Bloody Ice and Masked Characters

I am bleeding in at least three places and tomorrow my right leg will refuse to move.  And it was totally awesome.

Today began well enough with a decently easy physics quiz.  I came back to the apartment to make snicker doodles (I felt like sharing some love at UCSD and missed home <3).  Baking reminds me of the tiny kitchen I grew up in and so so so many epic days.  The apartment had a sort-of holiday/homey/cheery feel to it, with just the slightest aroma of cinnamon sugar in the air.

My afternoon class was cancelled so I spent some time figuring out classes.  I realized that one of my classes was not going to count for credit (long and frustrating story) and I am still in the process of working that out.

My marathon day had just begun even though I have been up since eight.  I met Mike down at the Cliffs with his physics class to watch the sunset and raced back to campus to meet Amy for our Phi Beta LambdA-mazing race.  We were given a list of items to film or photograph around campus with a deadline.  Amy and I made complete fools out of ourselves, laying on the ground to imitate Ke$ha (..I wake up in the morning feeling like P-Diddy..), filming a dance-off and serenading a stranger.  Our team “Trees” (don’t ask) ended up winning the race with Amy’s impression of the Old Spice man.  Yeah, free tee shirts!

My very late dinner was relatively chill, my signature salad and a classic episode of HIMYM with Amy.  After a full day, my night was about to begin.

Mike, Ben and I made our way over to the local ice rink for broomball with an engineering club.  I was unsure about the whole thing… sneakers on ice, some mini soccer balls and hockey sticks with little covers on them and, honestly, and engineering club… but decided to give it a shot.  My goodness, it was amazing.  The game is incredibly fun and all of the people were great company.  I took a couple of nasty spills, thus a cut on my hand, a blister, cut on my elbow and a very bruised behind.  But it was all worth it.  I was thrilled to make a couple of blocks and goal assists (there were so many people, I was surprised to get a stick on the ball).  When I actually scored, though, I was ecstatic.  The night concluded with a slurpee run (GOODNESS THERE IS A LOT OF SUGAR IN THOSE, hence me writing this post at 2:20) and me walking back to the apartment.

Yeah, I was bored and have Photoshop...

I saw a chill looking guy standing by the dumpsters outside my building.  I looked around and realized he was watching a raccoon walk around the bins.  Slurpee in hand, I pulled out my camera to get a couple of pics and ended up finding more of the raccoon family.  I could tell I was now entertaining the guy more than the raccoons so I talked to him.  He thought I was crazy for thinking they were cute.  But seriously, look at them.  They are cute.

I just finished this very high sugar high with a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  Fyi, that is some delicious cereal.

Well, with that, I am going to grab some Tylenol and try to sleep.  Lots of work and fun coming up this weekend.

"We've got to hold on to what we've got, Cause it doesn't make a difference, If we make it or not, We've got each other and that's a lot, For love- we'll give it a shot" --Bon Jovi

Sara Bareilles - King Of Anything

Good morning! I wanted to share one of my current favorite songs/music videos. I know the song is a little bit "old" (if you haven't heard.. I was in Rome this summer) but I absolutely love it. My apartmentmates think that the video resembles some of my design preferences and, well, I think I agree.

Why so smiley?

(Written Wednesday, sorry for the delays.. again) The word of the day is dreary.  This San Diego foggy drizzle gives everyone a peculiar mood of indifference.  On my way back from morning classes, the lines "when it's cold outside, show the word the warmth in your smile" popped into my otherwise empty mind.  My curiosity got the best of me and I reasoned that there was really nothing to lose by performing a simple experiment during my usually mundane fifteen minute walk back to my apartment.

SD's UFO (as seen in INCEPTION!!!)

Bright pink umbrella in hand, I began smiling.  Not a "cheese!" smile, just a simple grin would be enough to do the experiment without looking completely insane.  People's reactions were fascinating.  According to one of my psychology textbooks, sharing something (a smile, laugh, etc) with a stranger (or even an "enemy") gives both parties an incredible temporary bond in the form of social contact that we all are born to crave.  This proved to be true.  Most people gave me a double take, almost a more double take than if I was wearing a dress and stilettos in the rain, and gave me a genuinely happy face back.  I found such great satisfaction during this experiment that I forgot that it was an experiment.  Amazingly, I noticed my mood was greatly improved five minutes into my walk.  I realized that I smiled at all of the colorful umbrellas and remembered that day in Versailles.  I was chuckling at an adorable couple and another girl asking why she was wearing cute sandals and freezing when she could wear ugly sneakers.  People are amusing and happiness is more catchable than a cold.  Experiment = success.

School has been going well, as expected classes are picking up in workload.  The weekend was nice, beginning with Friday night and Restaurant Week.  Yoyo, Daphne and I went to a little restaurant on the harbor and enjoyed a crazy good three-course feast.  Saturday was Moonlight Kayaking with my old R.A. and his new building.  It was my second time kayaking at night and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I don't have any pics yet (disposable camera) but I will soon.  Sunday was a Costco run and homework.

At any rate, I have been enjoying the first couple of weeks back.  I love the apartment and getting back into feeling smarter.  It's funny, though, sometimes the highlight of my day is making salads and paninis in our amazing kitchen.  More soon! <3

!!!

By the way, this blog has reached over 1,200 hits since the beginning of summer.
I am so proud of this project-- as many of you know, it is kind of like my baby-- and thankful to all of you who read and enjoy these little stories from my everyday experiences.
Now that school is becoming routine again, I promise to try and write more regularly.
Thank you and love you all.

Espresso

So that “summer that changed everything” has officially ended and school is beginning.  I arrived in San Diego a little over a week ago and was immediately busy with Welcome Week.  We put on four days of events for Revelle’s class of 2014 and were lucky enough to experience them for our second year.

That week is definitely one of my greatest experiences here in SD.

Amy and I paid a much overdue visit to Café Bassam—our current favorite coffee shop downtown after a dance party on Friday.  Espresso at midnight may not have been the best call for a good night’s sleep but, as you can see, it was absolutely worth the insomnia.

Saturday Matt and his parents took me to the Padres v. Reds game at Petco Park.  The game was close and made for a lot of energy in the stadium to break the tie in the bottom of the ninth.  The epic game was followed by a San Diego staple, Phil’s BBQ.

That night I went adventuring with Mike.  We ended up driving along the coast and getting legit tacos at some little place by the water.  I was already stuffed but managed to devour a delicious carne asada taco.

Sunday I was introduced to the wonderful new drink at our dining hall market, the banesso.  It’s comparable to a Starbuck’s frappuccino, made with a banana, espresso, milk and chocolate.  I am forever indebted to Yoyo for this fantastic find.

Classes are starting slow, much like last year.  This gives us the illusion of an easy quarter and lulls us into using all of our free time to enjoy the beautiful (or extremely freaking hot, depending on your perspective) weather.  The highlight of today was my amazing lunch—a blackberry Izze and a homemade salad.  Mmmm, seems like a good, easy week. ;) 

"All the, small things/True care, truth brings" --Blink 182

Hellogoodbye

“Fearless is dedicated to documenting my summer studying abroad in Europe. This blog and its url are named after song lyrics. "Fearless", is from Taylor Swift and tells a love story beginning with the way the street looks when it has just rained and ends with the perfect kiss-- "I don't know how it gets better than this". The url, "Better than Tonight" is from Pink's "Glitter in the Air". She asks, "Have you ever thrown a fist full of glitter in the air?", "Have you ever wished for an endless night?" and "Have you ever held your breath and asked yourself 'will it ever get better than tonight?'". So here's to those memories, moments and nights. The ones that are so special they take your breath away, the ones that you pray will last for eternity, the ones so full of magic it is nearly as tangible as glitter in the air, the ones that are.. Fearless.”

This was the ‘mission statement’ for “Fearless”.  As noted in my previous post, I feel like it is time for a change.  So, welcome to the new blog-“Pieces of the Sun”.

My best memories rush through my head like microscopic, dazzling rays of sunlight.  My favorite moments are those spent with family and friends, usually near the ocean (whether it be Santa Cruz, San Francisco, the Mediterranean, the south of France or La Jolla) and this design is truly a reflection of these moments and memories.  During summer, I designed the background and logo—completely from scratch—and used images from my favorite places.

I don’t think I have a ‘mission statement’ for this (sort-of) new blog.  But I know it is a place where I will come to share my experiences, questions, observations and smiles.

"Everything is in this place, and I can't stop this smile on my face, cause I'm happy, I'm happy in this place, So smile on my friends" --Anthems

Counting Down the Cottonballs

This post is proof that inspiration is everywhere you look.  I have been meaning to blog for a few days now and just didn’t really know where to begin.

This time of year is once again proving to be bittersweet.  Oddly enough, this year is almost more so than the last.  It’s the middle of September (que Daughtry, anyone?), the weather is slowly changing and school is creeping around the corner.  This is the week of awful goodbyes; endless hours of shopping, packing, and organizing; and (thankfully) wonderful hellos.  This week is absolutely physically, mentally and emotionally exhausting.  The end of summer has a way of doing that to me.

It’s not over yet, though.  Summer lasts until the first day of classes so I still got some time. :)

So where did I find inspiration?  Cottonballs.  I use four cottonballs every day (two for makeup removal and two for a toner application) and tonight mom asked how many I would need since I had just gone through my bag.  It is weird—I can feel how close school is by counting down the cottonballs.  And, in this strange place, I suddenly felt like writing.

Mom and I have been doing a lot of shopping.  The other day, it was like a scene from a movie.  We were in H&M, back to back.  We turned around at the exact same time holding the exact same hat.  Needless to say, the angora leopard print beret is now in my room.  And yes, I’m serious.  It’s fabulous in a “Sex in the City” sort of way.

Today we made our very-annual trip out to Palo Alto for some cupcakes.  Before the sugar high, we stopped at Ikea.  We had a great time wandering throughout the store—avoiding small children and annoying couples (“Ohh, honey, we need to look at lighting” “*sigh*”) and ended up buying a few things we didn’t necessarily need.  Yes, this includes Sweedish meatballs.  No, you, the reader, cannot judge.

In front of a seasonal glass display at the outdoor mall <3

At the mall, we hit up a few stores and made our way to Sprinkles.  These cupcakes are special.  Instead of writing about their buttery, light, creamy, moist, cakey, beautiful goodness, I will let the picture speak.  Haha, too late maybe?

Dark chocolate with dark chocolate frosting and.. dark chocolate SPRINKLES!

Well, anyway, if you know me well enough you know I get bored pretty quickly.  If you don’t know me that well, ask to see some pictures of my hair for the past three years.  So I think it’s time for “Fearless” to be renamed and redesigned.  Don’t misunderstand—I am still going to blog with this website, I am just changing the logo, background and name.  “Fearless” has served its purpose well and has been the perfect diary to my Roman summer.  Now that summer is nearing an end, I think it is fitting to change things up and give this blog a new feel.  So look forward to that very soon.  I hope you enjoy.

“Feeling kinda sick?  Just a spoon full of sugar make it better real quick, Everybody wants some, Melodies that get stuck, Up in your head “ –Sugarland (P.S. If you have not seen the video for this song, “Stuck Like Glue”, go watch it.)