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.

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.

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

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'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.

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.

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.

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.

A selfie, of course

Look how gorgeous the sky was

Plus, it was the perfect combination of sunny
and chilly :)

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!!!

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.

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.