where amazing happens

The season tipped off yesterday with this intro. It gave me goosebumps. And Warriors tonight?! Life is grand. Studying for midterms will take place after the game.

I had a lot of lightbulbs light up this weekend. I was going to include it in my previous post but I know that when there is a large amount of text, I tend to not read it all. Anyways...

I feel like, I've been worrying so much about the future that I'm forgetting to enjoy the present. I'm content with where I'm at and I'll worry about the future when it comes. So Sylvia came by to the apartment last night and she's in a completely different mindset as I am. She's a year younger then me and she's graduating early. She wants to stay live in Davis another year, work/intern, and go to law school. When she was explaining to me her aspirations, I felt that she was just speeding through everything, not happy, and ultimately not enjoying the now. Don't get me wrong though, its very admirable of her for getting her stuff together and knowing what she wants. And since her little sister is at UCSD now, its tough for her parents to accommodate for the both of them. She has always been one to make sacrifices for her family which is very endearing and I commend her for that.

I'm not naive or stupid. If an opportunity presents itself I will take it. I figure, whats the hurry? I've gained this reputation among some of my people I've encountered here that I'm lazy and don't have any ambitions or goals which is completely the opposite. I know exactly what I want. We're gonna be working for the rest of our lives. Life is short. Why not take some time to do something you have a passion for? I want to help people. I've looked into the peace corp and americorp. I feel like that could be a viable option for me after I graduate. I'll be making very little to no money but I would be doing something that would be so gratifying.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said it best. "...to know that even one life has breathed easier because you lived -- this is to have succeeded" As for after that, who knows? Things seldom work out the way you plan. I'll worry about it out then.

west side story

This weekend included Maria coming up, beer pong, very good indian food, where the wild things are, old friends, banana bread, fantasy basketball, and very little studying. All ingredients that led to one of the better weekends I've had in some time. It was a nice little break from the academic chaos that davis entails.

Friday: I pretty much just played everything friday by ear. I got some studying done in the afternoon and played some ball till Maria got here. I'm sad to admit that I've lost a step or two. All those games at Birch did not do much to help. I'm nothing more than a complimentary player. Anyways, Maria got here around 8ish and we went to pick up w/ Sees to watch Where the Wild Things Are. Neither Maria or Sees had a car so we fit all 3 of us in our 2 seater. It was scary/stupid/interesting all at once. The movie was really...strange? There were a lot of disturbing parts; I don't really think the movie was meant for kids. We then headed to Marina's sorority house just to say hi and chill for a bit. I hadn't seen Marina since the first day of school so it was nice to see her. After that we called it a night.

Saturday: During the day, I kinda just did my own thing. For dinner, Me, Maria, and Marina had Kathmandu Kitchen. I let them order for me since I know nothing about Indian food. Whenever I go to Ammo's house he never feeds me Indian food. It's usually sandwiches or chips. The only thing on the menu I had any knowledge of was naan. The experience instilled me with this urgency/necessity to be more cultured. The food was very good and very cheap. 2 things I'm all about!

Dinner was preceded at some sorority house? I've never seen so many white girls at a party. Maria and I were dominating in beer pong. The party was kinda lame so we just stayed for about an hour or two. I managed to sneak in a bunch of drinks in that time span (hence the picture). It was so weird to see Nicole there. She saw me on campus like a week ago and facebooked me saying "oh i saw you on campus blah blah, we should hang out" I didn't respond till that night and then i randomly saw her. After some pong, we headed back to marinas place and youtube'd the night away

Me, Maria, Nicole, and Marina

NMHS reunion!

Today: I do the same thing every sunday: Wake up, set my fantasy football lineups, cook ramen or mac n cheese at halftime, then study. The niners came up a little short this weekend but kudos to Alex Smith. I'm glad to see him get another well deserved opportunity. After the disappointing loss, I had to force myself to get up and mosey on over to the library. I studied the night away and then relaxed the rest of the night w/ some chicken noodle soup.

Its like 2:15ish and Maria just fell asleep. I'm really glad she came up to visit. She's one of the better people I have in my life. She keeps me grounded. You'll probably never see this but I always come out feeling like a better person when I hang out w/ you. Thank you.

A day after I throw away my one remaining shoe I get this email from our residential manager:

Good morning,

I found a shoe in the parking lot yesterday...to claim please come by the office

Karen Mattis

Residential Manager

Why couldn't I have just kept the shoe instead of throwing it away?!

just one of those days...

As the saying goes, "its the little things that mean the most". The little things do add up and can enhance your life that much more. However, it can also have the reverse effect. Wednesdays are typically a good day for me. I get to sleep in, I only have one class, and I usually go to the arc and play some basketball. As I arrive to my first class I realize that I lost a shoe. Yes A SINGLE SHOE. I go to the gym after class so I just bring my running shoes in my basket. Then I head to class and we get the results from our first midterm. I got a B-. I had put in a lot of time into preparing for the test so it I was pretty upset when I got the results. It's really demoralizing when the results don't reflect the time you put in. It's just really depressing cause its actually the first time I'm actually trying too and this is what I get? After class, I head out to the gym w/ Darwin and I had the shittiest work out. It was ridiculously busy and it took forever to get on any machines and in turn I was very lackadaisical in my workout. Working out is suppose to release endorphins and make me feel better! Not today though. Not today.

After the gym, I just head back to the apartment and just play some video games. What better way to escape reality then to enter the virtual one?! It didn't really help. I still couldn't get my mind off that stupid test and the death of my running shoe, which I might add, were fairly brand new.

The best part of my day was talking to my parents. I just let out all my frustration. My mom told me not to be too hard on myself and as long as I pass then I should be ok. I mean, if I don't plan to go to grad school I just need to pass. I expect more from myself and I would like to at least have the option of going to grad school. My parents are paying 3000 dollars a quarter for me to attend this school so I owe to them to do better.

I just need my batteries recharged. Marias coming this weekend so it'll be nice to see her. I have one more midterm on Thursday (its my hardest one too) and then I'm going home. I haven't been home in what seems like forever. In actuality, its only been a month and a week. I am really really really looking forward to it.

Every so often, you're gonna have one of those days. I'm very fortunate that not many of these days come my way but I just wish today wasn't one of them.

I'm really excited for this show:

As a rabid fantasy sports player (thanks to derek) I can kinda relate

I just want each day to be better than the day before...

It's Friday night and I am not partying, not hanging out w/ friends, not at the Arc but at the 24 hr study room. No matter how hard I work, I'm constantly behind. It's just one midterm after the other; its never ending. This is been one of the longest weeks of my life. I've been in this damn room more than I have the apartment. The work I've put into this week surpasses all the work I've put in at Ohlone total. I didn't know I was capable of working so hard!

The other day I was studying w/ Darwin and his friend Kristin at the library. After a good 2 hours of studying we took a break and just talked for a while. I then go to check my facebook and I saw that she requested to be my friend. I accepted the request and then I start browsing through her friends. We all then just start talking about our mutual friends, how we knew them, and what not.

"Oh I'm friends w/ him too"

"whoa, you know so and so?"

At that moment, it truly hit me that I'm...here. I dunno, it felt very college-y.

wherever you go, there you are

I was eating lunch w/ Darwin earlier and he asked me "if you could go transfer to sj state right now, would you?" If that option presented itself to me, I would highly consider it. Of course I would be acting impulsively and I may regret that decision in the future. On one hand I would be able to go back home and be reunited with family and friends. On the other, I may miss out on an experience that I'll never get back. However, if I choose to go, I may never meet or exceed those expectations I had for college. What if I do stay and the experience is sub par? Say I chose to go to Sb instead? There are so many what if's. I know for better or worst, in sickness and in health, I'm staying here but its just a little food for thought.

Back to doing the dishes after all that food for thought...

2k10 + work + school = Davis in a nutshell

It's been some time since I've blogged. I'm sorry if that upsets my 3 - maybe 4 - readers. I've been really busy w/ school. I anticipated more work than ohlone but not this much more. It's like no matter how much I study, I'm constantly behind. Damn you quarter system!

I thought that moving out here and being on my own would be this amazing experience. As of now, it's pretty much the same thing + different people + a lot more work + a lot suckier. "Same shit, different day" as the saying goes. If I'm not at school, I'm at work. And when I do have a day off I have to catch up on my reading. I know I'm voicing the same sentiment as many other college students but it just...sucks. I've always thought of myself as someone who was very appreciative of my parents and what they did for me but since i've been out here, I'm really appreciative. I use to come home to pre-paid groceries and home cooked meals. Now I come back to the apartment for top ramen, canned foods, and pb&j sandwiches. It's a minor setback to say the least. I even miss steven. I didn't think I would but I do.

I miss Jinjer

I miss Billy

I miss Ammo

I miss Joomee

Jinjer and I text each other a lot. Albeit, the responses may take 10 minutes, maybe 10 hours. It sucks. We went from hanging out maybe twice a week to not seeing each other at all. As for billy, I can't just call him up and be like "aye i'm coming over". Ammo and I have probably talked once since I moved? He's working hard in pursuit of a medical career so I understand. I'll see him soon though. And joomee? I can hear her from here but its not the same as seeing her.

For now, life in Davis is very routine and mundane. I start my day w/ school and end my days reading. After reading I do treat myself to some good ol youtube before I head to bed. I usually watch some freestyle battles (youtube dumbfoudead or jonny storm) or watch the jamie foxx show. Classic!

*Oh and i wanna say thanks to Maureen . She was my first visiter! She was heading back to tahoe and made a pit-stop in Davis. I haven't seen her in a year and seeing a familiar face was much needed. We enjoyed a strawberry banana crepe and proceeded to class shortly after.

I know I have a my pessimistic goggles on but I feel like what I had a home is so much better then what I have here. I've met some pretty cool people and gone to a few parties here but I currently view Davis as just a temporary thing. I have that mindset of "I'm here to do my business, graduate, then get out". It's only week 2 so there is still plenty of room and time for improvement. I hope to get a prescription for some optimistic glasses soon.

Sorry this blog was kind of all over the place. Its really late and I am beat.

mpg = ∞

Davis has forced me to utilize my bike a lot more than in previous years. I thought it would be such a drag but its pretty cool. It gets unlimited mpg and is eco friendly. I think after I leave here I'll bike a lot more too. Also, maybe get a prius. Driving back and fourth in the z4 has put a dent in my wallet. The priuses don't look as cool, but I think I can make it cool.

If the prius can make a commerical like this then sign me up!