Leaving for school in about 6 hours. I don't wanna go back! This semester is not going to be easy.
• Physiology SHIT I forgot to buy a voice-recorder. I know the professor goes really fast D:
• Physics GenPhysII...here we go again. This class is really 3 classes: lecture, workshop, and 3-hour labs. I hate Physics. Damn you, bio requirement courses!
• French Cultural Traditions Hardest French Professor ever. Five books again, like last semester. Death. This is for my French minor...I make the worst decisions ever. But the alternate was grammar (ick!) with a crazier prof that I've had for 2 semesters already.
• Disease & Illness History course for Public Health minor. I like this prof, but he's a hard grader.
• The Dreaded MCAT Prep Course (Medical College Admissions Test.) Tuesday/Thursday/SATURDAY for 3 hours per class. Plus homework.

I'm kinda worried about time management with the added MCAT studying, but I also want to do really well and get into med school the first time around. Here's to hanging out in my new favorite library, I guess. The Robbins Library is our Medieval & English library, tucked away on the fourth floor of Rush Rhees Library. Ever year, I find new places in Rush Rhees; it's a property without the sense of propriety. It's almost like Hogwarts in the way that it tricks you and you get hopelessly lost and scared when you wander from the main circulation area. Robbins is worth the creepy trek, though. It's refined and it houses a small population of quiet hipsters.

New layouts! shunemo711 & _two_of_us (old icon journal). I love how minimalistic they are, even though the coding is creative. I wish I liked to code, siiiigh.

I am so full of gnocchi. Mum and I made it for the first time and used 3 lbs of potatoes! I love how she humors my cooking OCD :D We made pesto and sun-dried tomato alfredo sauces to go with the gnocchi. Ngaaah. I really don't want to leave my mum's kitchen and her awesome food.

( Food rant lol.Collapse )

I think I should probably lose at least 10 lbs. This is by no means a New Year's resolution (I never keep them anyway). I've been working out an hour each day with my mum, doing the workout shows on a fitness TV channel. They're so fun, sometimes we go for 2.5 hours! Hopefully I can find time to do this at school. So far I love it, let's hope I can continue. I'm bringing my new yoga mat and some pilates dvds, and planning on biking at the gym. Must stay focused, raaaah!

I actually wanted to share some design stuff today. Smashing Magazine has a great mish-mash of graphics and web-design tools, tutorials, and inspiration and never fails to melt my brain. For example, check out a page featuring amazing blog layouts that totally makes me want a new journal layout! Time to go hunting

Here's a list of HTML symbols such as ♥, ☃, etc. (saw stonyglenrider using the arrows on the flist! someone's ahead of the game!).

A list of horizontal-navigating websites leads to these beautiful layouts: one, two, and three!

Lastly, here's a cutie called LoveBento where you can make little anti-collages of things you love :D

owca's Christmas card she sent me was used as a grocery list by a member of my family D: I saved it from further doom. I loved it, Bea! And it's safe now!!

Watched a bit of Season 6 of House, and it made no sense. What the hell happened since Season 3, lol. • Finished Shoebox for the fifth time! I love them. • My muscles are sore. I never thought I would be addicted to pain like this! Yes! • I kind of want to do mission101. Has anyone made a list yet? I would like ideas :)

Going all the way back to the beginning of my journal has made me realize what a horrible person I was in high school. I can't believe people were actually friends with me! All I did was bitch and moan about my parents, boys, and lack of social status. I hardly ever wrote about real positive things (fandoms aside) and used disgustingly negative language to tout my flist against my enemy-du-jour. This included calling out some of my close friends in my frequent moody spells. What was wrong with me?

Without continuing the self-criticizing trend here, let me map out my psychosocial progression in order to put the issues out there in the open, as well as praise the healthy behaviors. Most of the teen angst can be attributed to the state of being a teenager. I was having my period, school was becoming more stressful, and family relations were changing as my parents and I coped with my demanding of freedoms. Still, plenty of my friends weren't as pissed off as I seemed to be.

Usually when I reflect on my high school and early college days, I visualize myself as shy, socially awkward, but also eager to please. Reading my journal entries definitely bursts that would-be innocent bubble as all of the hatred, cursing, and whining reveals what was actually going on inside my head. It was like reading someone else's diary, but every entry sparked some sort of vague flashback that I wanted to escape from immediately. I am not a fan of re-living the most painful, awkward moments of my life. Why did I write about them so much?

I did notice that as I started friending more LJ people that I didn't know in person, whether from the Harry Potter forums or from graphic design communities, my posts shifted from depressing accounts of my life to more fandom-related things. Aha, Progress towards the Positive? Sadly, I don't think so. Mainly, I would seek compliments by making pretty icons and layouts, or by stating goals, doubting myself, and fishing for praise and support. This trend of attention-seeking is natural, I would think, for most humans, but it doesn't disturb me any less when I saw myself creatively beg for attention and love.

What I should have been doing during high school was actually enjoying the experience and learning to socialize properly. I'm still a little shy and untalkative in person, but I've come leaps and bounds. Mostly I just want to remember the bad starts I got in high school and college in order to get a good start in med school. I have a year and a half to go!

I finally feel like I'm enjoying being a young person. I'm finally in a comfortable living situation off-campus with deep, progressive minds that are also genuinely caring and a load of fun to get into mischief with. My classes are finally interesting now that I'm actually taking Microbio and other upper-levels with invested professors. And as I've been learning more about myself, recognized why I think the way I do, and then challenged some of my beliefs (ok, very few :P), I'm not just looking forward to the future and daydreaming, but relishing the present as well. I've got so much to be thankful for: LJers who brought light into my teenage life, the wonderful opportunity to go to college, and parents that I get along with (now, at least...lol).

There's stuff to work on. Looking on the bright side of life is a good start, I think.

♥



PS: Booked tickets with the 'rents to see the Olympics in Vancouver next February :D

My parents went to hang out with their friends. When they get back I shall guilt-trip them for ditching me when I have less than 3 weeks of break from school. This is the shortest winter break in the history of collegiate winter breaks (20 days, to be exact). And they're not spending it with the daughter they hanker to spend as much time at home, with them as possible. Hypocrites. Sigh.

My fam does not celebrate Christmas, obvs, but we sure do take advantage of the holiday sales. Especially the day after Christmas! I am so excited. I have a really crunk list this year:

Military coat. Saw a good one in Rochester: double-breasted, golden buttons with engraved crests, ruffles on the butt :D

Hipster headphones. Totally need them to cancel out noise while I study. The study areas in my school's libraries are ridden with annoying people!

Yoga mat. Started yoga this semester on campus. You wouldn't believe how nasty the gym's yoga mats are. I want a pretty one, but I would settle for set of 2 plain mats since my mom needs one, too.

Cellyphone. Mine is pretty ghetto. But I will probs wait for our contract to be over.

SLR. Need good camera! But this is also for the future.

Yay home. Hopefully will get the chance to frolic in the snow tomorrow with the 'rents. Watched HP3 today, off to read Shoebox! Good night and Happy Christmas :)

Looking through my journal has made me realize what a silly little goose I am. Aww :)

So, I actually never plan on reading Twilight because I think there are better vampire novels in the world, but I am going to see the movie on Sunday with one of my suitemates. We shall play the kind of drinking games: The Twilight Drinking Game. Oh yes. It's real, and it's demanding that you play it. CLICK. Thank you, oh genius who will make this movie a milli times better.

I guess it's like the new big LJ fandom, but as much as I like being a part of fandom in general, there are just some things to which I should say no.

In other news, I can't believe how awesome my Rock Music in the 1970's class is. I'm listening to my Doors songs for homework to dissect the dark side of psychedelia. What?

RPATTZ RPATTZ RPATTZ

Note to self: Make another time to watch the new HP trailer...lkla;a;l;lasf;fl.

Good thing I couldn't feel it. There's this really annoying girl in my hall that pokes really hard as a form of greeting, and I'm stuck with her in a Bio workshop :(

So this is going to be all about college, skip if you don't like RLol. Ahaha.

Schedule (R stands for Thursday):
Bio MWF (w/ 2hr workshop, I don't know what we do in it)
Phil MWF (w/ 1hr recitation, reviewing concepts + discussion)
Chem TR (w/ 1hr recitation for hw review, 1hr lab lecture as an intro for the 3hr labs)
Digital Art TR (no extra things, but it's 3 hrs long)

Homework, blah. I like my professors, the Bio and Chem ones are especially quirky. There's a lot of reading for my two science courses, but it's manageable so far. For the first time ever, I can say I enjoy going to all my classes.

( This is a Youtube vid that my art prof, Marni, showed us in class. It's a 1960's dance video that's been reset to the most awesome rap song.Collapse )

I joined Grassroots, the environmental club at the University of Rochester. All the upperclassmen members are hippies, it's so great. I can't wait to work on all the crazy events Grassroots throws for the campus, like Recyclemania, which is a nationwide contest for colleges to see who can recycle the most per capita. Last year, UR came in 118th out of 200-something LOL.

Me and a hallmate started an Intramural Volleyball team called Blue Steel. Yeah, that's right. If we can get people to join, it should be an effing good time. I also joined the Badminton Club, but I don't know if I can commit. I hear that the coach is a senile old Asian lady who's fond of running drills...

So I'm doing pre-med and probably majoring within Biology, and I don't know how I'm going to juggle extracurriculars while maintaining near-perfect grades. Med school is freaking hard to get into as it is, but I want to improve my chances by doing work-study in labs or getting a job at Rochester's teaching hospital, volunteering for EMT, researching with professors, etc. etc. IT SOUNDS CRAZY, I'll admit it. I'm highly ambitious, but I want to enjoy college and take advantage of the fact that I'm at a great school.

Je ne sais jamais. Well I must go finish my hoarded homework before the weekend gets into full gear...the Frat Quad here is MAD HOPPIN. I don't really drink, but dancing and laughing at drunks and druggies is a great pasttime. Actually, the frat houses off-campus are more fun, but my friends think they're way too sketchy. Right, homework.

I haven't flisted for a couple weeks now, I shall have to catch up this weekend. Another assigment! Lol.

( OH man, forgot about the pictures. See my room!Collapse )

I'm leaving Monday morning. Seven hours from here to Rochester, NY. Orientation Week is way busy, I hear, so...

One or Two Week Hiatus :(


Didn't get the chance to flist this week...but I will once I'm settled and post pics of my dorm and campus! Till then.

A lot of my friends attending Virginia schools have moved into their dorms already. Never thought I'd be so sad and nostalgic about this. More than ever, I want to get together with people who are leaving next weekend like I am and hang on to the last bit of familiarity I have. Only two of my good friends are leaving after me (mid-September, can you imagine?).

I'm in the middle of packing and my room is a mess. And my parents are being buggers :[

( Sleep-over, shopping at an outlet mall, and my baby bird who I will miss more than my human family.Collapse )

Busy week ahead. Exciting, though. I must post my beginning-of-the-season predictions for the European leagues sometime...

( Read more...Collapse )

Ok, that was dumb. I saw Rush Hour 3 today and went to the new Coldstone Creamery; the movie was funny, especially when Jackie Chan sings and dances. Yes, there's quite a bit of that. He is one of my heroes.