched Bridesmaids (comedic, but kind of horrifying at times because of the kind of comedy it was), and then started Tangled, along the while playing Scrabble and snacking on chips and cookies and such wonderful things. People also started sleeping.

It was a nice time together.

Thursday I moved into the dorm. Thankfully there wasn't the crazy line like there was last year when we were moving in with all the freshmen into the towers. I met our new suitemate, Anya! Super nice. Everything got settled in, and then I saw Cheyenne before spending the night killing tiny cockroaches and trying to deal with the cold of the AC and the dust stirred up. It's such a new setting! I also met our RA and moved in Megan's and Annie's boxes. There was also an ice cream social from which we so awkwardly escaped after eating some delicious brownies and ice cream. I haven't taken any pictures of the room yet, hehe. It's kind of a mess, but I'm just very entertained by this new space that I can decorate and make my own.

Friday was a shopping adventure with Grace, which was thorough and tiring. I went into Gilly Hicks for the first time, and strangely gained respect for it (in comparison to Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister). I didn't buy much (<$10), but that was alright because I got my exercise! I then had dinner at the dorms (too much packing of take-out boxes) before I headed home to a calmer sleep. Saturday made for practicing the violin, buying things for the room at Walmart, and then reuniting with Megan! Fun fun fun!

Today we went to Nijiya, bought some snacks, and took care of other errands in the dorm (setting microwaves/printers up), and actually...ate and walked a bunch. We practiced a lot of self control today, with food and snacks.

Tomorrow many new things begin. Hopefully I'll be ready for it all! Just gotta keep learning. (: Here we go again!

This is Ground Control to Major Tom

Space Oddity - David Bowie


It's been a whirlwind of a past few days and I don't know if I'll ever touch back down to a state of calm. I mean... excitement?! Fall semester is starting soon, the good friends are leaving, and there is the push and desire to savor these last few weeks, cramming in time together as much as we can.

I spent Tuesday cleaning, and reminiscing a bit, as a result. Going through old papers (which I really should throw away) definitely brings back memories of who we were before. I also stumbled across the wonderful This is Not a Book, which keeps being forgotten. I spent a bit of time pulling out pens and making my marks in the pages once again.

I taped 35 cents into that wishing well in my desire to accomplish things. I don't know if any of those wishes will come true...

Oh, yes, I also decided to paint all my nails the bold pink color from Joy from some time ago. I enjoy the shininess of the nail polish. (:

With things stacked neatly and floor areas vacuumed clean by noon on Wednesday, the MOB came over, and we had a wonderful time with videogames, music, and snacks.

There was spaghetti, mint tuxedos, white cheddar popcorn, pop chips, jellybeans... Mmm. Guitar playing, piano playing, singing, Disney, Madonna, Rock Band, chaos. I had the old record player up and running for a little while, too. Afterwards, we all crammed our way to Pearlridge to enjoy dinner together (though we were getting pretty tired). California Pizza Kitchen!

I ordered the Greek. Delicious~ These pizzas that look like they've just had salads dumped on them are not that bad... Though Renee's BLT looked like it had too much L and not enough B. After we had our fill, we perused Borders for a bit (of course I gave in to the sales and the wonderful silly Knock Knock note-pads) before we headed to Fun Factory where fun was to be had!

Our eternally musical souls always found us at games requiring some sense of rhythm. It was fun to watch the others play (and be pro!). I kind of wanted to play a shooting game, but eh, violence and money spending can be avoided until another time. =D

It was an amazing adventure.

Today I returned to the high school to speak at the Alumni panel for the wonderful high school upperclassmen and such that so kindly took the time to listen to us (-coughcough-). It was great seeing everybody, and feeling that kind of camaraderie gained from having all had experienced something that the group before us had not yet. I can't say that what I said was particularly helpful or interesting, but it was enjoyable, and there was a lot to nod my head to.

The lunch they had for us afterwards was amazing. Too bad I didn't get to try the desserts before I left. However, that's probably for the best because they looked so decadent. My mother picked me up and we finished the remainder of our lunches together at Moanalua Gardens, before heading to Ranch to drink some of Bee's taro (smoothie style) bubble tea and to purchase some other goods. I love taro flavored things. I also love that it's purple.

I got my sisters elephants from Watanabe Bakery 'cause they were cute things like that. (So pro this sidewards picture yeah?)

I'm not sure why I told my mom I wanted bubble tea on the very day that we would be tasting all our practice bubble teas for our club's upcoming fundraiser. When I got dropped off there... it was interesting, to say the least. Cute rabbit! There really was a lot of bubble tea to try (yay strawberry, honeydew, coffee, mocha, milk tea flavors), but my favorite part was definitely the bubbles. I met some new people, spoke a little, drank a lot, and left with a pretty content stomach, haha.

Tomorrow is yet another adventure (which I need to practice for). See ya!

Remembering Sunday

It's been a while since we've gone on such a shopping adventure as a family... and it turned out to be an amazing day, though we spent a lot of money. Does money = happiness? Well, only if you desire material things.

Since YSI rehearsal had to be attended, the rest of us went and chowed down on mom's food at Ala Moana. Then, instead of shopping there and waiting, we headed off to Office Depot, got my sister her TI-84 Silver Edition (my favorite, by far, is till the TI-89!). I also picked up some quick use black pens (to counteract the blue I've been using all of this past year!), a few small cork bars (since our new dorm rooms won't have huge cork boards like the towers), the oh-so-necessary computer-to-printer cord, and some black expo pens (for the dry-erase boards that I have still been putting to good use!).

Nordstrom Rack was right next to Office Depot, so, for the first time ever, we headed in there. It was an interesting experience, leading to not so hot comments from our parents. It resulted in my new description of certain types of blouses as "bat shirts". To the pending horror of others, I got a basic pink tee and another very-not-my-usual-style blouse. I've just got to figure out what to wear under it. (This actually seems to be a recurring problem with many blouses I purchase). I've actually be on a rut of buying more basic pieces, since my closet surely lacks them. We ran into Kiyana's mom (surprise!) and then soon headed out of there to... Waikele Outlets!

I got my Jack Purcells. My happiness is palpable in the form of hugs. Now I have enough pairs of sneakers to last me three more years (they better!). We went into Everblue Casuals afterwards, in which there were lots of cute clothes that I got none of (but my sister got many of). It was fun, though. And there were owls.

I've tackled my pictures folder on my laptop, checking them with the external hard drive that they should be all saved to, and succeeded in clearing up about 2 GB of space (not that i was in dire need of it). Cleaning definitely makes me feel better about things! It's probably why I'm so anxious to get moving to the dorms.

I wrote on a lot of envelopes yesterday night. Maybe I'm getting used to 0.5 point G2 pens.

I did a bunch of easy sudoku today (though I was busting my brain out over it), had a chat with the choir director, and made soup. I mentioned this a few days ago, and today I was told "You're cooking today!" when I woke up. However, it didn't quite turn out as it should have. That might have to do with the fact that instead of water and white wine, I used chicken broth made from a bouillon cube, and soybeans instead of peas. =P I also had no parsley. Regardless, it was interesting as the arborio rice was fluffy and the potatoes were overcooked to the point of being squishy (too much liquid).

It seems like this week definitely will be filled with more adventures! I'm looking forward to it all!

If cleanliness is next to godliness...

It's no secret that I'm a packrat. I have a hard time throwing things away, so my specialty has become the act of moving around things so that they fit better. There are few times where I find myself in a detached state, and those are the times that I try to drive myself to clean, asking myself, "Do I really need this?" and telling myself, "You won't really look at this in the future." The reality is that there are so many things that I'm keeping for sentimental value, to look back upon in the future... but why am I so concerned about preserving the present for the future, which is uncertain and "far away"?

Nevertheless, I tried to do some cleaning today, on my laptop, out of not liking having the documents folder so heavily cluttered. I didn't even try to clean the pictures folder yet. So far all I've accomplished has been the cleaning of one of my USB drives, upon which I have left all of my high school work upon. It's actually surprised me how full it is -- thus, the need for cleaning. It kind of stunk to have to keep deleting all the duplicates. It also seems I'm still not quite ready to let some things go (I mean, will I really go back and do that worksheet of practice problems?). It's so silly, but at least I did my best by organizing everything neatly into folders. ^^;;

I also washed my pair of sneakers. Shoelaces are the worst! I really want to buy some Jack Purcells soon (well, I should try to find if I like them in real life and not just how they look on the internet first, eh?).

I've got to tackle the photos and my room soon, 'cause it'll be back to the dorms in less than two weeks! It seems Frear will have less of an open feeling of storage space, so I think I'll have to learn to hold on to things less and live "minimalistically" (made up word?). That meaning, I'm going to eat, study, limit computer time, and sleep, sleep, sleep. Lack of proper eating and sleeping habits probably ruined me last year, so things have got to change!

Off to refuel! Laters.

See you driving 'round town...

As the summer slowly fades away, and fall begins to show itself with the increase frequency of cloudy skies and rain, it seems the amount of events being planned is increasing!

The other day I spent time at the shopping center with my grandmother as we looked at clothes (something she enjoys - boy does my grandmother love her dresses). We went into Down To Earth, which I highly enjoy if only for those self-dispensers of snacks, grains, granola, and other things. However, my grandmother did not do so well dealing with how cold it was, haha. I got some arborio rice that I will soon attempt to make some risotto-like soup with! Following directions from a recipe found online, of course, haha.

Mmm. Everything looked so delicious!

Yesterday I had the enjoyable pleasure of meeting up with Renee and Phoebe at the mall to grab lunch before heading over to Toma Karaoke. We headed into a few stores, and then bought our filling meals (shrimp cutlet curry, ramen, and a poke bowl), having fun observing things in the food court, particularly people, the elderly and the tourist children).

Such a neat thing to see as we walked over from the bus stop!

It was really hot and sunny by the time we headed over to karaoke. But in the wonder of the room with one broken light and the oh-so-familiar blue-and-white Christmas icicles, we enjoyed our time singing at the tops of our lungs and just overall creating a racket in our enjoyment. ^^

Heh. I sang "Never Gonna Give You Up". Yeah man. That's how we roll... or, uh, Rick Roll.

Excuse me for that just now. >_>

Today I finished the less difficult (in comparison to other things I've read this summer) novel "London Calling" by Edward Bloor, and well, it was interesting, but still saddening. I don't know why most of the books I've been reading have been having these bittersweet endings, eh.

A couple more weeks and it's back to the dorms! Better be seeing everyone before they head back to their respective colleges. =/

Why Even Try

Living a lie? (Why Even Try; Theophilus London)

Don't live a lie. Be yourself, act on impulses... but know where the true you will place you in accordance with the society that lives by lying appearance, and accept it.

Star papaya! Sweet and delicious.

Anyway, while my sisters went through their new day of registration for their first year of high school together, I absorbed myself in books borrowed from the library and the end of Start Trek Voyager, season 2. Don't ask me for commentary on it because I feel like the occurrences of each episode simply enter my mind and then promptly depart. Furthermore, I followed more links to photos of beautiful foods with recipes I optimistically deemed easy enough to try in the future! As a result, I also blended together milk, ice cream, and chocolate chip cookies in an attempt to make a milkshake. I think I didn't use enough ice cream.

When my sisters arrived home, I began my bold attempt to make these Calzones. I think this has been the only instance I've mixed together things all on my own. I definitely made a mess (I mean, why did I think it was a good idea to attempt making dough from scratch? I do love the beauty of yeast, though), and by the time my mother arrived home, flour and sticky bits were all over the place. Risen dough is just fantastic to touch, haha. Attempting to slice mushrooms and bell peppers thinly did add to the fun (hey, I like cutting vegetables!)

I probably only think cooking is fun if I have a recipe to follow (like mixing chemicals together in the lab). Sooooo, I guess that means, in both aspects, that in time I will have to find fun in improvising, instead. Instructions that lead to a task being carried out perfectly are just so beautiful, though! Paired with a strong sense of order and control.

The result of today's adventures:

Filled, topped, and ready to bake!

One of Four baked and split into two!

Mmmm. We were all pretty full after the consumption of two and a half of the four total calzones made.

Suffice to say, I have achieved something today. ^^ Yay for the beginning of August.

P.S. This is a good example of why you should even try to be yourself; follow your impulse and perhaps you will reach many little happy moments!