The Ides of March and Its Madness

The swift arrival of March was accompanied by a glimmer of longer and warmer days, flowers, vibrant sunsets and the dreaded finals week.  The end of winter quarter always seems to drag on a bit longer than the rest, as does the end of the season.  Finals this quarter were stressful and oddly intense, but we all managed to get to the other side, greeted by the promise of spring break.

Mom decided it was time to get out of the bay for a few days as all of us really needed to step back and relax.  She spearheaded the effort and found a cabin to rent in Tahoe.  So much for a ‘bikinis and beach bags required’ spring break; we packed up snow boots, chains and emergency supplies.

It has been years since we went to the snow and it was Huck’s first time.  The bay was looking at rain for a week straight so the mountains (and thus the Wongs) were prepared for multiple feet of snow.  Soon enough we found ourselves lodged inside a snow-covered cabin.  Huck loved the snow at first sight and found it to be the most novel of treasures.  The immense amount of powder kindly lent itself to a bumbling yellow lab who leapt into and dug out of it—over and over and over again.  The powder was also great for skiing and boarding.  Mom and I went out and enjoyed the soft coating of snow as it protected our bums from any hard falls.

Dad and I played a lot of pool in the cabin with a tired dog at our heels and fresh cookies in the oven.  We even got mom to join in on a few games.

I distinctly remember waking up in the warm, fluffy covers, watching the snow fall outside.  The trees were covered perfectly, like icing on a gingerbread town.  The fireplace was humming softly in the corner and Huck was curled up nearby.  I couldn’t help the smile on my face (it makes me smile even now) as I thought about the perfectly picturesque scene.

I was lucky enough to see all of my friends back home, too, even though we all have different school schedules.  The visits seemed sadly brief, long enough, however, knowing that summer is just around the corner.

The whirlwind spring break is nearing a close as I look out the window of this 747 and see the mountains of central California, some of the higher ones just kissed by the snow.  We should be landing shortly and I will be on my way back to school.  Classes start tomorrow for what looks to be a great quarter.  If it is anything like this spring break, I will be more than happy.

“I hope the days come easy and the moments pass slow, and each road leads you to where you want to go” –Rascal Flatts 

Photo Journey

This article and first video are definitely worth a look:
New Yorker’s mysterious photo quest ends in Paris

Tied with a Bow

After a particularly difficult and frustrating night, waking up to a text like this can change your day:
"check outside your door down to the right...a mocha for you.  Might be cold at this point though".

The smallest gestures can make the most significant impact, so thank you.

"All the phones have rung and rung, They're off the hook-- all but one, And all the mail stacked up inside, Up on the floor-- a mile high" --Angels and Airwaves

The Unexpected

The rain was drizzling just lightly enough to feel like a mist-- it was barely stinging when it hit my face.  I was holding my umbrella and my hood was down.

I felt like going for a walk when Mike was heading home so I asked if I could come with him.  When he told me it was raining, I told him that's what rain boots and umbrellas are for.  I didn't know why but I just wanted to talk and walk for a bit, kind of like those nights in Rome.

When we stepped out of the elevator I instinctively reached for the straps on the umbrella and suddenly stopped myself.  Anyone who knows me knows that I loathe rain-- I just find it terribly inconvenient and significantly less breathtaking than the sun setting on a warm day.  But tonight, I stand (albeit slightly) corrected.  The rain was absolutely gorgeous and, for once, I didn't care if my hair became a mess and my makeup ran halfway down my face.

I hope that everyone can take a walk with good company some night, stare at the (very, very light) rain (let's face it, this would be a bit challenging if it was pouring and nasty outside) and decide to simply put their umbrellas down.

"There's something about the way the street looks when it's just rained, There's a glow off the pavement..., And I don't know how it gets better than this, You take my hand and drag me headfirst, Fearless" --Taylor Swift

Character

Character is something that is always with you, it is obviously a part of you.
But having admirable character is easy when things are good.
It's those moments where time seems to freeze, the moment where you know everything has changed (a little or a lot) and where you begin to understand things are less than ideal, when character is stripped to its core.  All that remains is your character.  Any facades fall away and your attitudes and following actions are exponentially more significant.

My parents have taught me an incredible amount of things in my life; some through education, some through simple talks and many through example.  It's when things are less than ideal when I realize what incredible characters they both possess.  That is when I realize one of my aspirations, for my character to remain constant despite my circumstances so that it is nothing less than genuine.

"I am bending, Made of steel, I am stumbling, Towards something real, How can you forget this feeling?, Standing straight while the world is reeling?" --Better Than Ezra

Pop

I can't remember the quote perfectly but a professor here at UCSD is known for telling us that we are at the luckiest points of our lives to be young, poor and some other seemingly undesirable aspect of a nineteen year old's life in college.  There are times when I would whole-heartedly agree with him and others when I know I cannot appreciate his wisdom for many, many more years.
This time in anyone's life is funny.  In my case, the bubble of college, surrounded by thousands of people going through the same exact things I go through everyday.  Sometimes I find myself forgetting what life outside of this bubble is like and I am often reminded whenever I leave campus for a couple of days.  My mom came down and visited over the past three day weekend and we drove up to visit family.  We had a long breakfast with Aunt Daisy, Uncle Mike and her sister, brother-in-law and Jaclyn (basically my cousin) where we talked about Jaclyn's and my future.  Daisy's sister is a lawyer and she talked me through the next eight years of my life, if I choose to go down that path.  At first it was overwhelming to once again realize that these decisions are coming up so quickly.
I say once again because of the bubble.  All of my friends and peers here have been talking about their futures for some time now.  We all think we have a good idea of what we want and how to get there but we all have doubts.  We wonder what the chances are of us actually achieving our goals.  It can be scary.  But it can also be a powerful motivator and, honestly, it's pretty freaking exciting.
After that lengthy talk this weekend, I can say that I have a better idea of what lies ahead and I appreciate that immensely.  I know what I want and have a pretty good idea of the road to take.  The doubts are still there and will be for quite some time.  I will not be able to say with any degree of certainty that I am going to be a successful lawyer ten years from now until...about ten years from now.
But I know a few things.  I am always (whether at home or here in San Diego) surrounded by incredible people who love me and will support me to hell and back.  I know that ten years from now I want to be doing something that matters and I know that is more than possible.  I know that the doubts will never vanish but, from experience, I know they are a lot less powerful than they seem.
"My God, Amazing that we got this far, It's like we're chasing all those stars.. Tell me what you want to hear, something that were like all those years, I'm sick of all the insincere, So I'm gonna give all my secrets away" --One Republic

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