Beers and Cheers!

Congratulations to Alinna and Hideyo Satake!! Your wedding was oh so beautiful. Some choice memories: Sausage McMuffins, Girls showing our guns, Gum spitting picture, Pizza My Heart, Al and I become very good friends, the hoedown "Have you ever seen a frog kissin' a log down by the bay," Al looking like an absolutely radiant bride, the tears, the vows, the decorated car, dancin' the night away. I can't believe the Spice Girls made an appearance at your wedding! HAHAHA. Like I said, "Hideyo, you've landed yourself in a circle of girls who are really..uh...special."

A more proper post will follow with more pictures. But for now, I leave you with one photo from Al & I shopping for dresses. These ended up being the dresses we got too!

A picture post.

see fun friends play.

see old friends laugh.

see girl friends be girly and stupid and us.

see boyfriend be awesome.

see my one and only (sister, that is).

There are lots of people that I don't have pictures of but would want to put up. I love my friends and family. I am enormously blessed to have people who love me, whom I can love, who are not afraid to be stupid or lame, who understand that food feeds the soul, who believe that sharing is caring, and who are just all in all awesome. I love you guys!

Merry Christmas (I think that means that I'm not posting until after Christmas...we shall see!)

Gobble Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving was fabulous this year. How did 4 days disappear so quickly? Recap and reminscing...the weather changed. My scarves have made an appearance. I love the cold crisp nights. Coats, scarves, (gloves soon). Too bad it doesn't snow here. Perfect timing for weather change. our streets in mountain view were absolutely GORGEOUS the past month. Who says we don't get fall colors here? In my neighborhood, we certainly did.

Recap and reminscing (warning: boring):

wednesday night: Went to the warriors-spurs game with Jason, Justin, Alicea, and Hung. 1st NBA game of the season. 2nd in my life. We got our butts kicked. Mike Dunleavy is useless. He was my neighbor when I lived in Oakland. We used to shop at the same Safeway. But, he's not so helpful on the court. I think he shot a whoppin' 2 points. . It's ok...Pistons-Warriors should be less of a "hellacious ass-whooping." Where did Evelyn come up with that phrase? from the guy who was sitting behind us at the game. Who was trying to teach the high school girls he was with about basketball. He explained to them that the game that night was a H.A.W. (too lazy to type it all again). He even said, "repeat after me. [H.A.W.]"

thursday: played scrabble, watched Two Towers, ate a huge meal with my cousins, aunts, grandmothers, sister, dad, second cousins, my mom's cousins kids twice removed by law (i have no idea who they were), stayed up really late playing video games.

friday: soldered. Yes, soldered. Bought a solder and fixed my garage door opener. You can find everything on the internet (and at Radio Shack!). Helped Alinna move. Scrubs and dinner with allen and mel. Almost went to the saratoga get together.

saturday: slept till 11:45. Woohoo! Grubbed with dad and jess. Hung out at my dad's house. Boba with Karen. Dinner with Thomas, Es, Kenn. Lots of laughs. Excited about hanging out with Es more often. we will make it happen!

sunday: slept till Noon. WOOHOO! Pho, Boba, and Ikea. I *heart* the east bay. Also because Jason lives there. =). (sorry. end gush here.) Jason's mom's birthday dinner with enough food to feed 30 people.

And alas here we are. I refused to go shopping amid the madness. I can't seem to handle malls on weekends. I'm very quickly overwhelmed by the crowd.

Time with people. Time to sleep. Time to myself. Time to eat. This is the stuff of life.

Dangers that Lurk
And so, today, it was with great resignation that I woke up and made my way to work. How did I reward myself for such a great feat?

I went to the mall.

It is really dangerous to work a 5 minute walk away from the mall. That's a 45 second drive. Which gave me 58 minutes and 30 seconds to shop during lunch. And I bought a new fall coat!!

I also bought a pair of 7's. I will never wear cheap jeans again. For a girl who wears jeans nearly any moment when she doesn't have to dress up, the fact that they were on super sale at Nordstrom's made them impossible to resist.

It's nice working so close to the mall because then I can hunt for bridesmaids shoes* constantly and get the best deal ever ($20). But, that also means I go with some frequency. At least Target isn't right next door. I'd go there every day.

Ok. I really should do work. That's what they pay me for.

(edit for MonkeyMar: I am a bridesmaid. I don't have any yet. In fact, I don't need any yet. Tee hee).

To Infinity and Beyond

We celebrated our first bachelorette this weekend. Hoorah! A wonderful weekend. Like Karen said, I really don't think it's possible to have so much fun packed into a mere 28 hours.

We took our favorite lady to a surprise trip to Napa which included tasting sparkling wines, eating good cheese, outlet shopping, hearty-wonderful-best-tomato-soup-ever-bacon-in-everything French food, a day at the spa in Berkeley, Zachary's, a combined total of nearly 100 years of memories with Alinna, laughter, and tears.

Quality time with some of the most amazing women that I know. Truly special.

Of course, Alinna had to do embarassing things like wear a tiara and a sash and endure comments but tipsy old ladies like, "Look! It's a real princess! I've never seen one before!"

Random snippets:

• Alinna, you can sing in the lobby of the hotel since you're not wearing your tiara or you can try to tackle the one who stole your tiara (that would be this one:)
• Jenie and Seri picking up Alinna.
• Bumping "Lucky" with windows rolled down, singing along at the top of our lungs as we approached Domaine Chandon (yes, we were the obnoxious Asian kids making all the noise in Napa).
• Mmmmm...Bubbly. I caved and bought a $50 bottle. Come over and drink it with me post-MCAT. That would be in April.
• The nicest, friendliest J. Crew sales people EVER. Richard the restocking guy gave Alinna a $10 gift card for being the bachelorette! And Dan the ringer serenaded me by seing Tevin Campbell. He also proceeded to do an MC Hammer dance.
• Quality time at the spa. Kapooh being poopy faced about getting one of the treatments. We should hang out in steam room/saunas all the time. (AL, have you figured out how yours works yet?!?!)

Congratulations to my favorite lady!! You are getting married to a wonderful (although we have some awfully embarassing pictures of him) man. We are excited to walk with you as the paths lead. Love you!

Happy Birthday to one of my favorite ladies!! You are precious, beautiful, and oh-so-much fun to be with!

And yes, we're on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

If I could turn back time….(yes, the Cher song).

I’m sorry to say that the song is stuck in my head.

But let’s take a journey down memory lane.

One month ago: I watched Thomas and Esther get married with great hurrah! I spent the night crying because I missed my mom so very very much.

Two months ago: I was recovering from the greatest vacation ever to Hawaii with some of my favorite friends and trying to get adjusted to a new work place, a new commute, new coworkers, and the single life.

Three months ago: I was working hard at doing absolutely nothing for the last 2 weeks before my job started. Would wake up at 10am everyday, watch Dawson’s Creek and wait for friends to get off of work. Making new friends like Mel and Esther.

Six months ago: I was starting my 5th and final term at Hopkins. I was frantically trying to hammer down my thesis (aka Capstone), desperately trying to get my advisor to call me back. I presented my Capstone and submitted it without much fanfare. You would think that after your thesis presentation there should be balloons and streamers. Quite anti-climactic.

One year ago: I was living in Baltimore, exhausted from having flown back and forth across the country nearly 6 times in 2 months. Struggling to comprehend loss, grief, sadness, and how it is that life keeps moving.

Two years ago: I was working at a frantic pace, being a disease cowboy* at the State, protecting us all from West Nile! Haha. If only it were so noble. Things were really stable back then. Dating Jason, living in Oakland, going to church, driving my mom to chemo every week. Not really the happiest time of my life, though.

Five years ago: I was living in Royston #306, the apartment that essentially was always open to everyone. Senior year in college, ready to be done. Hanging out a lot with HMAP folks, sad that most of my friends had graduated. Studying for “sex class”** with Mary and Hideyo (who would 5 years later become my roommate and my best friend’s fiancée, respectively). Recuperating over a lost friendship (which time truly has restored).

Ten years ago: Worrying about who liked who in high school. Dealing with all the drama that was HOC. Building great friendships at school with the likes of BASIC PIG, the girls who are still my best friends today.

Character growth is a funny thing. It happens so subtly. Hard to see the forest through the trees, right? But it’s really amazing to watch others grow over time, especially kids because their growth is especially accelerated. For even myself, however, time does a lot. A lot of things come full circle, a lot of unexpected things happen, a lot of healing happens. Surprising adventures (who would’ve thought I would live in Baltimore?!)

Back to the future
My coworkers and I did a fun activity yesterday (yes, we’re quite a self-directed bunch). We were asked to list our work goals, our professional goals, incentives that help us achieve, and our 10-year goals.

So, here’s my ten-year goal:
To be an infectious disease doctor working for state or local public health managing programs in a specific disease area, practicing clinical medicine every now and then. Married, family. Hanging out with good people. Still having fun.

Footnotes
*Disease Cowboy: the new title that we, epidemiologists, have given ourselves. This involves us wearing cowboy hats, riding ponies, and carrying guns.

**Sex class: ok, gutter brain. We learned about the biology of reproduction. Even though our professor was a very dirty old man who liked to show us videos of sex-change operations. Blech. I’m giving myself the heebeejeebees.

Darned Musical Tag..

Al just tagged me...fine fine..i'll play along..not like I should be working or anything...

The Rules:List five songs that you are currently loving. It doesn't matter what genre they are from, whether they have words, or even if they're any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying right now. Post these instructions, the artists, and the songs in your blog/xanga. Then tag five other friends to see what they're listening to.

My songs of the moment:
1. swing life away - rise against
2. fantasia on a theme by thomas thallis - ralph vaugh williams
3. slow motion - david gray
4. lights - journey
5. come fly with me - frank sinatra

and now i tag:
wugraph
xacto
monkeymar
kennmun
annechiu

you're it. no tag backs.

3 C's

Community.
Thanks, ladies and husbands and boyfriends of ladies, for a wonderful evening last night! Great food (salsa, ice cream, and strawberry milk soup)! Even greater company. I am publicly committing to more regular dinners with y'all. Rotating houses. On occasion, we may have to ditch our boyfriends/husbands for girls night. But, many times boys will be involved too!

It is good to spend time with girls...girls who are old friends. Girls who are like home to me. Girls who go to bed early! hahah. And it is good to be in the company of cheeseballs like Paul and Ben who like to pretend to eat whole, living, cows.

Funny story from last night:
I was talking to Paul and Elaine about a friend who lives in Syracuse.

Ev: "Do you guys remember Jason.....?"
Elaine: "Jason who???"
Ev: "umm...jassssoooonn...(thinking....) oh! what's his last name!?!?!?"
Janet: "Ho?"
Elaine: "HO!?! Janet, you think ev would forget her own boyfriend's last name?!?!?!"
ok, maybe it was only funny if you were there. we can reenact it for you someday if you ask us nicely.

I've been longing for community, and I've been blessed with community a plenty. Friday Night Krew (welcome back newlyweds!), LAME, Ohana, the old school BP/Saratoga girls and extensions of that circle, great roommates, quality time with jason, and now regular dinners with this crew. Time with people is so deeply satisfying. I do, however, need to make time and make it a point to spend one-on-on time with people. As much as I see people in groups, I miss some alone time with folks.

Calm.
My life is settling in nicely. Our house feels like home now. Work is settling down. Have lots of cool people to hang out with. My classes start soon. I've been reading a lot. (We didn't get cable. Who would've thunk it that if I didn't have 60 channels to watch on tv, I'd watch a lot less tv and have very few hankering pangs of "oh, I wish I had food network..Rachel Ray, where are you?!").

Contest.
Mary, Janet, and I are also soliciting names for our house. If we pick the name that you suggest, umm...you can...come over. hahaha. and maybe i/we will feed you (can't make promises for the other roommates. Please comment.

Best brunch in....a long time.

Jason and I went to brunch on Sunday at Country Gourmet. I had the best food. I had one of the specials, the Banana French Toast Combo.

Two slices of really yummy french toast made with thickly sliced challah bread. (thick=the thickness of 2 slices of normal bread). Topped with a caramel syrup, sliced almonds, and a grilled banana. Served with a side of honey rum butter. SOOOOOO good. And suprisingly, not terribly sweet. I could still taste the challah bread amid the millions of flavors in my mouth that all melded so perfectly.

Served with 2 eggs, my way (over hard). And a cup of mixed fruit (with strawberries that were oh so sweet).

Top it off with a bottomless cup of hazelnut coffee, and the best breakfast buddy ever.

mmm....

post script: It's amazing how when I'm productive over the weekend, and I feel like my life is in order, Monday mornings are really quite manageable. I did SO MUCH this weekend. House work (LOTS of it), car fixing stuff, exercise, time with friends and roommates, reading. But it wasn't the exhausting fun. I still slept 9-10 hours each night. Our house looks and feels like we live there now.

I'm my mother's daughter...

Forever with me...September 3, 1952 - September 8, 2005

A page is turned.

I just had dinner with my Ohana (the friends I went to Hawaii with). As we sat around eating this huge chinese meal, polishing off a bottle of Merlot, and talking, it became very apparent that we are adults. The topics of conversation (besides the normal relationship, eharmony, "i almost asked a girl out" type talk), we talked a little about abortion, friends/acquaintances who have children (married and not), and a friend's funeral.

A year ago, a piece of my childhood vanished; I took a big leap into adulthood. A year ago today, I started a 7 day stay in a hospital, sleeping a total of 20 hours in 7 days, and losing one of the most important people in my life. The longest, most horrible weeks of my life. The images and memories of that week are indelible, often so vivid and clear that they block the smaller, subtle, sweet memories of 24 years.

The stress that I'm currently under is not helping, as I never expected this rush of grief, sadness, longing, and loneliness. The strain is just exacerbating that. I find myself afraid of being left. Not just in major things like forever, but in the tiniest small things (lunches, parties, rides)...feeling excluded, left behind, or left out. Fear of being left.

I miss her sorely. I miss her wisdom, her smile, her laughter, her calm perspective even amid the torrential waves around her. I miss her cooking. I miss her hugs.

Longest week...

Wake me up when September ends....

Vegas, baby, Vegas.

The last of my travelling sagas for the next few months...

Memories from Vegas (in no particular order).

Treasure Island = T. I. Late late night conversations. Burning feet at the pool. Munchies. Canada boys. Hawaii boys. Cabbie trying to rip us off. “Stolen” club passes. Slap-slap-slap in Allen’s ear. Cell phones. Terrace Cafe. Glitter on Allen’s shirt. Scandalous pictures. French Fries. Hennessey. Sean, the limo driver, who talks about having passes, but doesn’t actually have anything. Let’s wheel the walgreen’s cart all the way back to TI. “But, Trip, I looooove you!” Slap-slap-slap. Calling Jon, but never seeing him. Ding! The elevator is so loud! Drunk girls falling out of their seats. Losing big time at Pai Gow. Winning it back and then some. Wynn buffet. Mmm..Pizza. Clajisters and Shave-One. “They’re aren’t any hot guys here!” “What are we?!” “oh, except for the ones that we’re with.” Slap-slap-slap. LAMER.

And that my friends, is what happens when LAME does Vegas.

On the beaches of Waikiki...No Worries No Lies....

Pictures of Hawaii below!! Man! I wanna go back soon! wonderful time. If you want to hear stories, ask me! They're so much more fun to tell in person!

Coming back has been pretty rough. I feel like I move so much slower now. Work has been exhausting. The job has been great. My coworkers are super fun and the work is really exciting and I'm definitely passionate about it. But, my commute is pretty long. And I'm definitely having a hard time adjusting back to working life. What? I have to get up early? Which means I can't stay up till 12 or 1am? Shucks...

I'm excited (and stressed) about moving in a week and a half! Gosh...i'm exhausted. There are so many things going on! Adjusting to work, preparing to move, going to Vegas on Thursday with some of the best hang out friends ever. Long - Allen - Mel - Ev (aka. L-A-M-E). Quality people, quality fun.

I'm rambling. Non sequitors. I'm watching Gilmore Girls and folding warm laundry (mmm...one of my favorite activities!) . Ok, enough. Enjoy the pictures of lots of beaches!

Ewa Beach. A random local beach that we stumbled upon. There were only like 4 other people there. Too bad we only stayed there for a couple hours. Janet, what are you looking at? Wave?

The beautiful west shores of Oahu. We drove until the road ended. Absolutely gorgeous as the sun started to set. We tried to get drinks at this place whose sign read: "Dave and Barry's. Good food. Solid Drinks."

Kailua Beach. The most beautiful beach!! We did lots of laying out in the sun. And that's Allen on the right.

We went to a luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center, the same place where we learned how to hula and where I took video of the guys shaking their tushies. But, I will not post said video =).

Sun, sand, and surf! Oh, and lifeguards! I got to take a ride on a lifeguard's ATV ;-). hahaha.

Waimea Bay, North Shore. Allen took this picture. What did Allen say after he took this beautiful picture? "Man, I'm good!"

North shore....It was so beautiful!! The rain and humidity reminded me of Baltimore! But so much more beautiful. That night, we had 2 pitchers of beer and pizzas for dinner. We were happy folks!

We learned a hula that went with a tune that went like this "On the beaches of Waikiki...."

Sea turtles! Our last night in Hawaii. We had food that was just "alright," great drinks and great conversation at Duke's. Look how tan and relaxed we are!

Don't Worry About A Thing...

...Cuz every little thing's gonna be alright.

Back from Hawaii. I'm relaxed, tan, and in a good place. Going to the beach every day with friends that have become ohana ("ohana means family") is the greatest thing in the world. Kenn, Allen, and Janet are perfect travel buddies. We had no fighting, except for when Allen punched Kenn. We did a lot of beach bumming, laying out, swimming, snorkelling, and hula-ing. It's hard to put our trip into words. Lots of laughing, lots of singing, lots of joking around (scuba?), and lots of good memories.

Oh, and I won the championship round of our hearts tournament by shooting! woohoo!

Pictures will be posted soon.

Another one bites the dust

The end of 2005 and 2006 are going to be crazy wedding periods.

Two of my nearest and dearest will be getting married. That's a whole other level from just attending or even coordinating weddings for friends. But, when they're girls you've known since you were like 10. OMG.

Congratulations to the latest to fall to the other side!! I love you and your team so much! It has and will continue to be such a wonderful joy and privilege to walk along side you!!

Karen will have the duties of posting pics this time.

Epidemi-what?

My boyfriend wants me to blog.

Somehow, I don’t have much to say lately. I’ve been enjoying unemployed life. Work starts on Monday! I only have 4 more days of freedom! Yikes!

**edit: Work starts a week from Monday. They pushed back my start date because I need to get fingerprinted and get a physical first. **

I can’t believe that I’m actually an epidemiologist. Not a program coordinator, but an epidemiologist. I have a profession. Granted, it’s a profession that most people don’t know anything about. The most common question I get when people ask me what exactly an epidemiologist is: “Do you study skin?” (Although, most of the time, it’s Allen being an ass and jumping in and asking that.). So, here we go kids. Your first (or for all you other PH people out there maybe your eight millionth) public health lesson.

Epidemiology (or just epi). From my epi 1 textbook:

“Epidemiology is the study of how disease is distributed in populations and the factors that influence or determine this distribution.”

The five main objectives of epi are:
1) to identify the etiology of the cause of a disease and the risk factors for a disease
2) to determine the extent of disease found in the community
3) to study the natural history and prognosis of disease
4) to evaluate both existing and new preventive and therapeutic measures and modes of health care delivery
5) to provide the foundations for developing public policy and making regulatory decisions relating to environmental problems.

Clear as mud?

Basically, I’ll be investigating outbreaks of diseases (West Nile, flu, etc.) and also helping develop policy for the county in terms of health services, disparities, and emerging diseases.

Ok, no more work talk.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
Your playing small does not serve the world
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
So that other people won’t feel insecure around you.

We were all meant to shine, as children do.
It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.

Ways to Make Money While Eating Beef

Jason and I went to eat steak tonight. It was an interesting night. The first thing was that our waiter looked, talked, and acted like B*nYu. It was very strange. But, his name was Gary.

Anyhow, I ordered a filet mignon. It was $17.99. I ate about half of my beef (super yum) and asked our waiter to pack up the rest. About 5 minutes later, the manager comes by to tell me that my leftovers got dropped, so he gave me two choices: 1) He could have the kitchen grill up a kid's portion sirloin steak or 2) He could "give me something for later." Thinking it over, I decided that my leftover filet mignon was worth more than an $8 kid's sirloin. So, I asked for the "something later." The manager walked away.

Gary returned and apologized for dropping my leftovers. I wasn't even bothered by the fact that my leftovers didn't make it back to the table. I don't think I could've eaten more steak as leftovers anyway. He offered free dessert, but Jason and I were pretty full. So we passed on that.

The manager returned after we paid and gave me a $20 gift certificate. $20!? That's more than my whole meal! And I got to eat! I was expecting like $10. Not bad. Anybody want to eat steak with me in July sometime??? I've also been told that this restaurant has the best Sam Adams on tap.

Some people said that it was time to change the picture that was at the top of my blog. So, I've changed it. Enjoy.

Happy. Here's to more hangouts!

Me with Allen's friends. Who I consider friends now. Me, Long, Mel, Gene. Fun people to party with.

I made new friends. Me, Allen, Mel, Long. After wandering through the streets of SF, we drank a lot of coke, ate the world's best pizza, saw Jen and and her friends (sorry, no hapa girls). It was great getting our groove on and all dressing alike.

Our graduation dinner. Pimp Erick with me, Jen, Maria, and Nina. Hot stuff. The ladies that is. =)

Graduation!! What a wonderfully happy day. The ceremony was super stuffy and formal. No pomp and circumstance. No cheering for people. I can't believe that a year just came and went! madness.

Cruisin' in the Baltimore Inner Harbor on the last day of classes. We got jiggy to random Turkish music that only the dj danced to, but still an awesome way to close out a crazy year!

Richness (warning: gushing ahead)

I'm experiencing a richness and fullness of community that I've missed. Thanks to the beautiful ladies at the duplex for hosting a super-fun, super-yum, super-friends welcome home bbq. Great meat, great friends, great booz, great times.

I also love being unemployed. Yes, it's only been 2 weeks. And I know that it will get old and boring. But, until it does...I've just been running around spending evenings with friends and jason, spending days with my sister, watching Dawson's Creek every morning, exercising, and just being here.

I am happy. I'm happy from chilling with my sister who is a riot. I will miss her so much when she leaves this weekend!! I'm happy because folks like Jason and Sam will drive down all the way from Alameda just to hang out. I'm happy because I get to spend time with my pops. I'm happy because my best friend and I get to sit around, talk about nothing and everything in the middle of the afternoon in our pj's, reading grocery store ads, and eating cold chicken. I'm happy because I get to go swimming, lie out in the sun, and watch basketball with one of my favorite buddies.Seeing all the girls, being with bev and janet, reconnecting with people i've lost touch with, getting to know new people like the Friday Night Krew. I love being with people. It is deeply satisfying.

Now, if only Joey were here. She's in Texas right now, on a truck, on a long journey back from Maryland. =( I miss her. I'm sure all my friends miss her too, since I've been bumming rides and borrowing cars.

Ok, off to look for things to do in Hawaii! Yay! I love summer. I love California. I love being home!

End gushing here.

California is beautiful. Speaking of beautiful things, check this out! If you weren't a tree-hugger before, this will make you want to be one. Amazing photos (and having your sound on will enhance the experience too).

Anyone wanna go to Muir Woods with me sometime soon? I'm feeling a desire to sit among trees. I love trees. I think I've always loved trees. Something about their grace and strength all wrapped up together. I had a favorite tree in Baltimore. I realize now that I never took a picture of it! Ok, it's 2am. I really just wanted to post the link. Nothing too profound to say....

Greetings from the other side!

More updates and pics to come as soon as I recover from the circus of the past few weeks...or the past year for that matter.

IT'S NOT ME!! =)

The hand and the ring belong to someone else!!

BTW, the winner of the name my paper contest was....


*drum roll...*
Avery Chan!

From Ideas to Policy: Why Good Ideas Go Unrealized
I owe you jamba juice!

here's another for all you curious people. I'll try again when the model is more cooperative =)

Congratulations to the happy couple!

Contest (see below) ends Tuesday, May 17 at midnight EST. That's 9pm for you California folks.

I was studying at Borders today, putting in my last ditch effort to get everything done by Wednesday. I can't believe that I'm graduating in a week! yikes! Anyhow, that's not the point. I was getting antsy so I went to browse among the $4.99 DVD's. Just to see if there was anything good there. And what do I come across? None other than Kundun. Kundun. I watched this movie with the crew during that one wonderful summer in Berkeley. It was one of many HORRIBLE movies that we watched. I think Allen was the only one who made it through the whole thing. I was asleep, Bev was asleep, Jyip was asleep. All I remember are flashes of red then flashes of gold. And then a scene with the Dalhi Lama and Junior, my dog (b/c lhasa apso's are the guard dogs of the dalhi lama, in case youdidn't know.). It was too artsy. I was bored. It was late. ok, back to writing.

I have a poll. Please input your suggestions. If I choose your suggestion, I will buy you a jamba juice. So, i'm working on the title for my paper. My paper is about a policy that cycled through 4 congressional sessions but was never passed. So the title I have is:

From Idea to Policy: Why Good Ideas Go ______
A Case Study of the Family Opportunity Act

Fill in the blank please. Something along the lines about ideas not being translated into policies despite how good of an idea it is.

Remember. Winner gets free Jamba Juice.

Happy Mother's Day. Missing you every day...

I realize that it's May, and I'm graduating in 3 and a half weeks. I've managed to not tell anyone about it. Haha!

So here it is...because people have been asking..

Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Commencement Ceremony
2:00 pm
Myerhoff Symphony Hall
Baltimore, MD

My last day of class is May 20 (14 days left! yeah, baby)
I'll hopefully be moving back to California on June 2 or 3.

So, some shoutouts for all y'all:

My dad: for his immense support and love through a pretty rough year. Thank you for believing in me, pushing me to do more, work harder, and being a great example.

My sister: for keeping it real with me. For walking through times of grief and joy with me. For loving DMB and acoustic guitar.

Jason: patient, faithful, and committed. You are a crazy pillar of strength.

Eva and O: My burrito eating, chocolate cake making roommates. You made the transition to Baltimore easy and so much fun! Here's to many memories including: "Where did the phone go?" the biggest, ugliest bug known to man, chipotle/baja runs on Fridays, and many more.

The QP crew: Thank you quality people for loving on me, eating with me, watching movies with me, making the Great Vacation (and everyother visit home) truly great. I'm coming home, kids!

My girls: for all the love, prayers, sherry cake, and laughter.

The small group gals: I can't believe that I got to meet you all through Allen visiting here. You girls have been a community of love, laughter, wine, smallville, and alias. I will miss all of you...but, elaine, you should really move to California *wink*

Southwest Airlines: for flying me back and forth across the country more times than I can count in 1 year. Thanks for getting me to BWI and SJC with little disruption, except for the one time I was stuck in SJ for an extra day and then several additional hours. But, yes, I heart Southwest.

The 50 pages of writing that stand between me and graduation: You better watch it. I'm coming to get you. DIE, PAPERS, DIE!

ok, i should pay attention while I'm in class.

this the whole group =) the previous picture was the "old" Disneyland crew..those of us that had gone the years before..

Congratulations, Yips on your beautiful marriage! Here's to fun, friends, food, and Disneyland!

So, I was refleting on Berkeley, and I had some very profound thoughts....

Namely, the 10 ten places I loved to eat in Berkeley as a student (only Southside)..these are in no particular order...yes, I realize that i use the term "10" very loosely.

1. IB Hoagies
2. La Burrita
3. Ramen House (fishcake gook soo on a rainy Berkeley day)
4. The gyro place in Durant Square
5. Bancroft Cafe
6. Intermezzo
7. Coffee Source
8. Le Petit Cheval
9. Mario's La Fiesta
10. Espresso Experience (Teriyaki chicken sandwiches)
11. Gypsy's Trattoria
12. Anne's Soup Kitchen
..add your favorites in the comments!

Not-so-favorites
1. Orchid
2. Thai Basil (I got so sick eating there...)
3. Cafe Durant

I've intentionally excluded most cafe cafe places (like strada...)
But, I'm so happy, I've found an independently run cafe here in Baltimore about 10 minutes from my place. It's pretty big, good coffee, salads, skylights, local art, lots of free street parking, free wireless (big plus), and a view outside that reminds me of the Grand Lake area in Oakland.

Too bad I only have 34 days of class left!

blah blah blah. i'm procrastinating. I'll leave you with yet another profound thought from Grey's Anatomy:

"I need a drink, a massage, or a man. Or, how about a drunken massage by a man?" Hahaha.

Back in Baltimore.

8 weeks left. Maybe I should start counting days of class. Let's see...38 days of class. Yeah, baby.

While Jason and I were talking last night, he reminded me about a funny story about Sam Lau. So, instead of your ode, Sam, you get to hear this story.

One balmy California summer evening about 2 (or maybe 3) years ago, a group of 20 some young adults gathered in Castro Valley to play mini-golf (which some refer to as pee-wee golf and others call put-put). Since our group was too large, we broke up into smaller groups to play through the holes. We formed the fantastic team of Darrell, Noch, Sam, and myself. Why I was the only girl in this group is beyond me, but it is totally irrelevant to this story.

So what happened? Around hole 3, I think it was, we lined up for the first put. This hole is the one that has a vertical circular ramp. The golf ball must be hit so it travels around the inner face of the loop and comes out on the other side. Sam places his golf ball down, and takes a swing. The ball flies toward the metal ramp. The clunk of a golf bar against metal, followed by an "Ogh!" Darrell, Noch, and I turn, to see Sam rubbing his head. Next thing I know, Darrell is laughing so hard, he's curled up on the ground. So, Sam swung WAY too hard, the ball hit the ramp and bounced straight back hitting Sam on the head.

Poor Sam. Not only did he hit himself in the head with his own golf ball, but around hole 10 he lost his golf ball. No, he did not hit it into the water, but we were at the hole that looks like a big ski ball game. Sam takes a big swing, and his ball disappeared into la-la land.

So, as wonderful as you may be at laser tag, you suck at mini-golf.

Hahaha. I'm asking for it now.

I have been in the Bay Area on Bay Area soil for 3.75 hours, and I've accomplished a lot already!

I saw O who was should be called SuperShuttle O.
I saw ALo for all of 3 seconds.
I went to Target, one of my favorite places in the whole wide world.
I ate Chinese food with my dad.
I wrote my paper (ok, that's not done yet..that's why I'm blogging).
I'm eating an orange that didn't cost me 75 cents a piece.

California is green!! And so full of life! The trees are budding and blooming!! Unlike Baltimore where the trees still look like sticks.

More fun is yet to come on this wonderful spring break of mine!

5 minute coming-up-for-air from my papers break:

I have to say, I'm so impressed by my roommate's wedding planning composure. There is no Bride-zilla here. None at all. Even when her boss is working her like a dog and the details are crazy, she's pretty darned composed! And she stayed up and ate chocolate cake at 1:30 am.

what else am I impressed by? The fact that Eva and I essentially finished an entire chocolate cake together in less than 48 hours. Mind you, this cake does not have much flour, but has enough butter, chocolate, and sugar to feed a small village for a week. But, yes, the chocolate queens polished it off.

Ok, end study break.

Happy Birthday, SuperKaren!

On commercials that make me cry. Weather. More work than I did at Cal!? Happy Birthday, Karen!

I just watched this Applebee's commercial where the local football team lost the big game. The staff at Applebee's is getting ready to close up for the night, when the team's bus pulls up. A player gets out, and disappointedly says, "Aww, they're closed." The staff all volunteer to stay. Roll the voice over about Applebee's being part of the neighborhood.

And it made me teary. How do they do that!?

It's like Extreme Makeover:Home Edition. I've decided dthat the very purpose of the show is to make you cry. During the first 10 minutes and the last 20. It's not just crying. It's weep inducing.

----
So, my toes are so happy! Why? Because they got to play in the sun today. Yes, folks, it was 72 degrees in Baltimore today. Which was wonderful. Drove around, sunroof open, windows open, t-shirt, flip flops, bumpin' some music. Good life.

But, alas, there is reality. The reality is that tomorrow morning, it's going to SNOW. What?! SNOW!? Yes, it's going to snow. The high on Wednesday is going to be 30+ degress. That's a 40 degree change in weather in 48 hours. AMAZING. Yahoo weather. My best friend. Or I would ALWAYS be dressed wrong.
----
Why am I blogging right now? Because I have so much work to do. SO MUCH. I have a final exam, paper, or presentation everyday starting today for 2 weeks. By the end of the two weeks, I will have written 50 pages worth of papers.

My paper topics for those that are interested:
- The use of rape as a weapon of genocide in Rwanda and the impact that rape has had on HIV in Rwanda.
- The role of advocacy groups in setting policy agenda
- Something about health and homelessness (haven't decided exactly what yet..maybe something about immigration, etc.)
- Paying physicians in Thailand by capitation contains costs, but does not ensure quality. Paying physicians by fee for service in Korea promotes quality but does not contain costs. A solution?

I have NEVER done this much work in my life. How is this possible? More than at Cal. Craziness.

10 weeks left, baby! we're into single digits.
----
Happy Birthday, Karen!

I read this a couple weeks ago while I was studying, and somehow, it has just managed to get inside my head and my heart.
I'll just let you read it for yourselves!

**********
Do not hesitate to love and to love deeply. You might be afraid of the pain that deep love can cause. When those you love deeply reject you, leave you, or die, your heart will be broken. But that should not hold you back from loving deeply. The pain that comes from deep love makes your love ever more fruitful. It is like a plow that breaks the ground to allow the send to take root and grow into a strong plant. Every time you experience the pain of rejection, absence, or death, you are faced with a choice. You can become bitter and decide not to love again, or you can stand straight in your pain and let the soil on which you stand become richer and more able to give life to new seeds.

The more you have loved and have allowed yourself to suffer because of your love, the more you will be able to let your heart grow wider and deeper. When your love is truly giving and receiving, those whom you love will not leave your heart even when they depart from you. They will become part of your self and thus gradually build a community within you.

Those you have loved deeply become part of you. The longer you live, there will always be more people to be loved by you and to become part of your inner community. The wider your inner community becomes, the more easily you will recognize your own brothers and sisters in the strangers around you. Those who are alive within you will recognize those who are alive around you. The wider community fo your heart, the wider the community around you. Thus the pain of rejection, absence, and death can become fruitful. Yes, as you love deeply the ground of your heart will be broken more and more, but you will rejoice in the abundance of fruit it will bear.

Henri Nouwen. The Inner Voice of Love

Quote of the week:
"The reason that I lie is because I’m just stupid. It’s not because I want to." -Olivia

Followed up by the runner up for the quote of the week:
"Maybe lying is making me smarter." -Genius Olivia

[Edit]. So I apparently quoted her wrong, which Olivia so kindly pointed out...
olivia: wanna know what i actually said?
karen: what
olivia: i said, "the reason i DON'T lie is because I'm just stoopid-- not because i don't want to"
olivia: she made me sound better than i really am

Maria, Jen, and I. Jen's birthday dinner...

The flowers that Jason had sent to me. The beautiful flowers I've ever received. I *heart* happy flowers.

SNOW! The view from my room...(I know, it's not as much as the northeast, but it's still snow!)

It's snowing (for the 2nd time this winter!) Jen and I were talking about how we haven't had our fair share of snow yet since we moved out here from California. I'll post some pictures later of the snow. It's kinda cool. I feel like I'm really living on the East Coast. I'm sure I'd get tired of it in due time. But for now, I'm enjoying it.

So, let's see. What else can I ramble about today? So, I got picked up on at Barnes and Noble on Saturday night. That was an unexpected event. I was impressed and alarmed at the same time because I only had a 45 second conversation with the guy before he said, "So, you seem really friendly and you're cute. Would you like to get together sometime?" WOW! Props to guys who can take initiative and just lay it out there. Granted, I didn't accept. But, I tried to be really gracious. "Thanks for taking the initiative to strike up a conversation with me. I'm really flattered. But, I'm not interested. Thanks!" Guys, you don't really need to have too much game. Just balls. Ok, I dunno if that's true, and I'm not sure if I want to start a whole commentary about guys hitting on girls and real world game versus church-circle game, etc. So, we'll just leave this topic be.

I have to say, Jason is awesome. I like him. That's my little gush for today.

11 weeks of school left. That's crazy. I need to find a job. I can't believe that the 11 months has blown by so so so so fast. Where did it go? A lot has happened since June. ok. enough with the stream of consciousness writing.

Great cheese comes from happy cows. Happy cows come from where? from California.
That's right. =)

I'm homesick. I didn't think I would be. And then it hit me. Like the truck that hit my car over break. I heard that the weather has been great. People are hanging out together. Tri-Tip, Lost, and Alias. Home was refreshing and soul feeding. Wish I could've seen Jason more. But, he's coming to visit in 10 days! =) Hopefully he can bring my best friends, the sunny weather, my running pants, boba, chinese food, not needing to mapquest to get around, my papa, and my flipflops.

ok, the ode to sam will occur on a different day...boring post.

Hello, dear readers! Happy New Year!
Let's revisit my Great Vacation list and see how much I have accomplished! Well, Italy was great. Cold, rainy, and sick (Well, I was sick. Italy was not). Beautiful place. Rolling hills. Tuscany was beautiful! So, I've only been at half capacity this week. But, let's recount all the fun I've had:

[X] Watched Garden State and ate hotpot. Great movie. Great food.
[X] Spent the day with Jason. Sushi House, Berkeley Bowl. Bought a new Cal t-shirt. Wanted to get the Cal t-shirt with Calvin (a la Calvin and Hobbes) peeing on a BCS logo, but I didn't.
[X] Stuffed mushrooms and made a big piece of yummy beef with Bev
[X] Chili and cornbread, knitting, Lost, and Alias with the greatest gals in the world.
[X] Lunch in the City with Mary. It was actually sunny and blue in SF! Shopping. Keeping Mary from going back to work. Talking about people on the special school bus
[X] Brunch with Allen.
[ ] Wedding Tour 2005 kick-off with Jason & Marcia's wedding tomorrow. Can't wait. Will be GREAT

And from my previous list with 2 weeks left still:

[X] Hang out with my family - Could still do more of this, though.
[1/2] Hang out with friends, A LOT. Knitting, watching Gilmore Girls, drinks, dinners, lunches, coffee, movies, bowling, anything! - We've only just begun...
[1/2] Hang out with Jason - Not nearly enough..
[X] Sleep - 10 hours a night is G-R-E-A-T
[ ] Apply for fellowships/jobs for fall - Do i hafta?
[ ] Catch up with Chanthip - I think I missed her...

Things that still need to happen:
[ ] Fight Club and Braveheart with Bev, so that we can be on Allen's list of friends again.
[ ] Seeing Jen and Maria in Napa
[ ] Sitting around more with the girls
[ ] Seeing Janet
[ ] More time with the fam
[ ] Movies movies movies: Ocean's 12, Million Dollar Baby, Hotel Rwanda. Anyone wanna go with me?
[ ] Falafels! Indian food! Mexican food! Chinese food! Korean food!
[ ] Dancin'
[ ] Double dating
[ ] Finishing my 2 books in progress: Siddhartha and the Namesake
[ ] Knitting

ok. that's it. boring.