Maybe I Ought to Upgrade My Video Player.. Maybe Not

Not to sound all spacey and introspective but time is weird.  It is always dependent on your perspective and the whole thing gets a little crazy when your perspective is not constant.

Some of my favorite people, Welcome Week 2010:
Amy, Mike, Xinwei, Chhai and Ben (photo courtesy of Van)

Tonight was the first meeting for Revelle's Welcome Week Ambassador program.  I participated in the program this past year and knew it was something that I wanted to do again.  It was great seeing some familiar faces from last year and catching up with people.  About halfway through the meeting, my mind started racing.  I just couldn't believe that just over a year ago I was sitting in (probably) the same conference room with a few of the same people about to plan this annual event.  The idea baffled me and, for a time, I stopped listening to the meeting completely and tried to fathom how a year can go by that quickly, how so many things can change and how many things can stay exactly the same.

People generally agree that a year is roughly 365 days.  College students can agree that a year is three quarters (two semesters) and a summer.  My mind began acting like an old, kind of broken VCR.  No, not a DVD, Blu-Ray or other sort of digital media player.  A VCR.  It hit the rewind button (you remember when you could see the video playing backwards with all of those lines across the screen) then it stopped, abruptly, and began to play.  The year that had passed played back with intense clarity.  I remembered going to these meetings last year with the girls in my dorm and a few of the people in my building-- we just had to walk downstairs really.  I remembered all the people from freshman year, the Bible studies, clubs, classes, the biting cold, beautiful beach days, new faces, old faces, our obsession with pool at Roger's Place, Plaza Cafe food, and the discovery of coffee.  Time kept moving forward and I remembered the end of freshman year and summer.  I thought of this blog and was thankful to my old self for recording snippets of my experiences and I remembered all of the feelings of summer.  Finally, this year became super clear.  I remembered Welcome Week at the end of summer, starting school again, Christmas... then the 'video' came to a screeching halt in the present.
So much has changed yet so much has stayed the same.  I started thinking about how I am still surrounded by some of the most incredible people I have ever met and how I still miss home (and the rest of the most incredible people I have ever known) and how people have changed.  Then I found myself in that room again, realizing it was really time to start paying attention in the meeting.
So, in a way, a year ago feels completely intangible.  So far away and so full of memories that it is almost like watching a movie of someone else's life-- how could all of that happen in just one year??  In another way, however, I am still dumbfounded at how it is possible that an entire year has passed.
I can't complain.  I hope time continues to confound me whenever the opportunity arises.
"It's like my IPOD's stuck on replay" --Iyaz

Life in Pictures and Sunsets [Part 2]

Blogging is like a weird drug.  When you're on it, you can't stop it.
I suppose it is best to get this out of the way now.  But if you're reading this you probably already know... it's funny how that works.  I have a boyfriend.  It's pretty awesome having someone in your life that you can sit down to have a quick chat with... and not look at the clock until hours later to realize that the sun is about to rise.  The cool thing is we had that kind of friendship before this whole dating thing.  But, yes, he's pretty awesome.  But don't tell him I said so.
The day we decided to give dating a shot, we were at the zoo and saw this three month old cheetah cub. Not a bad sign, right?

The weather here in San Diego has been amazing and there have been sunsets to match.  No, this is not 'rose-colored glasses' talk, these sunsets are genuinely breathtaking.

<< A few minutes after sunset in Revelle, walking home after class with Amy

Dusk, overlooking the canyon in Warren college with the moon rising >>

Last weekend, I had a lovely and long overdue lunch date with my sister.  I was scheduled to pick up Mike that afternoon but he missed a train (or two) so I made my way down to Carlsbad State beach with a biological psychology book.  I spent a few hours out there lying on a bank of sand, reading and watching the sun make its way to the horizon.  My reward for a solid hour of reading was to explore the beach and take some pictures.  There is something amazingly blissful about being quiet and letting the sound of waves and beach-goers fill your mind as you walk down the shore.  It is almost better than retail therapy but I think I'm going to say this one is too close to call.

As I was driving down the coast and away from that incredibly peaceful place, windows down with Angels and Airwaves blasting, I kept thinking about the lady I had just talked to.  As I was leaving the beach, an older woman approached me.  I think she was staying at the beach with her family in the RV parked nearby.  She told me that she loved my car and that it reminded her of the old 'beetles' or "at least that's what we called them back in the day".  The look in her eye told me the memory of this car would always possess a special place in her heart.  We made some small talk and before I drove away I remember saying, "Thanks, have a good night.  And enjoy the sunset".  I know the fluffy, white vw with some killer black racing stripes will always have a special place in my heart, just as one of its ancestors' does in hers.  I hope that it may be the catalyst for some brief but meaningful interaction with a complete stranger someday.  And, mostly, I hope that everyone remembers to enjoy the sunset.

This post has a decidedly Jack Johnson/day by the beach feel...
"Do you remember when we first met? I sure do, it was sometime in early September, You were lazy about it, You made me wait around... So I was late for class"

Life in Pictures [Part 1]

I could start by saying sorry for being a terrible blogger..again.. but, at this point, it is probably unnecessary.

It's been awhile-- long enough to where I don't remember the things I wanted to write about here. But, thankfully, my camera does. There are about 200 pictures lying around from when I last blogged and I can almost put everything back together in my head. It really does seem like you can relive life through pictures.

Winter break came to a bittersweet end with a lovely trip back down to sunny San Diego with my mom. We stopped by *our* happiest pit stop on earth-- The Storybook Cafe in Disney's Grand Californian Hotel. We have an insane number of amazing memories from this place as it has always been the perfect escape from either a long, hot day in the theme park or a long, exhausting day driving.
She stayed in San Diego for a couple of days and got to relive college for awhile. I'm not too sure if she wanted the whole 'reliving college' bit. Amy and I will never forget the physics class she came to and the quote she left us with the night she flew out of San Diego (something along the lines of microwaving sour cream.. I'm guessing it is one of those moments where you just had to be there). I just hope she had as much fun as I did.

Once school started, it felt like life had decided to go back to the fast lane.  School got busy and my social life got busier.  But that's more than okay with me.

Sprinkles La Jolla finally held its grand opening after months of hype.  Shelby, Amy and Yoyo joined me at the grand opening where we waited a couple hours for cupcakes.  The company, sunshine, and (duhhh) the dark chocolate cupcakes were definitely worth the wait.

Amy and I would always talk about going clubbing together in San Diego.  We finally went.  It was definitely a great experience but not because clubbing is that great or anything.  It was one of those experiences where the company made all the difference.

That takes me about halfway through winter quarter and about halfway through the pictures.
Part two will follow shortly.

"So wake up, wake up dreaming"
--Ryan Star