Christmas break has been absolutely splendid, so far, thanks for asking.
I haven't been updating lately (obviously) for reasons both on purpose and by accident.
By Accident- Yes, I've forgotten a bit.
On Purpose- This blog was meant to be more about my life while I'm at college.... and I'm not at college right now!!!
That being said, I will make this post my write-up about the new year, but won't start blogging again regularly until I get back to school on the eleventh.
I made some New Year's resolutions, as I always do, but this year they're much less ambitious than normal. The list includes practicing more (both acting and singing), taking a challenge sometime in the year to do something new every day for a month, trying (at least for two weeks) to go for what I'm calling a prayer walk (going for a walk for the purpose of using that time to do nothing but pray...and walk), get a real job (although, it's a bit awkward when that happens before the New Year starts... guess what happened today? :)), and getting caught up with my scrapbooks (finally)
Something I tried last year that worked a lot better than normal resolutions was to give myself an overarching goal for the year. For 2013, this goal was to Grow- mentally, emotionally, spiritually, you name it, that was the goal.
Looking back... I don't think I accomplished it. In some ways, I definitely grew up; I moved out to LA for college and lived on my own for a few months, I transitioned out of high school and out of what was considered normal back home, I learned a lot, and I became more mature an adultlike, I guess, but even in all of this, I still feel like a six year old in the body of an eighteen year old whenever someone mentions Disney. This is just one example of the times when I think I'm really not that mature at all. I guess I have my moments. I guess, in general, it's really hard to judge if I've grown or not, in any category of growth. Maybe because it's something that's meant to be observational, or maybe because I just haven't grown much if at all. Or, maybe it's just meant to be a process this slow.
Nevertheless, I'm setting a new overarching goal for 2014- work. By Work, I don't just mean literally working, but also working hard, not being lazy, being proactive, and really making some steps toward accomplishments in the next year. I'm hoping to audition for Disneyland again, audition more in general (maybe for more than just productions on campus!), read a whole lot more (especially plays), and just work towards becoming the type of person I want to be. I want to make every moment, even those where I'm relaxing or having fun, be productive somehow or someway. We'll see.
What are your resolutions?
No matter what they are, I genuinely hope that you, whoever you are that's reading this, have a very, very happy New Year.
Fight on, and see you in 2014 my friends!!!
Monday, December 30, 2013
Sunday, December 22, 2013
I Have Survived!!- December 17-22, 2013
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls.
And the rest of you.
I am proud to announce that I have officially completed my first semester of college. I am alive and I have survived!!!
Tuesday felt a bit stressful. I was pretty nervous that I hadn't studied enough for my Text Studies final- There was a lot that was going to be on it, and there were some plays we read that I had a really hard time understanding... (Death and the King's Horseman by Wole Soyinka and The America Play by Suzan Lori-Parks, for example). However, our professor led a totally chill final, plus, I found out by the final's contents that I had studied enough. Exactly enough, actually. I think I did well!!
I didn't have a whole lot of time to study for my Intro to Production final... I didn't think I needed to be too worried, since the final was short. I was right. Everyone was super relaxed about the test, including me. There were a few questions on our 20 question multiple-choice/short answer test that made me really worried though.... It took me a good 5 minutes of staring at the test to remember what one of the terms meant....
I made myself study for my Spanish final that evening, even though it was the last thing I wanted to do. The hard work paid off, however, because that night I got to hang out with Jessie, Jinny, Sneha, Kate, and two new friends- Joyce and Sarah. We stayed up late and had a blast! I went to bed much earlier than they did though. They went to get food at around 1am, but I went to bed. When I first woke up Wednesday morning, I noticed Jinny finally coming back to the room. They stayed up until 7am!!
Wednesday was pretty torturous, to be honest. Everybody was leaving, and I was watching everybody leave. I finished my own packing, and cleaned up the room from top to bottom after Jinny left to go to Palm Springs with her family. I then tried to do more studying for my Spanish final.... but I could see everyone going away... bit by bit.... It took a lot of willpower to have patience enough to study.
On the bright side, I met up with Thomas before my final! We got to hang out for a short while just to say bye and Merry Christmas. I also met up with a newer friend, Brenan. I think that's how he spells his name...
Speaking of friends, my friend Tyler was taking the Spanish final with me!!! It was the biggest final I've had out of all of them... and by biggest, I mean by how many people were in the room. Half of all the students at USC taking Spanish 3 were in the room, which clarifies why Tyler was there with me. Nevertheless, it was fairly easy, and I finished just fine. And I practically ran back to my dorm room with joy.
Free!!! Free at last!!!! Able to go home and all of a sudden done with my first semester!!!!
I want to say that the time flew by... In some ways, it did. In others, it certainly didn't. It feels like it's been a while and that so much has happened. But at the same time, my lack of specific stories and the weather in LA hardly ever changing makes it seem like it hasn't been quite as long as it has. I don't know what to make of it...
What I do know now that I didn't at the beginning of the semester is what I'm up against with this whole college thing. I know the type of person I am better, and I know the type of person I want to be even better than that. I guess I've got more specific goals now, and much more clarity on how to get to them. Not crystal clear still... but a better idea. It's like I've been traveling at night. I knew before what my destination was, but wasn't sure what road I was on or if it was the right one or where to turn. Now, I'm making the same journey in the daytime... but in a horrible fog. I've got a better idea of where I'm going, but I'm still not certain. You know?
Anyways, I practically flew to the airport, and I wish I literally had because my taxi driver almost made me throw up. Yay for LA drivers... blech.
For once, I had a nice amount of time to hang out in the airport before my flight! Plus, a couple things happened there:
1. I saw my friend Brenan! It was quite a surprise, especially because I saw him earlier at school. We had a pretty short conversation, but it was still quite a fun coincidence!
2. I made a friend with the guy that worked at the Lemonade restaurant. On my way to the gate, I was passing through to get a better look at the food (and see if it was the same as the Lemonade on campus). I met a worker there because I almost ran into him, and then we had a short conversation on the "No alcohol past this point" sign. I was confused because there was a bar less than 20 feet away, on the other side of the main walkway where people go to their gates. Also, normal Lemonades sell alcohol?!? Apparently they do... And apparently there's no alcohol allowed on that walkway. So there ya go. Anyways, I went back to the same store after I found my gate to get food from there, and had another chat with the worker. The gist of it was, "So you came back!!!" and me telling him that I have a Lemonade on my college campus. He asked which campus, seeming surprised, and I told him USC. He proceeded to mutter the acronym "USC" to himself for a few minutes afterwards. But yeah. Made a friend.
I finally got to read more of Pride and Prejudice on my flight. Yay :)
And then I was home. Just like that. It was wonderful and something I've been looking forward to for ages.
Since then, I've been pretty busy!!! Got to see most of my friends at an Alumni Lunch at TKA, then went to see Frozen (FINALLY) with some of those friends right after!!!
Analysis of Frozen: (No spoilers)
First and foremost, I loved it. I felt like the general gist of both the movie and the short film that came before it was an attempt to transplant classic Disney (the type in The Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast etc.) into the modern era. That said, Frozen is very modern in style and themes. VERY modern. However, it's still a classic fairy tale, and you still get that out of it. It's like... animation steampunk or something. Overall, a graceful blend of classic Disney and the values of our modern era.
It makes me think deeper about our modern values though... Especially feminism and what we value in women nowadays.
As far as the story- Loved it. Characters- Amazing. Soundtrack- Fantastic. Animation- Stunning. Especially all the snowflakes.
Conclusion: Go see it!!!!!!
Thursday and Friday were full of shopping for me, after the movie Thursday. I got a lot of my Christmas presents through clothes with my mom and my aunt. I love my new clothes though!!! My favorite item at the moment is an army-green jacket with red and grey sweater sleeves.
Friday afternoon I went to my beautiful friend Abbey's house. We went to a nail salon and met up with Annie, Rae, and Kristina, and got our nails done! I got a pedicure, they got manicures, but that's ok. My feet needed the pampering more than my hands after all those gross dorm room floors. Merry Christmas to me!
We all slept over at Abbey's that night. I've missed my girls so incredibly much so getting to spend a night with them was a huge blessing. I love them so much!!!!!!!! <3 <3 <3
Saturday I paid for my lack of sleep. I got back home around 12:30pm, but had an appointment with the eye doctor at 2. I've decided that eye appointments are my least favorite type of appointment. Dentists are fine as long as they aren't numbing or drilling something. Doctors? No problem. I can handle shots. Eye doctor?.... Nope. I hate the bright lights and the puffs of air they put in your eyes and trying to discern which letters are clearer when they look practically the same and the office that lost your record of appointments when they renovated the area.... At least my doctor was nice.
I got home and packed... eventually... Had to get some help on the clothes from my grandmother and a shot of coffee. Grandma and Grandpa were over for dinner though, which was lovely!
We finished packing, I painted my nails, and then my family had an early Christmas where we exchanged our gifts with each other. :) I loved it. I love everything I was given and I love that my family loves what I gave them. (at least, I hope they do. If they don't they faked it well).
This morning we got up at 4am to fly to Montana. I finished Pride and Prejudice on the plane!!!! I finally understand why people love Mr. Darcy... I'm totally ashamed of myself for saying it, but I might love him a bit too. Also, I really want to play Elizabeth or Jane on an onstage version of Pride and Prejudice.
Once we got here, we spent the day playing in the snow and learning about my family history from my grandma. And, of course, eating too much and spending great time with family.
So that's where I write to you from now- warm and safe, in Montana.
I'm on vacation, I'm relaxed, and I'm free for a few weeks. It feels really nice... almost a return to normalcy.
Though... what is normal anymore? Normal is very slowly becoming how life is at college.... but being back and being back in Montana feels normal as well... It's a different kind of normal, maybe, but one that I gladly accept.
Before the break is over, I've got a lot of goals to complete. I want to set myself up to go back to school in January prepared and well set-up for a kick-butt second semester. How ironic that winter vacation is my opportunity to be even more proactive!!!
But, at least until we get home after Christmas... I'm going to relax and have fun.
Goodnight, and Fight on.
And the rest of you.
I am proud to announce that I have officially completed my first semester of college. I am alive and I have survived!!!
Tuesday felt a bit stressful. I was pretty nervous that I hadn't studied enough for my Text Studies final- There was a lot that was going to be on it, and there were some plays we read that I had a really hard time understanding... (Death and the King's Horseman by Wole Soyinka and The America Play by Suzan Lori-Parks, for example). However, our professor led a totally chill final, plus, I found out by the final's contents that I had studied enough. Exactly enough, actually. I think I did well!!
I didn't have a whole lot of time to study for my Intro to Production final... I didn't think I needed to be too worried, since the final was short. I was right. Everyone was super relaxed about the test, including me. There were a few questions on our 20 question multiple-choice/short answer test that made me really worried though.... It took me a good 5 minutes of staring at the test to remember what one of the terms meant....
I made myself study for my Spanish final that evening, even though it was the last thing I wanted to do. The hard work paid off, however, because that night I got to hang out with Jessie, Jinny, Sneha, Kate, and two new friends- Joyce and Sarah. We stayed up late and had a blast! I went to bed much earlier than they did though. They went to get food at around 1am, but I went to bed. When I first woke up Wednesday morning, I noticed Jinny finally coming back to the room. They stayed up until 7am!!
Wednesday was pretty torturous, to be honest. Everybody was leaving, and I was watching everybody leave. I finished my own packing, and cleaned up the room from top to bottom after Jinny left to go to Palm Springs with her family. I then tried to do more studying for my Spanish final.... but I could see everyone going away... bit by bit.... It took a lot of willpower to have patience enough to study.
On the bright side, I met up with Thomas before my final! We got to hang out for a short while just to say bye and Merry Christmas. I also met up with a newer friend, Brenan. I think that's how he spells his name...
Speaking of friends, my friend Tyler was taking the Spanish final with me!!! It was the biggest final I've had out of all of them... and by biggest, I mean by how many people were in the room. Half of all the students at USC taking Spanish 3 were in the room, which clarifies why Tyler was there with me. Nevertheless, it was fairly easy, and I finished just fine. And I practically ran back to my dorm room with joy.
Free!!! Free at last!!!! Able to go home and all of a sudden done with my first semester!!!!
I want to say that the time flew by... In some ways, it did. In others, it certainly didn't. It feels like it's been a while and that so much has happened. But at the same time, my lack of specific stories and the weather in LA hardly ever changing makes it seem like it hasn't been quite as long as it has. I don't know what to make of it...
What I do know now that I didn't at the beginning of the semester is what I'm up against with this whole college thing. I know the type of person I am better, and I know the type of person I want to be even better than that. I guess I've got more specific goals now, and much more clarity on how to get to them. Not crystal clear still... but a better idea. It's like I've been traveling at night. I knew before what my destination was, but wasn't sure what road I was on or if it was the right one or where to turn. Now, I'm making the same journey in the daytime... but in a horrible fog. I've got a better idea of where I'm going, but I'm still not certain. You know?
Anyways, I practically flew to the airport, and I wish I literally had because my taxi driver almost made me throw up. Yay for LA drivers... blech.
For once, I had a nice amount of time to hang out in the airport before my flight! Plus, a couple things happened there:
1. I saw my friend Brenan! It was quite a surprise, especially because I saw him earlier at school. We had a pretty short conversation, but it was still quite a fun coincidence!
2. I made a friend with the guy that worked at the Lemonade restaurant. On my way to the gate, I was passing through to get a better look at the food (and see if it was the same as the Lemonade on campus). I met a worker there because I almost ran into him, and then we had a short conversation on the "No alcohol past this point" sign. I was confused because there was a bar less than 20 feet away, on the other side of the main walkway where people go to their gates. Also, normal Lemonades sell alcohol?!? Apparently they do... And apparently there's no alcohol allowed on that walkway. So there ya go. Anyways, I went back to the same store after I found my gate to get food from there, and had another chat with the worker. The gist of it was, "So you came back!!!" and me telling him that I have a Lemonade on my college campus. He asked which campus, seeming surprised, and I told him USC. He proceeded to mutter the acronym "USC" to himself for a few minutes afterwards. But yeah. Made a friend.
I finally got to read more of Pride and Prejudice on my flight. Yay :)
And then I was home. Just like that. It was wonderful and something I've been looking forward to for ages.
Since then, I've been pretty busy!!! Got to see most of my friends at an Alumni Lunch at TKA, then went to see Frozen (FINALLY) with some of those friends right after!!!
Analysis of Frozen: (No spoilers)
First and foremost, I loved it. I felt like the general gist of both the movie and the short film that came before it was an attempt to transplant classic Disney (the type in The Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast etc.) into the modern era. That said, Frozen is very modern in style and themes. VERY modern. However, it's still a classic fairy tale, and you still get that out of it. It's like... animation steampunk or something. Overall, a graceful blend of classic Disney and the values of our modern era.
It makes me think deeper about our modern values though... Especially feminism and what we value in women nowadays.
As far as the story- Loved it. Characters- Amazing. Soundtrack- Fantastic. Animation- Stunning. Especially all the snowflakes.
Conclusion: Go see it!!!!!!
Thursday and Friday were full of shopping for me, after the movie Thursday. I got a lot of my Christmas presents through clothes with my mom and my aunt. I love my new clothes though!!! My favorite item at the moment is an army-green jacket with red and grey sweater sleeves.
Friday afternoon I went to my beautiful friend Abbey's house. We went to a nail salon and met up with Annie, Rae, and Kristina, and got our nails done! I got a pedicure, they got manicures, but that's ok. My feet needed the pampering more than my hands after all those gross dorm room floors. Merry Christmas to me!
We all slept over at Abbey's that night. I've missed my girls so incredibly much so getting to spend a night with them was a huge blessing. I love them so much!!!!!!!! <3 <3 <3
Saturday I paid for my lack of sleep. I got back home around 12:30pm, but had an appointment with the eye doctor at 2. I've decided that eye appointments are my least favorite type of appointment. Dentists are fine as long as they aren't numbing or drilling something. Doctors? No problem. I can handle shots. Eye doctor?.... Nope. I hate the bright lights and the puffs of air they put in your eyes and trying to discern which letters are clearer when they look practically the same and the office that lost your record of appointments when they renovated the area.... At least my doctor was nice.
I got home and packed... eventually... Had to get some help on the clothes from my grandmother and a shot of coffee. Grandma and Grandpa were over for dinner though, which was lovely!
We finished packing, I painted my nails, and then my family had an early Christmas where we exchanged our gifts with each other. :) I loved it. I love everything I was given and I love that my family loves what I gave them. (at least, I hope they do. If they don't they faked it well).
This morning we got up at 4am to fly to Montana. I finished Pride and Prejudice on the plane!!!! I finally understand why people love Mr. Darcy... I'm totally ashamed of myself for saying it, but I might love him a bit too. Also, I really want to play Elizabeth or Jane on an onstage version of Pride and Prejudice.
Once we got here, we spent the day playing in the snow and learning about my family history from my grandma. And, of course, eating too much and spending great time with family.
So that's where I write to you from now- warm and safe, in Montana.
I'm on vacation, I'm relaxed, and I'm free for a few weeks. It feels really nice... almost a return to normalcy.
Though... what is normal anymore? Normal is very slowly becoming how life is at college.... but being back and being back in Montana feels normal as well... It's a different kind of normal, maybe, but one that I gladly accept.
Before the break is over, I've got a lot of goals to complete. I want to set myself up to go back to school in January prepared and well set-up for a kick-butt second semester. How ironic that winter vacation is my opportunity to be even more proactive!!!
But, at least until we get home after Christmas... I'm going to relax and have fun.
Goodnight, and Fight on.
Monday, December 16, 2013
Two down...- December 15-16, 2013
Two down... Three to go...
I'm finally in that home stretch, now that finals have started. In exactly 48 hours, I will be home for Christmas break. I'm so excited...
But I'm also grateful that my days are fuller now. For instance, Sunday I spent almost the entire day studying for Philosophy. The few breaks I took were to hang out with Thomas for an hour or so in the early afternoon, to get lunch, doing laundry, and then finally to hang out with Thomas again in the evening. Even in the evening though, both of us were studying for Philosophy. Study study study study.... Nevertheless, it's always fun to hang out with Thomas, so at least that time was enjoyable!!! :)
Plus, he gave me a very sweet gift- a beautiful copy of The Count of Monte Cristo. I've been wanting to read the unabridged version since my freshman year of high school, so I'm very excited to read it!!! Thanks, Thomas!
Today has been also full of studying. I had a slow start... let myself have some computer time in the morning, did some last-minute studying for Philosophy, got lunch, and then took the Philosophy final.
I was more nervous walking into the final than I expected... I don't like that I was nervous for it, but despite my efforts to make myself not stress out, I couldn't help but feel a bit stressed! Maybe because it was Philosophy... or maybe because it was a final in general. Maybe the latter, because I'm nervous for my finals tomorrow too...
When the final was passed out, I first felt relieved- I knew all the topics being talked about on the final, so I was satisfied with my level of studying. However, as I went through the test, I began to realize that even though I understood the concepts, the test itself was difficult. There were a few parts of the questions that I know I didn't do too well on. Oh well. It's done!!!
I went to the gym to celebrate, and then went to dinner with Jinny and Sneha. I also got myself cookies from Starbucks... :) They made me really happy, even though I should probably cut down on sugar. I'll be eating a lot over Christmas break, I can sense that already. Better to have a moderate amount of sugar than too much, right?
...meh. I'll start that habit tomorrow.
Since I got back from dinner, I've been attempting to study for my Text Studies (Theater 125) final. I took some time to pack for Christmas... but studying is my main priority. It's been hard to concentrate... I'm stopping now because I'm too tired to get anything else in my brain.
Lucky Jinny finished finals today!! She went to bed at 9:10. 9!!! Looks like the tables have turned- last week, I wasn't doing much and she was working hard. Now, she can relax while it's my turn to work really hard... I think I prefer working hard and then relaxing, but it is what it is.
t-48 hours..... Two more days.... I'm so excited for Christmas. Finals are no fun.
Fight on, friends
I'm finally in that home stretch, now that finals have started. In exactly 48 hours, I will be home for Christmas break. I'm so excited...
But I'm also grateful that my days are fuller now. For instance, Sunday I spent almost the entire day studying for Philosophy. The few breaks I took were to hang out with Thomas for an hour or so in the early afternoon, to get lunch, doing laundry, and then finally to hang out with Thomas again in the evening. Even in the evening though, both of us were studying for Philosophy. Study study study study.... Nevertheless, it's always fun to hang out with Thomas, so at least that time was enjoyable!!! :)
Plus, he gave me a very sweet gift- a beautiful copy of The Count of Monte Cristo. I've been wanting to read the unabridged version since my freshman year of high school, so I'm very excited to read it!!! Thanks, Thomas!
Today has been also full of studying. I had a slow start... let myself have some computer time in the morning, did some last-minute studying for Philosophy, got lunch, and then took the Philosophy final.
I was more nervous walking into the final than I expected... I don't like that I was nervous for it, but despite my efforts to make myself not stress out, I couldn't help but feel a bit stressed! Maybe because it was Philosophy... or maybe because it was a final in general. Maybe the latter, because I'm nervous for my finals tomorrow too...
When the final was passed out, I first felt relieved- I knew all the topics being talked about on the final, so I was satisfied with my level of studying. However, as I went through the test, I began to realize that even though I understood the concepts, the test itself was difficult. There were a few parts of the questions that I know I didn't do too well on. Oh well. It's done!!!
I went to the gym to celebrate, and then went to dinner with Jinny and Sneha. I also got myself cookies from Starbucks... :) They made me really happy, even though I should probably cut down on sugar. I'll be eating a lot over Christmas break, I can sense that already. Better to have a moderate amount of sugar than too much, right?
...meh. I'll start that habit tomorrow.
Since I got back from dinner, I've been attempting to study for my Text Studies (Theater 125) final. I took some time to pack for Christmas... but studying is my main priority. It's been hard to concentrate... I'm stopping now because I'm too tired to get anything else in my brain.
Lucky Jinny finished finals today!! She went to bed at 9:10. 9!!! Looks like the tables have turned- last week, I wasn't doing much and she was working hard. Now, she can relax while it's my turn to work really hard... I think I prefer working hard and then relaxing, but it is what it is.
t-48 hours..... Two more days.... I'm so excited for Christmas. Finals are no fun.
Fight on, friends
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Hurry UP, Finals!!!- December 14, 2013
Is it Christmas break yet?!?!
I'm actually getting excited to take my finals!!! As soon as I can get them done with, it can be Christmas and I can go home!!! So not fair that all my finals are at the end of Finals week.... :(
But anyways. Today was nice! Went to the gym this morning, and started studying after I got food. I picked a nice spot outside, but before I even started studying, I saw Paulina again and met her friend (who is now my new friend) Mindy! Chatting with them was a pleasant start to studying adventures :)
Except that after studying for a while... I got distracted and moved into the lounge in Pardee. I could concentrate there for a while... but then got distracted by the piano. I need to learn how to play some more songs on piano...
Then I attempted to go back into my room to study more. Being at my desk has had both good and bad effects. All evening, I've been in going in and out of states of studying...
I think I'll call it quits for tonight. Without the pressure of finals being tomorrow or something, I can't get myself to focus. Plus, I did enough to give me a good headstart when the tests get much nearer. Tomorrow, for instance, I'll be much more motivated to study for my Philosophy final on Monday.
It's just something I learned about myself this year. I work better under pressure. Not stress though... There's a difference between stress and pressure. Hopefully, I won't be stressed when next week comes... I mean, I don't have any reason to be unless I start not using my time well and I run out of it. I don't think that will happen except for maybe Tuesday, when I have two finals. All that there is for me to do this next week is study for finals and pack for home...
I'm so excited for break and so jealous of people on break already. Hurry up, finals!!! First semester has been long enough!!!
As for tonight... I'm going to play with my coloring book or make a packing list or something. I've had my fill of studying for one day.
*sigh*... Fight on, friends.
I'm actually getting excited to take my finals!!! As soon as I can get them done with, it can be Christmas and I can go home!!! So not fair that all my finals are at the end of Finals week.... :(
But anyways. Today was nice! Went to the gym this morning, and started studying after I got food. I picked a nice spot outside, but before I even started studying, I saw Paulina again and met her friend (who is now my new friend) Mindy! Chatting with them was a pleasant start to studying adventures :)
Except that after studying for a while... I got distracted and moved into the lounge in Pardee. I could concentrate there for a while... but then got distracted by the piano. I need to learn how to play some more songs on piano...
Then I attempted to go back into my room to study more. Being at my desk has had both good and bad effects. All evening, I've been in going in and out of states of studying...
I think I'll call it quits for tonight. Without the pressure of finals being tomorrow or something, I can't get myself to focus. Plus, I did enough to give me a good headstart when the tests get much nearer. Tomorrow, for instance, I'll be much more motivated to study for my Philosophy final on Monday.
It's just something I learned about myself this year. I work better under pressure. Not stress though... There's a difference between stress and pressure. Hopefully, I won't be stressed when next week comes... I mean, I don't have any reason to be unless I start not using my time well and I run out of it. I don't think that will happen except for maybe Tuesday, when I have two finals. All that there is for me to do this next week is study for finals and pack for home...
I'm so excited for break and so jealous of people on break already. Hurry up, finals!!! First semester has been long enough!!!
As for tonight... I'm going to play with my coloring book or make a packing list or something. I've had my fill of studying for one day.
*sigh*... Fight on, friends.
Friday, December 13, 2013
PTX and Christmas Gifts- December 13, 2013
You know how yesterday was productive, but not interesting?
Today was the exact opposite: interesting, but not as productive as it could've been.
First of all, I had a voice lesson again today! Despite not going in in a while, I'm really proud of how much I've improved since the beginning of the year. The song I'm working on is coming along really nicely, and the warm ups that I do with my teacher are getting easier to do. It's also getting easier to realize when I'm not doing something quite right. Yay!
After that, I met up with the lovely Paulina to hang out and for lunch! We hung out in the Campus Center for food and talking, and I followed her to her classroom for a little bit so she could turn in a final paper. Then, we went back to the Campus Center and played with dogs!!!
Dogs must be really big stress relievers. USC keeps bringing them on campus to help everybody out!!! Also, they were HUGE dogs.
I feel kind of bad for not being super stressed about finals right now... I know I will be next week, and especially after this weekend... but I have so many empty days until my finals hit! I'm really wishing I could've had them more evenly spread out... or at least have gotten to get them over with sooner during the finals weeks... I'm just getting anxious for both finals and Christmas break waiting around like this, trying to study!!!
Anyways, after I hung out with Paulina, I came back to my dorm room to study... Well... That didn't really happen.
Jinny took a nap, since she didn't get much sleep last night... and the entire time she was sleeping, I watched performances of Pentatonix. Particularly, their journey through "The Sing Off." So... I watched Pentatonix for a good 2-3 hours... I couldn't help it!!! They're so amazing!!!
This performance in particular gave me a physical reaction... Like... I can't even handle the beauty. AAAHH.
Gorgeous. I can't get over it. I love it. Seriously. They're 5 absolutely incredible individuals. I adore all of their voices and I love their overall sound and their personalities seem so sweet!!! And this is acapella, folks. No music. Wow.
ANYways. Jinny woke up, then kicked me out of the room for a bit so she could wrap Christmas presents. Then Jinny, Kate, Kieryn, Sneha, and I had our gift exchange, since Kieryn is leaving tomorrow!!!
I have such kind and generous friends. Among my gifts were loose-leaf tea and a strainer, a really nice pomegranate lotion set, a coloring book, one of the books that Kieryn wrote, and a leaf brooch from Lord of the Rings!!! Isn't that so sweet?? I love all of it!! :)
I went to dinner with Jinny and Kieryn afterwards at Parkside, which was lovely, then got to Facetime my sister Melissa for a while!!! Then, Jinny and I gave our RA Hannah her Christmas gifts, and talked to her for a while. We also convinced her to watch The Avengers tonight, since she doesn't have any more finals or projects until Monday, and has all weekend to work on them. That girl works so hard!! She needs a break!
And now... here I am again. Listening to Pentatonix, realizing how late at night it is right now, and trying to figure out how I'll be more productive tomorrow.
Today's been a good day. Maybe less Pentatonix tomorrow though. As amazing as they are, I probably should've been studying during that time... but it was time enjoyed. They make me happy. :)
Fight on, friends.
Today was the exact opposite: interesting, but not as productive as it could've been.
First of all, I had a voice lesson again today! Despite not going in in a while, I'm really proud of how much I've improved since the beginning of the year. The song I'm working on is coming along really nicely, and the warm ups that I do with my teacher are getting easier to do. It's also getting easier to realize when I'm not doing something quite right. Yay!
After that, I met up with the lovely Paulina to hang out and for lunch! We hung out in the Campus Center for food and talking, and I followed her to her classroom for a little bit so she could turn in a final paper. Then, we went back to the Campus Center and played with dogs!!!
Dogs must be really big stress relievers. USC keeps bringing them on campus to help everybody out!!! Also, they were HUGE dogs.
 |
| They're GIANT. Like.. bear dogs!! But really soft :) |
I feel kind of bad for not being super stressed about finals right now... I know I will be next week, and especially after this weekend... but I have so many empty days until my finals hit! I'm really wishing I could've had them more evenly spread out... or at least have gotten to get them over with sooner during the finals weeks... I'm just getting anxious for both finals and Christmas break waiting around like this, trying to study!!!
Anyways, after I hung out with Paulina, I came back to my dorm room to study... Well... That didn't really happen.
Jinny took a nap, since she didn't get much sleep last night... and the entire time she was sleeping, I watched performances of Pentatonix. Particularly, their journey through "The Sing Off." So... I watched Pentatonix for a good 2-3 hours... I couldn't help it!!! They're so amazing!!!
This performance in particular gave me a physical reaction... Like... I can't even handle the beauty. AAAHH.
Gorgeous. I can't get over it. I love it. Seriously. They're 5 absolutely incredible individuals. I adore all of their voices and I love their overall sound and their personalities seem so sweet!!! And this is acapella, folks. No music. Wow.
ANYways. Jinny woke up, then kicked me out of the room for a bit so she could wrap Christmas presents. Then Jinny, Kate, Kieryn, Sneha, and I had our gift exchange, since Kieryn is leaving tomorrow!!!
I have such kind and generous friends. Among my gifts were loose-leaf tea and a strainer, a really nice pomegranate lotion set, a coloring book, one of the books that Kieryn wrote, and a leaf brooch from Lord of the Rings!!! Isn't that so sweet?? I love all of it!! :)
I went to dinner with Jinny and Kieryn afterwards at Parkside, which was lovely, then got to Facetime my sister Melissa for a while!!! Then, Jinny and I gave our RA Hannah her Christmas gifts, and talked to her for a while. We also convinced her to watch The Avengers tonight, since she doesn't have any more finals or projects until Monday, and has all weekend to work on them. That girl works so hard!! She needs a break!
And now... here I am again. Listening to Pentatonix, realizing how late at night it is right now, and trying to figure out how I'll be more productive tomorrow.
Today's been a good day. Maybe less Pentatonix tomorrow though. As amazing as they are, I probably should've been studying during that time... but it was time enjoyed. They make me happy. :)
Fight on, friends.
Thursday, December 12, 2013
My Favorite Carols- December 12, 2013
Well, I can't actually say that today was particularly interesting, but it was productive!
Oh well. That's still a good way for a day to go.
Here's everything that happened: I got up late, got breakfast, studied for Philosophy, brought my availability to that little coffee place I mentioned yesterday, came back, went to the gym, went to my Philosophy TA's office hours to get a question answered, studied for my Text Studies final, got dinner, continued studying but got bored so painted my nails and soon lost interest, and now here I am. And in other news, the quad smells awful because the school had fertilizer added to it a few days ago. Quite a day, huh?
So, since there isn't much to talk about, I'm going to share my top 6 favorite Christmas carols instead!!!
I've been listening to Christmas music a lot lately, so thought it would be appropriate to share the songs that mean "Christmas" the most to me.
6.
Silent Night
Oh well. That's still a good way for a day to go.
Here's everything that happened: I got up late, got breakfast, studied for Philosophy, brought my availability to that little coffee place I mentioned yesterday, came back, went to the gym, went to my Philosophy TA's office hours to get a question answered, studied for my Text Studies final, got dinner, continued studying but got bored so painted my nails and soon lost interest, and now here I am. And in other news, the quad smells awful because the school had fertilizer added to it a few days ago. Quite a day, huh?
So, since there isn't much to talk about, I'm going to share my top 6 favorite Christmas carols instead!!!
I've been listening to Christmas music a lot lately, so thought it would be appropriate to share the songs that mean "Christmas" the most to me.
6.
Silent Night
To be honest, this song is pretty boring to me most of the time. Maybe because it's boring to sing. But the words are absolutely beautiful. It perfectly paints a picture of peace and love the night Christ was born, and the tune is simple and beautiful. It paints a picture of the Nativity. I love it.
There isn't a particular cover that I like most, but I chose this one because it was the most traditional. I wish they had sung all three verses.
5.
Winter Wonderland
I love music that makes me happy, or that has a happy, light-hearted tone to it. If this isn't a happy song, I don't know what is. The tune just makes you want to swing dance, or hold someone close, or smile, or be happy... all of it!! Plus, Christmas turns the world into a Winter Wonderland. Why not enjoy it?
I have Michael Buble here because I love him. I also love the traditional covers.
4.
Sleigh Ride
Again, it's a happy song! I have fun memories singing part of this song with Dicken's Carolers too. But yeah... I like this one for most of the same reason I love Winter Wonderland. This one, in particular, catches the part of Christmas that's spent with family and loved ones. I always imagine the scenes described in the songs as though I were experiencing them with my family. My favorite part is the part of the lyrics that describe "There's a happy feeling that nothing in this world can buy when they pass around the coffee and the pumpkin pie...." Then a few lines later, "These wonderful things are the things we remember all through our lives." How true. Let's celebrate!
No reason I chose this particular version. But it sounds nice. :)
3.
Oh Little Town of Bethlehem
When I was young, I inherited a decorative plate from my great grandmother. It's a Christmas plate, and has the first few lines of music from this song around the edge. The plate is really special to me, and so the song has become really special to me because of it. It's a beautiful song in every respect.
I did choose this version for a reason, but just because it's my favorite one.
2.
Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas
Gosh, I adore this song. Honestly, I don't think I even have a good reason why. It's another one of those happy songs, obviously, but it's also just so fun!!! It always makes me happy, and brings back fun memories of being with friends (and watching the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer movie when I was younger). I think it's also a much more fun way of saying "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."
I included both the original and Michael Buble, because I adore both versions and can't decide between them.
1.
Little Drummer Boy
This year, this song has taken the number one spot as my favorite Christmas song. I think it embodies so much more than the message of Christmas. It encompasses how we should live our lives every day, and certainly how I want to live my life. I know that for me, in my life, I don't have a gift fit to give a king like Jesus, but I do have little things I can do that bring him glory. I want to do my best at what I've been given to make him happy. Because what more beautiful thing is there than to have Jesus smile at me? This song has the reason we celebrate Christmas in it- to bring glory to Jesus, out of gratitude for him coming to Earth for us.
So... the song speaks to my heart I guess.
Also, this version by Pentatonix is absolutely gorgeous. I think it's the best one out there.
What are your favorite Christmas carols? I'd love to listen to them!! :)
Fight on, friends.
Ends and Beginnings- December 11, 2013
My favorite class of my first semester of my freshman year of college is now over.
It was a bittersweet ending.
Today, I got up for an 8am class for the very last time this semester. I'll have to do it again next semester, but not nearly as often. I'm proud to say that I have officially made all my 8ams so far, and have not been late to any either. Today, for my acting final, many of us were very early!
We decided on an order in which to present our scenes, and then circled up to do the five-act play exercise one last time together. We've all missed it!!! We do it a lot better now than we did at the beginning of the semester though, which was really neat to see.
The other thing that was amazing to watch was how much each of the one-act scenes had drastically improved over these past few weeks. After seeing how each scene was when we all started working on them, seeing them at the very end of the semester showed me, and everybody, just how much we've improved and learned this semester. There wasn't a single scene that I wasn't invested in at some point- regardless of the fact that I'd seen every one of them before and already knew what was going to happen. Even my own scene! Only a few times did I have to actively remember the specific actions I had decided to do. Most of the time... it felt totally natural. I just slipped into my character...and away we went! It was enjoyable from start to finish.
Not only did each scene improve drastically these past few weeks, but all the amazing actors and actresses I had the privilege of working with this semester improved majorly from the beginning of the year!! What a talented group of kids. Really, I admire each and every one of them and seriously feel so honored that I got to learn alongside of them all.
Of course, we owe all of this to our incredible professor, Mary Joan Negro. She pushed us and challenged us unbelievably, but we were all changed for the better because of it. Her wisdom is priceless. People have been telling me this year how lucky I was to be getting her for my 101 class, and I know I am. I am oh, so incredibly lucky to have gotten to work with her. If she ever reads this, THANK YOU AGAIN MARY JOAN!!! You will be thanked in my acceptance speech if I ever happen to get any sort of big award in this business.
Honestly, I'm so glad somebody caught me and taught me how to really act like this at the beginning of my USC career. I've learned more than I ever imagined I would in just one semester, about acting, of course, but also about myself. I still have so much to learn and lots of work to do! If this was the impact that this one class could have on me this semester... I can't wait for all the classes I'll be taking in the future.
It was hard to leave afterwards, but I went to get some breakfast, and then headed back to my dorm. There, I got to Skype my lovely Annie, as well as call my wonderful sister, Melissa.
Today is Melissa's 20th birthday. Twenty years old!!! That is so weird to me, but so cool at the same time!!! I really wish I could've celebrated with my sister and family today. Calling her just didn't feel like enough. Happy Birthday, Melissa!!! You've blessed my life so much, and I'm proud to call you my favorite older sister as well as one of my best friends. <3
After that, I got pretty productive- I went job searching for next semester! Earlier this week, I applied online to a few places around campus and on-campus. One of these places was Starbucks, so I walked over to follow through and talk to the manager. Starbucks is a pretty big company, so there were quite a few issues she seemed to have with the idea of hiring a college student. But I got her to take my resume so hopefully she's at least still considering. Then it was to Yogurtland to drop off an application, and then another coffee shop that I actually need to go back to tomorrow to give them my availability. I even got an application for the USC bookstore! Out of all those places... there's got to be somebody who wants me to work for them... right? Let's hope so...
I attempted studying for an hour, but it was much more fun to go to lunch with Thomas! It was quite fun to hang out with him again!!! We did for quite a while- I didn't get back to my dorm room until about 4!
Also, we talked a lot about Disneyland during the course of our conversation. This conversation is the reason that ever since lunch, I have been in a perfect mood for either going on the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland, or watching an Indiana Jones movie. Unfortunately, I cannot do either. :(
The rest of my day has been pretty consumed with studying. I devoted today to studying for my Philosophy final next Monday. I haven't finished as much as I wanted to in the course of today... so I might use some of tomorrow to reach that point before I start studies for another class.
There's a lot to be grateful for today. The future's looking bright, folks.
Fight on.
It was a bittersweet ending.
Today, I got up for an 8am class for the very last time this semester. I'll have to do it again next semester, but not nearly as often. I'm proud to say that I have officially made all my 8ams so far, and have not been late to any either. Today, for my acting final, many of us were very early!
We decided on an order in which to present our scenes, and then circled up to do the five-act play exercise one last time together. We've all missed it!!! We do it a lot better now than we did at the beginning of the semester though, which was really neat to see.
The other thing that was amazing to watch was how much each of the one-act scenes had drastically improved over these past few weeks. After seeing how each scene was when we all started working on them, seeing them at the very end of the semester showed me, and everybody, just how much we've improved and learned this semester. There wasn't a single scene that I wasn't invested in at some point- regardless of the fact that I'd seen every one of them before and already knew what was going to happen. Even my own scene! Only a few times did I have to actively remember the specific actions I had decided to do. Most of the time... it felt totally natural. I just slipped into my character...and away we went! It was enjoyable from start to finish.
Not only did each scene improve drastically these past few weeks, but all the amazing actors and actresses I had the privilege of working with this semester improved majorly from the beginning of the year!! What a talented group of kids. Really, I admire each and every one of them and seriously feel so honored that I got to learn alongside of them all.
Of course, we owe all of this to our incredible professor, Mary Joan Negro. She pushed us and challenged us unbelievably, but we were all changed for the better because of it. Her wisdom is priceless. People have been telling me this year how lucky I was to be getting her for my 101 class, and I know I am. I am oh, so incredibly lucky to have gotten to work with her. If she ever reads this, THANK YOU AGAIN MARY JOAN!!! You will be thanked in my acceptance speech if I ever happen to get any sort of big award in this business.
Honestly, I'm so glad somebody caught me and taught me how to really act like this at the beginning of my USC career. I've learned more than I ever imagined I would in just one semester, about acting, of course, but also about myself. I still have so much to learn and lots of work to do! If this was the impact that this one class could have on me this semester... I can't wait for all the classes I'll be taking in the future.
It was hard to leave afterwards, but I went to get some breakfast, and then headed back to my dorm. There, I got to Skype my lovely Annie, as well as call my wonderful sister, Melissa.
Today is Melissa's 20th birthday. Twenty years old!!! That is so weird to me, but so cool at the same time!!! I really wish I could've celebrated with my sister and family today. Calling her just didn't feel like enough. Happy Birthday, Melissa!!! You've blessed my life so much, and I'm proud to call you my favorite older sister as well as one of my best friends. <3
After that, I got pretty productive- I went job searching for next semester! Earlier this week, I applied online to a few places around campus and on-campus. One of these places was Starbucks, so I walked over to follow through and talk to the manager. Starbucks is a pretty big company, so there were quite a few issues she seemed to have with the idea of hiring a college student. But I got her to take my resume so hopefully she's at least still considering. Then it was to Yogurtland to drop off an application, and then another coffee shop that I actually need to go back to tomorrow to give them my availability. I even got an application for the USC bookstore! Out of all those places... there's got to be somebody who wants me to work for them... right? Let's hope so...
I attempted studying for an hour, but it was much more fun to go to lunch with Thomas! It was quite fun to hang out with him again!!! We did for quite a while- I didn't get back to my dorm room until about 4!
Also, we talked a lot about Disneyland during the course of our conversation. This conversation is the reason that ever since lunch, I have been in a perfect mood for either going on the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland, or watching an Indiana Jones movie. Unfortunately, I cannot do either. :(
The rest of my day has been pretty consumed with studying. I devoted today to studying for my Philosophy final next Monday. I haven't finished as much as I wanted to in the course of today... so I might use some of tomorrow to reach that point before I start studies for another class.
There's a lot to be grateful for today. The future's looking bright, folks.
Fight on.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas- December 9-10, 2013
What puts you in the Christmas spirit?
I don't know about ya'll, but I let myself get suckered into the Christmas spirit as soon as December started this year. I try to never let myself enjoy Christmas stuff before Thanksgiving- Thanksgiving is a different holiday that needs to be celebrated differently!!! Let it be it's own holiday!! But when December hits, it's Christmastime, Baby.
Well, I'm sure in the Christmas spirit right now.
Yesterday and today were pretty much the same, by the way. Yesterday was the first Monday since Labor day that I got to sleep in past 7am and I totally took advantage of that fact. It was beautiful!! Then, I spent the majority of the day finishing up menial "To Do" list tasks and rehearsing for my Acting Final. My group and I actually got to have a one-on-one session with my acting professor (her name's Mary Joan by the way... have I ever mentioned that on this blog before?) so she could work through the scene with us. It helped a bunch! She helped us be a lot more specific with what we were doing as far as body language and tone. I think we retained a lot of it in our rehearsals!
OH my goodness, and I almost forgot!!! Yesterday morning, we got to play with puppies!!! They were really just small dogs, but it was some event that someone set up for Finals week that dogs came to the lawn outside Pardee Tower and we got to play with them!!
 |
| This one was my favorite. She had a personality all her own and an adorable underbite!!!! |
 |
| Her name was Chickie :) |
Another awesome thing that happened last night was that around 11:30 or so, Sneha and Kate came over to our room for tea. Then, Anna joined us! So the five of us had a little tea party. We talked and laughed and I taught them how to play Telephone Pictionary, which was hilarious and fun!! I was going to go to bed early... but they stuck around til 2am, so I just went to bed after they left. It was worth it though! We had a swell time.
Today I slept in again, but understandably so! Jinny and I got a lot of snacks at Seeds, and then I continued in my pattern of practicing my scene and getting stuff done on my To Do list. I updated my theater resume, went through a bunch of old papers, and now, all I have left to do is to go through a list of classes I could possibly take while I'm at USC and decide which ones I actually want to take.
But, as I said, I'm totally in the Christmas spirit. Odd time to be so gleeful and full of Christmasness. Everybody's so stressed for finals and there's a lot to get done, but here's what did it for me- My first Candy Cane of December.
I enjoyed a Candy Cane a few hours ago, and I'm still super happy about it. What is it about candy canes that does that? Maybe it's just the magic of the first one. Or maybe it's the sugar. I'm not too sure, but I am absolutely full of joy now and I love it. I have Christmas music stuck in my head (and I've been listening to it quite a bit lately!), I'm full of energy (which isn't good since it's almost 11pm), and I just can't help but feel totally giddy.
Besides the candy cane and the music, it's been really cold in LA lately. I know, I know, many of you will scoff at me for saying so, but FOR LA, it is cold. And I'm used to LA weather now... so it's cold!!! The cold weather reminds me of Montana. I'm going this year for Christmas and I just can't wait. There's nothing quite like a white, Montana Christmas!!
ON TOP of all this, I made a gingerbread house last week!!! I think I mentioned that in my big huge long catch up blog, but still. It happened! I made a gingerbread house!! Out of graham crackers, yes, but it's the best gingerbread graham cracker house I have ever made. Ever.
 |
| Look how beautiful it is. |
 |
| There's even little furniture candy inside. |
 |
| It's beautiful. I'm so proud |
I've been eating it recently, which is why it's worth mentioning again. Besides, now I have pictures!!
Anyways, my point in all this is despite all the studying and the finals stress that seems to be a pandemic around this campus, I'm looking forward to Christmas break like I can't even believe. I think more than break, I'm just looking forward to Christmas. It's a time of joy, of celebration, of comfort, of love, of giving, and of gratitude. Really, what isn't to love about any of that?
After all, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... ;)
Fight on, friends.
Sunday, December 8, 2013
The First Big Step- December 8, 2013
Waking up this morning wasn't as nerve-wracking as going to bed last night was.
Except for the fact that I got up a good 20 minutes late... but no biggie. It all worked out.
So today I traveled all the way out to Yorba Linda for an audition. My parents suggested I take a taxi there, which made getting there a breeze. Plus, I was plenty early.
What was I auditioning for?!?
Disneyland, of course.
Disney held Character auditions in Yorba Linda, and I decided to go. It was my first Disney audition, though there were some people there who had been to a few auditions before. Even though I got there a good half hour early, I was number 94 in line to get inside (I found this out when they passed a sign-in sheet down the line). There ended up being... at least 200 people there. It was hard to tell, but I know for sure there were way over 100. One of my other observations (besides how cold it was outside) was how beautiful the people auditioning were. There were just... so many absolutely gorgeous people. It was cool! There were also a few people that I felt were trying pretty hard... one girl came with a shirt on that was almost costume-like for Snow White. Another in a sweatshirt modeled after Woody. But hey, at least they were excited.
There were two girls behind me that I talked to while we were waiting. There was also a guy there that was just there for moral support for his friend (one of the girls). They were all much older than me- out of college, at the least. The guy was from Melbourne! So that was pretty cool. The girl I talked to most had her first Disney audition for Disneyland Paris, and made it pretty far before she got cut. I didn't catch their names... but they were really nice!
Disney rocks at crowd control. We were herded like sheep exactly where we needed to be with great efficiency, even though the first place we were supposed to be was just a different configuration of a line to make getting inside much easier.
While we were there, one of the workers made a big announcement along the lines of, "If you're only here because you want to be a Face Character, you're wasting your time. Only fur characters are being looked for today." In other words, this wasn't a princess audition. This was an audition for the characters that don't talk and wear big masks.
I stuck around anyways. Why wouldn't I? I'd work as anything and anyone at the park. Besides, a lot of the face characters get hired from within current cast members.
Anyways, we were then ushered, in smaller groups, into the dance studio and split into some separate rooms. In my room, the Casting Director (he later introduced himself as such) welcomed us all and had us spread out. He told us the core basics of what he was looking for, and then told us what we would be doing.
We did it as a group first to practice: act like a cowboy, then act like a villain. Then, we crossed the floor, two by two, and spent fifteen seconds as each character before we were sorted to one wall or another. The mirror wall, it became clear, were the chosen ones, while those the director didn't quite see something in went to the wall.
I did my best, but I was sent to the wall. My suspicions were right- those that were sent to the mirror stayed to fill out forms and be measured and continue the process. Those at the wall were thanked, but their audition was done for the day. Myself included!
I don't feel too bad about it though. There were only 10 or 15 people that stayed in that room from the 50 people that came in at first. Disney knows efficiency, I guess! It surprised me how little time I spent in there though. The audition was supposed to start officially at 10. I was out of there at 10:20.
Well, I'll try again at the next audition. Next time though, I won't be so nervous. I wasn't what they were looking for this time, but next time I might be! You never know.
Thus began my adventure of getting back to campus... I decided to take the bus system back, because a taxi is expensive. I knew the bus line I had to catch... but I soon discovered that it was a good mile and a half or so away from where I was... so I started walking.
Now, on Friday, I got completely fatigued just walking to class and back to my dorm, since I've been sick. A mile and a half? Two days later? It's understandable how I thought I was going to drop dead and almost gave up the search for that bloody bus station. It was 11:20 when I finally found it... and then I got to sit and wait for the bus to arrive for a good half hour or so.
Phew. That was a trek. At least I had enough money for the bus. Initially, I was worried that I didn't, but turns out it was only $5 to get all the way to USC, and I had that in money that the bus would take.
The bus rides themselves took FOREVER. I didn't get back to campus until 2:30pm... Ugh. But at least they were peaceful and uneventful and safe.
Back on campus, I spent most of the day chilling out. Put Christmas presents together, rehearsed for my acting scene, watched YouTube, talked to my parents, other minor to do list stuff. The biggest adventure today was the audition though, obviously.
By the way, my mom and dad are the best ever. I'm so grateful for how supportive they are of me! They told me over and over how proud they are of me for going out there and auditioning, even though I wasn't cast. They're so proud of me and they're excited for me... and that just means the world to me. Thank you Mom and Dad!!!!
And you know... I'm proud of myself too. I'm really proud, actually. After how terrified I was of going last night, and how I found the courage to stick it out and go, I found some sort of inner courage in myself, I guess. I confirmed for myself that I really am out here chasing a dream, and that dream is real and exciting. Not only that, I was actually taking the first huge step toward making that dream come true. I was thinking, in the taxi ride over, about how I'm really proud of myself just for going out and trying. I found some courage and determination in myself today. No doubt it was thanks to the prayers that I'd been sending constantly this entire process, but still... those are traits I don't often realize I have.
They may not have been looking for princesses today, but I found one. I found quite a strong princess, in me.
It was a fantastic experience. My only regret is that they didn't have a part for me, and that I didn't fit the part they were looking for.
Just you wait, Disney....
Watch and you'll see,
Someday I'll be
Part of Your World....
Fight on, friends.
Except for the fact that I got up a good 20 minutes late... but no biggie. It all worked out.
So today I traveled all the way out to Yorba Linda for an audition. My parents suggested I take a taxi there, which made getting there a breeze. Plus, I was plenty early.
What was I auditioning for?!?
Disneyland, of course.
Disney held Character auditions in Yorba Linda, and I decided to go. It was my first Disney audition, though there were some people there who had been to a few auditions before. Even though I got there a good half hour early, I was number 94 in line to get inside (I found this out when they passed a sign-in sheet down the line). There ended up being... at least 200 people there. It was hard to tell, but I know for sure there were way over 100. One of my other observations (besides how cold it was outside) was how beautiful the people auditioning were. There were just... so many absolutely gorgeous people. It was cool! There were also a few people that I felt were trying pretty hard... one girl came with a shirt on that was almost costume-like for Snow White. Another in a sweatshirt modeled after Woody. But hey, at least they were excited.
There were two girls behind me that I talked to while we were waiting. There was also a guy there that was just there for moral support for his friend (one of the girls). They were all much older than me- out of college, at the least. The guy was from Melbourne! So that was pretty cool. The girl I talked to most had her first Disney audition for Disneyland Paris, and made it pretty far before she got cut. I didn't catch their names... but they were really nice!
Disney rocks at crowd control. We were herded like sheep exactly where we needed to be with great efficiency, even though the first place we were supposed to be was just a different configuration of a line to make getting inside much easier.
While we were there, one of the workers made a big announcement along the lines of, "If you're only here because you want to be a Face Character, you're wasting your time. Only fur characters are being looked for today." In other words, this wasn't a princess audition. This was an audition for the characters that don't talk and wear big masks.
I stuck around anyways. Why wouldn't I? I'd work as anything and anyone at the park. Besides, a lot of the face characters get hired from within current cast members.
Anyways, we were then ushered, in smaller groups, into the dance studio and split into some separate rooms. In my room, the Casting Director (he later introduced himself as such) welcomed us all and had us spread out. He told us the core basics of what he was looking for, and then told us what we would be doing.
We did it as a group first to practice: act like a cowboy, then act like a villain. Then, we crossed the floor, two by two, and spent fifteen seconds as each character before we were sorted to one wall or another. The mirror wall, it became clear, were the chosen ones, while those the director didn't quite see something in went to the wall.
I did my best, but I was sent to the wall. My suspicions were right- those that were sent to the mirror stayed to fill out forms and be measured and continue the process. Those at the wall were thanked, but their audition was done for the day. Myself included!
I don't feel too bad about it though. There were only 10 or 15 people that stayed in that room from the 50 people that came in at first. Disney knows efficiency, I guess! It surprised me how little time I spent in there though. The audition was supposed to start officially at 10. I was out of there at 10:20.
Well, I'll try again at the next audition. Next time though, I won't be so nervous. I wasn't what they were looking for this time, but next time I might be! You never know.
Thus began my adventure of getting back to campus... I decided to take the bus system back, because a taxi is expensive. I knew the bus line I had to catch... but I soon discovered that it was a good mile and a half or so away from where I was... so I started walking.
Now, on Friday, I got completely fatigued just walking to class and back to my dorm, since I've been sick. A mile and a half? Two days later? It's understandable how I thought I was going to drop dead and almost gave up the search for that bloody bus station. It was 11:20 when I finally found it... and then I got to sit and wait for the bus to arrive for a good half hour or so.
Phew. That was a trek. At least I had enough money for the bus. Initially, I was worried that I didn't, but turns out it was only $5 to get all the way to USC, and I had that in money that the bus would take.
The bus rides themselves took FOREVER. I didn't get back to campus until 2:30pm... Ugh. But at least they were peaceful and uneventful and safe.
Back on campus, I spent most of the day chilling out. Put Christmas presents together, rehearsed for my acting scene, watched YouTube, talked to my parents, other minor to do list stuff. The biggest adventure today was the audition though, obviously.
By the way, my mom and dad are the best ever. I'm so grateful for how supportive they are of me! They told me over and over how proud they are of me for going out there and auditioning, even though I wasn't cast. They're so proud of me and they're excited for me... and that just means the world to me. Thank you Mom and Dad!!!!
And you know... I'm proud of myself too. I'm really proud, actually. After how terrified I was of going last night, and how I found the courage to stick it out and go, I found some sort of inner courage in myself, I guess. I confirmed for myself that I really am out here chasing a dream, and that dream is real and exciting. Not only that, I was actually taking the first huge step toward making that dream come true. I was thinking, in the taxi ride over, about how I'm really proud of myself just for going out and trying. I found some courage and determination in myself today. No doubt it was thanks to the prayers that I'd been sending constantly this entire process, but still... those are traits I don't often realize I have.
They may not have been looking for princesses today, but I found one. I found quite a strong princess, in me.
It was a fantastic experience. My only regret is that they didn't have a part for me, and that I didn't fit the part they were looking for.
Just you wait, Disney....
Watch and you'll see,
Someday I'll be
Part of Your World....
Fight on, friends.
Tomorrow... Tomorrow...- December 7, 2013
Now that I'm caught up, I have no intention of letting myself fall behind in writing again.
Today was pretty laid-back though. I spent too much time staring at a computer screen, I can tell you that. But at least I ate a semi-normal amount of food for once!! Being sick has affected that most delicious part of my life in a negative way, I'm afraid, but now that I can eat that's a sure sign I'm getting better! So hooray!
The first piece of time I spent staring at my computer was compiling a HUGE list of plays that I want to read sometime in the near future. It's a LONG list... but I'm still excited. I put each play on for a reason, and I think it'll be time well-spent, whenever I get around to it.
The next chunk of time online was doing research for a huge audition I have tomorrow... Some of you know already, but I won't disclose all the details here.
I will tell you that I am EXTREMELY nervous. Terrified, even. Prayers would be so, so appreciated... but I'm still going to go for it, and that's exciting!
My screen-time breaks were to rehearse my scene for my Acting final, and then to Starbucks and CVS for tea and crackers. Yes, I made it to CVS and got my crackers. I am now very happy :)
Jinny, Sneha, Kieryn, and a bunch of other girls went to dinner, ice skating, and to see Frozen tonight, but I wanted to be able to go to bed as early as I could... it's already later than I was hoping to get to bed, but it would've been later if I'd have gone, so I count it as a good decision. I'll see Frozen eventually.... I hope... Everyone says it's such a fantastic movie!!!! I feel like I'm missing out!!!! Plus, if Idina Menzel is in a Disney movie, of course I have to see it (if you don't know who she is, check out her IMDB page. She's been on Broadway!)
I did get to hang out with Thomas for a little while, but other than that, it's been doing as much prep as I can for tomorrow.... It'll be a day to remember. I hope I remember it fondly. You know it's a big audition when you have jitters the night before. I haven't even gotten there yet!
Please pray for me!!!
Fight on, friends.
Today was pretty laid-back though. I spent too much time staring at a computer screen, I can tell you that. But at least I ate a semi-normal amount of food for once!! Being sick has affected that most delicious part of my life in a negative way, I'm afraid, but now that I can eat that's a sure sign I'm getting better! So hooray!
The first piece of time I spent staring at my computer was compiling a HUGE list of plays that I want to read sometime in the near future. It's a LONG list... but I'm still excited. I put each play on for a reason, and I think it'll be time well-spent, whenever I get around to it.
The next chunk of time online was doing research for a huge audition I have tomorrow... Some of you know already, but I won't disclose all the details here.
I will tell you that I am EXTREMELY nervous. Terrified, even. Prayers would be so, so appreciated... but I'm still going to go for it, and that's exciting!
My screen-time breaks were to rehearse my scene for my Acting final, and then to Starbucks and CVS for tea and crackers. Yes, I made it to CVS and got my crackers. I am now very happy :)
Jinny, Sneha, Kieryn, and a bunch of other girls went to dinner, ice skating, and to see Frozen tonight, but I wanted to be able to go to bed as early as I could... it's already later than I was hoping to get to bed, but it would've been later if I'd have gone, so I count it as a good decision. I'll see Frozen eventually.... I hope... Everyone says it's such a fantastic movie!!!! I feel like I'm missing out!!!! Plus, if Idina Menzel is in a Disney movie, of course I have to see it (if you don't know who she is, check out her IMDB page. She's been on Broadway!)
I did get to hang out with Thomas for a little while, but other than that, it's been doing as much prep as I can for tomorrow.... It'll be a day to remember. I hope I remember it fondly. You know it's a big audition when you have jitters the night before. I haven't even gotten there yet!
Please pray for me!!!
Fight on, friends.
Friday, December 6, 2013
Where Have I Been?- All that time I missed- December 6, 201
I know, its' been a while. A long, long, long while. It feels like that, at least.
That being said, how are you all? Besides slightly upset at me for not writing?
Well, here come my excuses- I've been frightfully busy, extremely tired, and then I went home, and then I got sick.
Let me explain:
November 15th- Showed my family around campus while they were here!!! I got to give a full campus tour before we got lunch and I had to dart away to class. The rest of the day was me showing them around, us all hanging out at the hotel room, then going out to dinner :) I love spending time with my family.
November 16th- Most of that Saturday was consumed with roaming around the campus and waiting for the big game. We were all dolled up in USC gear, which made me proud :) The game itself was the absolute BEST game I've EVER been to at USC!!!!! Did you see it???? Us vs. Stanford. Yeah. It was the best. game. ever. I'm STILL. Getting over it. Plus, my dad went to Stanford, and he was there watching it with me. Hahaha, Stanford. WE WON!!!!!
Anyways... That was exciting :) Afterwards though, I had to say goodbye to everyone because they were flying out the next morning. It makes me so sad to see my family go... I'm always the most homesick right after I see them...
November 17th- Well, this day was my Dad's birthday!!! So even though they'd just left, I had a great excuse to call my dad again and wish him a happy birthday :) My day was pretty consumed doing homework, as far as I can remember though. According to my little daily calendar I have in my room, I got to hang out with Thomas, and then with Kieryn, Sneha, and Jinny. I don't remember what we did, but I'm sure it was fun!
November 18th- Again, I can relate specific events of this day because of that little calendar. I turned in my hours for Intro to Production after my Acting class, which meant I'm DONE with any and all shop hours for the rest of the semester!!! I got declearance to take voice lessons next semester as a scheduled class. Then, I was feeling really productive and happy, so when I saw Kieryn in the lounge, I made us tea and we had a bit of a tea party before I started on homework. Homework and classes and working out and by the end of the day, I guess I was exhausted because I wrote, "Too tired to study more...ugh..."
By the way, I have a blank paper calendar up in my room, and I try to make a habit out of writing down everything I did during a certain day on the calendar. I've been doing it all year for 2013 :)
November 19th- I had another midterm for Intro to Production, but I got out early!! So instead of more class I went to Literatea with Thomas and Annelle (one of my new friends. We're in the same Philosophy class!). More class, and then I went to Intervarsity. It was nice... but then they went dorm storming to share verses and prayer with people in the dorms... I didn't go, and I still feel a little guilty for it. I had to go rehearse with my scene group for Acting class, so it's not like I left early for no reason... but still. God calls us to share him with others around us, and I didn't...
November 20th- Ok. This morning I remember VERY well.
The day before, my time slot opened up for class scheduling. There'd been one class I'd really been interested in taking, and that fulfills 3 of my requirements for USC- it's a Gen. Ed class, it fulfills the Diversity requirement I need, and it's linked to my freshman writing requirement. Plus, the timing of it worked perfectly with the other classes I was planning on taking next semester. However, the website said that the lecture was full, so I had looked for other options.
Then, the professor that teaches the class sent an email to those of us who live on the South Side of campus, Me included. He's a resident professor on our side of campus, and he let us know that he was going to open up 20 more spots, just for our dorm area!!! I responded fairly quickly, I thought, so suddenly I had a spot in the class!!!
Or so I thought. Turns out I didn't respond soon enough, so I had to find a plan B, fast.
So during my registration time, I got myself in a fairly interesting Gen Ed. class on Comparative Literature. Not bad, and I wouldn't have minded taking it... but there was still possibility of more spots opening in the first class.
So. The morning of the 20th, I obsessively checked the registration website to check for openings during my acting class. I was rewarded- a spot opened up and I was suddenly able to register for it!!! So I excused myself from the class (it was about to end anyways, it's ok) and set out to try to get it.
Problems: 1) the writing slot that was linked with the class suddenly got full, and 2) the discussion session got full, and 3) I had to switch around a couple of other class times to get it to work, and the worst of all: 4) the Internet at USC is REALLY slow. I spent an hour trying to get it to work, and actually went to the writing center to get clearance to take a different writing course with this class that I wanted. Which was a pain. But FINALLY we got it all worked out... I missed the discussion session for my Philosophy class... and the online course viewer was experiencing bugs, so I couldn't see what my schedule actually looked like for a while... but it's done... and for all that horrific, excruciating stress, I have a perfect schedule to show for it. HA.
Well, then more stress came when I went to talk with my Philosophy TA and discovered that my entire outline for our second paper wasn't going to work out, because my objection to my argument was too strong for me to come up with a response.... so all that work had to go down the drain and I had a week to get another outline to him to be able to look at... *sigh*
November 21- Got to sleep in, but hung out outside after class... It was an absolutely beautiful day.
I got back to the dorm room and found out that Jinny was really sick. I let her sleep, but after my Spanish class we watched Monster's Inc. together. Plus, I got to talk to my sister, Melissa for the first time in a while! So overall, it was a much calmer day than the day before... thank goodness. Oh! And about that Spanish class- it was my very last normal class for Spanish for this entire semester. Wow, right?!?
November 22- Had to leave voice lessons early because I felt like fainting... I know... I'm a total wimp... Singing is hard work though, and I pushed myself too hard. The rest of the day was mostly studying and working on my project for Text Studies. It's a group project on the play "Death of a Salesman." At the end of the day, Kieryn, Sneha, Jinny, and I watched 500 Days of Summer. I liked it a lot until I realized I'd missed the entire point of the movie... Humph. It wasn't a romance, it was a reality movie. :P A very, very good movie!!!! Just... not a good one for an idealist like me.
November 23- This is where I accidentally stopped writing on my daily calendar... whoops.... I probably should've kept more updated.... What did I do on that Saturday...
OH! I'm so silly- I spent most of the day studying and working on my Text Studies project... I think. Something of that sort. Kieryn, Jinny, and Sneha watched the Day of the Doctor in the morning. I did not, because I don't really like Doctor Who. I think I did laundry instead...
Anyways, that night, Sneha, Jinny, and I went to Hollywood!!! For me, it was the first time ever, and I am definitely going back!!! I absolutely loved it!!!
My new favorite store in all of LA is the Disney Store in Hollywood. It's a Disney store AND a shop for my favorite chocolate in the entire world- Ghiradelli!!!!!! It made me super happy, that's for sure :)
November 24- I'm surprised I remembered this day- not a whole lot happened. I had a study party with Thomas at Leavy (I worked on my bloody philosophy outline), and then we went to LiteraTea to "study" (we ended up just hanging out and talking), but then I left to go see a play! I saw "Time of your Life." I don't remember who wrote it... It was the Master's degree theater production... but honestly... I saw a different play a few days back (I don't remember which day... I think it was Thursday?) called "In the Blood" by Suzan Lori Parks. I thought "In the Blood" was better, and it was done by people with the same degree as me. They were undergraduate students. "In the Blood" was more jarring, that's for sure, but still... there was more of a story, and better performances in general.
November 25- We discussed both "Time of your Life" and "In the Blood" during my acting class. I'm constantly reminded of all the reasons this was my favorite class this semester. We had a great discussion, and the scenes we worked through went pretty well too, I think.
What did I do after that... I was stressed, that I remember. There was a lot to get done on Monday, and I was super stressed about... something... I know I had a lot of assignments to do. Maybe I was trying to work on those. Actually, yes. I was working on a Spanish project!! And then I talked with Aaron, my Philosophy TA, and it was confirmed that I had to start all over on a different outline.... and I had to do it by the next night... and then I had to pack for Thanksgiving.... Oh! And then I was feeling really sick, so I barely got anything done besides my Intro to Production homework...
November 26- Oh boy. Tuesday.
I got to help out my professor before my 8am class!! We had our lecture on costumes, so Duncan needed help getting examples of various costumes out of the costume shop and to the classroom. So that was fun :)
And then came the challenge of finishing 3 different tasks in 3 hours... Spoiler alert- it didn't happen.
What did happen is I packed for going home for Thanksgiving, and then spent the rest of the time (and time out of my next class) working furiously on finishing my Spanish project. At 3, Jinny and I grabbed all our stuff and headed straight over to the airport to leave for Thanksgiving. I made it on my flight just fine, but I was supposed to email the Spanish project in before 4... I would've done it, if the Internet had worked after I boarded the flight. It should've! The door was still open!!! I had to email it after we landed with a small apology though. Luckily, it was still accepted, and then I didn't have to worry about it anymore afterwards.
*sigh*... and then I was home for Thanksgiving.... and all was well.... except for the Philosophy paper and the project for Text Studies hanging over my head... But who cares? I got to see my family, be comfortable in my own house... all was well :)
Thanksgiving break itself was overall really relaxing and nice. I didn't get that outline in before Tuesday night, but that was ok. I did finish it, and I did get some work done for my project, so that's all that really matters. Highlights were definitely getting to see most of my friends again. I got to go to coffee with Will on Wednesday, as well as see a large group of people and catch up at Elsie's house that Wednesday night. I've missed everyone so much!!! We got to hang out again on Friday night, and all our parents were there too. A "friendsgiving" was what my aunt called it :)
Thanksgiving itself was wonderful. I ate way too much.
The Saturday of Thanksgiving break, I went up to San Francisco with my entire extended family! My Uncle Bill was in the Navy some years ago, so he was wanting to take us on a tour of an old World War Two submarine out on Pier 44. He wasn't in World War Two, but he did work on a submarine during his time in the Navy. It was really cool.... until I got seasick and couldn't stay on to finish the tour.... On the bright side, we all got to explore a huge collection of arcade games that was right next to the submarine! There were games dating all the way back to 1900!! Plus, lunch was at Boudin, which I've missed incredibly :)
What stunk about Saturday was the UCLA vs. USC game... I watched it at home and got so upset I turned it off after the 3rd quarter.... except then my family wanted to see the rest of it so it got turned on again.... ugh. Next year, Bruins.... next year..... >:(
I think I'm too competitive.
December 1- I spent the morning at home, getting packed up and ready to go back to LA. Dad took me to the airport in the afternoon, and as expected, a good percentage of the people on the flight were college kids. I sat next to an Industrial Engineering senior from Cal Poly Pomona. He was fun to talk to! I wish I remembered his name....
Anyways, Jinny had gotten back before me, but after I got some work done on my Philosophy paper (due the next day, mind you), Sneha, Kieryn, Jinny, and I went to dinner together off campus at The Pizza Studio. It was quite a treat :) Especially because we watched Lord of the Rings: Return of the King afterwards, finally finishing the trilogy!!! It was totally worth it. I adore those movies...
Unfortunately, I was up pretty late working on my Philosophy paper... Thus begins the deprivation of sleep...
December 2- I got up extra early to work on my paper. In class... I didn't do as well as I wanted to on my scene... I just felt like I couldn't get things quite right... I got a lot of notes. So that was discouraging. On the bright side, I was able to finish my Philosophy paper before it was due!!! But then I had my Text Studies project to work on... Our group met up in the evening to work on it, but I was up pretty late getting my part together...
December 3- Intro to Theater Production had it's last lecture of the semester at 8am in the morning. We learned about Special Effects, which was kind of fun, I admit. I've liked that class, and I'll miss the shop track. I'm taking the same class, but in crew track, next semester.
After that, I rushed to get my part of the project together before my group presented in the next class. We went over time... but I don't think we did horribly bad. It could've been worse, at least, and at least it was over with after that!!!
The next project was studying for a Spanish interview. It was part of our final, but just a speaking portion. Of course, the topic I chose during the interview was the only one I didn't spend time studying as much as the more recent topics... my professor said I did well anyways though, which was encouraging.
Project after that? Writing a paper on a show I saw this semester for my acting class. Jinny had a lot to write too, and so did Kate, so we all hung out to drink tea and work on it together. I didn't quite finish...
December 4- I got up extra early again to finish the paper. Success! Though I was horribly tired during class... The other sad thing was today was the last day of normal Acting Class for the semester... I'm going to miss it...
I actually only got about 3-4 hours of sleep the night before, so it makes sense that I started feeling absolutely horrid during the afternoon....
I figured it was because I was just tired, so after my Philosophy class I took a long nap... but wasn't hungry at all afterwards... Went to bed early. Nothing due for Thursday, anyways.
December 5- What do you know when you sleep for 12 hours but still wake up feeling as horribly as you went to bed? You're sick, that's what.
Went to class anyways. It was the last day of Text Studies, after all!! But the rest of the day, I took it pretty easy... Didn't do much besides finish a scarf I've been working on for a while. I also made a gingerbread house! Hannah (my RA) set up a gingerbread house making event. It was really fun and I'm SUPER proud of the house I made!!!
The other thing I did get done yesterday was deciding, with Jinny, who I'm going to live with next semester. Jinny, Kate, and I are looking for a fourth/fifth person to join us... any takers?
December 6- WOW. And now we're to today!!!
I slept pretty crummy last night... my entire nose and head and throat are making me feel really icky. I'm procrastinating on sleep at the moment that I'm writing all this... Based on how gross last night was, I'm not looking forward to how I'll sleep tonight...
Well, at least I got some more stuff done today. Namely, I made it to class, and got a poster from the movie Frozen for free (even though I haven't seen the movie yet. I am DYING to see it but can't yet!!! :( ).
Classes are now officially over for first semester. All that's left is finals... wow. this semester really flew by. People kept saying it would, but you don't realize how much it actually does until you blink and it's gone...
Walking all the way to class (and to the bookstore for a blue book and to Seeds to look for saltine crackers) tired me out a ton... but I got about 15 minutes of rest before the fire alarm went off in Pardee... ugh. I decided to take the opportunity to go visit the Health Center. I've been feeling pretty rotten today, even though it's a bit better than yesterday, so I wanted to make sure it was nothing serious. The whole appointment didn't last too long. I was diagnosed with a "viral syndrome," or, just a viral version of a bad cold. I've been prescribed some medicine and hopefully I'll get better soon...
I've spent the rest of the day getting rest as much as possible... I watched two Disney movies- first "Melody Time," an oldie with a lot of memorable little segments, and then "Robin Hood" with Jinny, because it's been ages since she's seen it and I've been wanting to watch it ever since I found out it was on Netflix.
And now... here I am. Updating my blog. Finally.
Ooh-de-lally. What a past few weeks.... I really do feel bad that I haven't been keeping up with this. I'll do better this month. Now that all I have to do schoolwork wise is study for finals, I'll have a little more time open to write, hopefully. I have this entire weekend plus Monday and Tuesday for studying, don't worry. And hopefully I'll have some more adventures to write about soon too, especially once I'm not sick anymore...
I hate being sick. It's so dehabilitating. I feel like I can hardly do anything!!! I'm practically stuck... and not only am I stuck, but I feel gross while I'm stuck... Ugh.
Anyone want to bring me crackers? Seeds has been out the past two days and I'm not sure if I have enough energy to walk all the way to CVS... I'll try, but I won't like it :P
Also... thanks for reading through all this, if you did. I appreciate it, and I hope it didn't take to long to read through. It was a long post...
Fight on, my dear friends.
That being said, how are you all? Besides slightly upset at me for not writing?
Well, here come my excuses- I've been frightfully busy, extremely tired, and then I went home, and then I got sick.
Let me explain:
November 15th- Showed my family around campus while they were here!!! I got to give a full campus tour before we got lunch and I had to dart away to class. The rest of the day was me showing them around, us all hanging out at the hotel room, then going out to dinner :) I love spending time with my family.
November 16th- Most of that Saturday was consumed with roaming around the campus and waiting for the big game. We were all dolled up in USC gear, which made me proud :) The game itself was the absolute BEST game I've EVER been to at USC!!!!! Did you see it???? Us vs. Stanford. Yeah. It was the best. game. ever. I'm STILL. Getting over it. Plus, my dad went to Stanford, and he was there watching it with me. Hahaha, Stanford. WE WON!!!!!
Anyways... That was exciting :) Afterwards though, I had to say goodbye to everyone because they were flying out the next morning. It makes me so sad to see my family go... I'm always the most homesick right after I see them...
November 17th- Well, this day was my Dad's birthday!!! So even though they'd just left, I had a great excuse to call my dad again and wish him a happy birthday :) My day was pretty consumed doing homework, as far as I can remember though. According to my little daily calendar I have in my room, I got to hang out with Thomas, and then with Kieryn, Sneha, and Jinny. I don't remember what we did, but I'm sure it was fun!
November 18th- Again, I can relate specific events of this day because of that little calendar. I turned in my hours for Intro to Production after my Acting class, which meant I'm DONE with any and all shop hours for the rest of the semester!!! I got declearance to take voice lessons next semester as a scheduled class. Then, I was feeling really productive and happy, so when I saw Kieryn in the lounge, I made us tea and we had a bit of a tea party before I started on homework. Homework and classes and working out and by the end of the day, I guess I was exhausted because I wrote, "Too tired to study more...ugh..."
By the way, I have a blank paper calendar up in my room, and I try to make a habit out of writing down everything I did during a certain day on the calendar. I've been doing it all year for 2013 :)
November 19th- I had another midterm for Intro to Production, but I got out early!! So instead of more class I went to Literatea with Thomas and Annelle (one of my new friends. We're in the same Philosophy class!). More class, and then I went to Intervarsity. It was nice... but then they went dorm storming to share verses and prayer with people in the dorms... I didn't go, and I still feel a little guilty for it. I had to go rehearse with my scene group for Acting class, so it's not like I left early for no reason... but still. God calls us to share him with others around us, and I didn't...
November 20th- Ok. This morning I remember VERY well.
The day before, my time slot opened up for class scheduling. There'd been one class I'd really been interested in taking, and that fulfills 3 of my requirements for USC- it's a Gen. Ed class, it fulfills the Diversity requirement I need, and it's linked to my freshman writing requirement. Plus, the timing of it worked perfectly with the other classes I was planning on taking next semester. However, the website said that the lecture was full, so I had looked for other options.
Then, the professor that teaches the class sent an email to those of us who live on the South Side of campus, Me included. He's a resident professor on our side of campus, and he let us know that he was going to open up 20 more spots, just for our dorm area!!! I responded fairly quickly, I thought, so suddenly I had a spot in the class!!!
Or so I thought. Turns out I didn't respond soon enough, so I had to find a plan B, fast.
So during my registration time, I got myself in a fairly interesting Gen Ed. class on Comparative Literature. Not bad, and I wouldn't have minded taking it... but there was still possibility of more spots opening in the first class.
So. The morning of the 20th, I obsessively checked the registration website to check for openings during my acting class. I was rewarded- a spot opened up and I was suddenly able to register for it!!! So I excused myself from the class (it was about to end anyways, it's ok) and set out to try to get it.
Problems: 1) the writing slot that was linked with the class suddenly got full, and 2) the discussion session got full, and 3) I had to switch around a couple of other class times to get it to work, and the worst of all: 4) the Internet at USC is REALLY slow. I spent an hour trying to get it to work, and actually went to the writing center to get clearance to take a different writing course with this class that I wanted. Which was a pain. But FINALLY we got it all worked out... I missed the discussion session for my Philosophy class... and the online course viewer was experiencing bugs, so I couldn't see what my schedule actually looked like for a while... but it's done... and for all that horrific, excruciating stress, I have a perfect schedule to show for it. HA.
Well, then more stress came when I went to talk with my Philosophy TA and discovered that my entire outline for our second paper wasn't going to work out, because my objection to my argument was too strong for me to come up with a response.... so all that work had to go down the drain and I had a week to get another outline to him to be able to look at... *sigh*
November 21- Got to sleep in, but hung out outside after class... It was an absolutely beautiful day.
 |
| A selfie, of course |
 |
| Look how gorgeous the sky was |
 |
| Plus, it was the perfect combination of sunny and chilly :) |
November 22- Had to leave voice lessons early because I felt like fainting... I know... I'm a total wimp... Singing is hard work though, and I pushed myself too hard. The rest of the day was mostly studying and working on my project for Text Studies. It's a group project on the play "Death of a Salesman." At the end of the day, Kieryn, Sneha, Jinny, and I watched 500 Days of Summer. I liked it a lot until I realized I'd missed the entire point of the movie... Humph. It wasn't a romance, it was a reality movie. :P A very, very good movie!!!! Just... not a good one for an idealist like me.
November 23- This is where I accidentally stopped writing on my daily calendar... whoops.... I probably should've kept more updated.... What did I do on that Saturday...
OH! I'm so silly- I spent most of the day studying and working on my Text Studies project... I think. Something of that sort. Kieryn, Jinny, and Sneha watched the Day of the Doctor in the morning. I did not, because I don't really like Doctor Who. I think I did laundry instead...
Anyways, that night, Sneha, Jinny, and I went to Hollywood!!! For me, it was the first time ever, and I am definitely going back!!! I absolutely loved it!!!
 |
| All ready to go! |
 |
| One of the best Country stars |
 |
| Walt Disney's brother. We didn't find Walt's star |
 |
| The Queen of the world |
 |
| The cast of Harry Potter in front of the Chinese Theater |
 |
| At the Chinese theater :) |
 |
| After a really nice dinner, we went roaming around in stores at the mall where we'd gone to eat. |
 |
| Dr. Whovians |
 |
| Of course, Disneyland. And my new favorite store in all of LA. |
November 24- I'm surprised I remembered this day- not a whole lot happened. I had a study party with Thomas at Leavy (I worked on my bloody philosophy outline), and then we went to LiteraTea to "study" (we ended up just hanging out and talking), but then I left to go see a play! I saw "Time of your Life." I don't remember who wrote it... It was the Master's degree theater production... but honestly... I saw a different play a few days back (I don't remember which day... I think it was Thursday?) called "In the Blood" by Suzan Lori Parks. I thought "In the Blood" was better, and it was done by people with the same degree as me. They were undergraduate students. "In the Blood" was more jarring, that's for sure, but still... there was more of a story, and better performances in general.
November 25- We discussed both "Time of your Life" and "In the Blood" during my acting class. I'm constantly reminded of all the reasons this was my favorite class this semester. We had a great discussion, and the scenes we worked through went pretty well too, I think.
What did I do after that... I was stressed, that I remember. There was a lot to get done on Monday, and I was super stressed about... something... I know I had a lot of assignments to do. Maybe I was trying to work on those. Actually, yes. I was working on a Spanish project!! And then I talked with Aaron, my Philosophy TA, and it was confirmed that I had to start all over on a different outline.... and I had to do it by the next night... and then I had to pack for Thanksgiving.... Oh! And then I was feeling really sick, so I barely got anything done besides my Intro to Production homework...
November 26- Oh boy. Tuesday.
I got to help out my professor before my 8am class!! We had our lecture on costumes, so Duncan needed help getting examples of various costumes out of the costume shop and to the classroom. So that was fun :)
And then came the challenge of finishing 3 different tasks in 3 hours... Spoiler alert- it didn't happen.
What did happen is I packed for going home for Thanksgiving, and then spent the rest of the time (and time out of my next class) working furiously on finishing my Spanish project. At 3, Jinny and I grabbed all our stuff and headed straight over to the airport to leave for Thanksgiving. I made it on my flight just fine, but I was supposed to email the Spanish project in before 4... I would've done it, if the Internet had worked after I boarded the flight. It should've! The door was still open!!! I had to email it after we landed with a small apology though. Luckily, it was still accepted, and then I didn't have to worry about it anymore afterwards.
*sigh*... and then I was home for Thanksgiving.... and all was well.... except for the Philosophy paper and the project for Text Studies hanging over my head... But who cares? I got to see my family, be comfortable in my own house... all was well :)
Thanksgiving break itself was overall really relaxing and nice. I didn't get that outline in before Tuesday night, but that was ok. I did finish it, and I did get some work done for my project, so that's all that really matters. Highlights were definitely getting to see most of my friends again. I got to go to coffee with Will on Wednesday, as well as see a large group of people and catch up at Elsie's house that Wednesday night. I've missed everyone so much!!! We got to hang out again on Friday night, and all our parents were there too. A "friendsgiving" was what my aunt called it :)
Thanksgiving itself was wonderful. I ate way too much.
The Saturday of Thanksgiving break, I went up to San Francisco with my entire extended family! My Uncle Bill was in the Navy some years ago, so he was wanting to take us on a tour of an old World War Two submarine out on Pier 44. He wasn't in World War Two, but he did work on a submarine during his time in the Navy. It was really cool.... until I got seasick and couldn't stay on to finish the tour.... On the bright side, we all got to explore a huge collection of arcade games that was right next to the submarine! There were games dating all the way back to 1900!! Plus, lunch was at Boudin, which I've missed incredibly :)
What stunk about Saturday was the UCLA vs. USC game... I watched it at home and got so upset I turned it off after the 3rd quarter.... except then my family wanted to see the rest of it so it got turned on again.... ugh. Next year, Bruins.... next year..... >:(
I think I'm too competitive.
December 1- I spent the morning at home, getting packed up and ready to go back to LA. Dad took me to the airport in the afternoon, and as expected, a good percentage of the people on the flight were college kids. I sat next to an Industrial Engineering senior from Cal Poly Pomona. He was fun to talk to! I wish I remembered his name....
Anyways, Jinny had gotten back before me, but after I got some work done on my Philosophy paper (due the next day, mind you), Sneha, Kieryn, Jinny, and I went to dinner together off campus at The Pizza Studio. It was quite a treat :) Especially because we watched Lord of the Rings: Return of the King afterwards, finally finishing the trilogy!!! It was totally worth it. I adore those movies...
Unfortunately, I was up pretty late working on my Philosophy paper... Thus begins the deprivation of sleep...
December 2- I got up extra early to work on my paper. In class... I didn't do as well as I wanted to on my scene... I just felt like I couldn't get things quite right... I got a lot of notes. So that was discouraging. On the bright side, I was able to finish my Philosophy paper before it was due!!! But then I had my Text Studies project to work on... Our group met up in the evening to work on it, but I was up pretty late getting my part together...
December 3- Intro to Theater Production had it's last lecture of the semester at 8am in the morning. We learned about Special Effects, which was kind of fun, I admit. I've liked that class, and I'll miss the shop track. I'm taking the same class, but in crew track, next semester.
After that, I rushed to get my part of the project together before my group presented in the next class. We went over time... but I don't think we did horribly bad. It could've been worse, at least, and at least it was over with after that!!!
The next project was studying for a Spanish interview. It was part of our final, but just a speaking portion. Of course, the topic I chose during the interview was the only one I didn't spend time studying as much as the more recent topics... my professor said I did well anyways though, which was encouraging.
Project after that? Writing a paper on a show I saw this semester for my acting class. Jinny had a lot to write too, and so did Kate, so we all hung out to drink tea and work on it together. I didn't quite finish...
December 4- I got up extra early again to finish the paper. Success! Though I was horribly tired during class... The other sad thing was today was the last day of normal Acting Class for the semester... I'm going to miss it...
I actually only got about 3-4 hours of sleep the night before, so it makes sense that I started feeling absolutely horrid during the afternoon....
I figured it was because I was just tired, so after my Philosophy class I took a long nap... but wasn't hungry at all afterwards... Went to bed early. Nothing due for Thursday, anyways.
December 5- What do you know when you sleep for 12 hours but still wake up feeling as horribly as you went to bed? You're sick, that's what.
Went to class anyways. It was the last day of Text Studies, after all!! But the rest of the day, I took it pretty easy... Didn't do much besides finish a scarf I've been working on for a while. I also made a gingerbread house! Hannah (my RA) set up a gingerbread house making event. It was really fun and I'm SUPER proud of the house I made!!!
The other thing I did get done yesterday was deciding, with Jinny, who I'm going to live with next semester. Jinny, Kate, and I are looking for a fourth/fifth person to join us... any takers?
December 6- WOW. And now we're to today!!!
I slept pretty crummy last night... my entire nose and head and throat are making me feel really icky. I'm procrastinating on sleep at the moment that I'm writing all this... Based on how gross last night was, I'm not looking forward to how I'll sleep tonight...
Well, at least I got some more stuff done today. Namely, I made it to class, and got a poster from the movie Frozen for free (even though I haven't seen the movie yet. I am DYING to see it but can't yet!!! :( ).
Classes are now officially over for first semester. All that's left is finals... wow. this semester really flew by. People kept saying it would, but you don't realize how much it actually does until you blink and it's gone...
Walking all the way to class (and to the bookstore for a blue book and to Seeds to look for saltine crackers) tired me out a ton... but I got about 15 minutes of rest before the fire alarm went off in Pardee... ugh. I decided to take the opportunity to go visit the Health Center. I've been feeling pretty rotten today, even though it's a bit better than yesterday, so I wanted to make sure it was nothing serious. The whole appointment didn't last too long. I was diagnosed with a "viral syndrome," or, just a viral version of a bad cold. I've been prescribed some medicine and hopefully I'll get better soon...
I've spent the rest of the day getting rest as much as possible... I watched two Disney movies- first "Melody Time," an oldie with a lot of memorable little segments, and then "Robin Hood" with Jinny, because it's been ages since she's seen it and I've been wanting to watch it ever since I found out it was on Netflix.
And now... here I am. Updating my blog. Finally.
Ooh-de-lally. What a past few weeks.... I really do feel bad that I haven't been keeping up with this. I'll do better this month. Now that all I have to do schoolwork wise is study for finals, I'll have a little more time open to write, hopefully. I have this entire weekend plus Monday and Tuesday for studying, don't worry. And hopefully I'll have some more adventures to write about soon too, especially once I'm not sick anymore...
I hate being sick. It's so dehabilitating. I feel like I can hardly do anything!!! I'm practically stuck... and not only am I stuck, but I feel gross while I'm stuck... Ugh.
Anyone want to bring me crackers? Seeds has been out the past two days and I'm not sure if I have enough energy to walk all the way to CVS... I'll try, but I won't like it :P
Also... thanks for reading through all this, if you did. I appreciate it, and I hope it didn't take to long to read through. It was a long post...
Fight on, my dear friends.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)