Thankfulness & Creepiness

Randomness.

+ You know you're a senior when you don't have to sit in the back of the van, even though the freshies are technically bigger than you.

+ I received a prank text from an unknown number today. Twas totally confused. People do that?

+ Some mystery person signed me up for a ride to church during GOC Friday night. I'd thank them since I had childcare and forgot to sign myself up, but Kim {co-head of Rides Team} & I don't know who this mystery person is...

It wasn't Steph since she was with me doing childcare. It wasn't any of the other 213's since they weren't sitting anywhere near me. And since Steph asked me last minute if I could help her, no one else knew where I went when I disappeared.

So, thanks, mystery person?

*grins* When Kim told me I was already signed up and neither of us could figure out who did it, I sent her a text saying, "CREEPER." But then I felt bad and immediately sent another text, "But a good creeper, I guess? Since they did sign me up for a ride to church..."

Ah, the joys of random acts of kindness?

+ Mini Teddy Grahams. They're amazing.

+ Ping is done with her PhD prelim! Time to partay! {Or, you know, go out for dinner as an apartment to celebrate. Cause we cool like that}. 

The Little Things in Life, No. 19: Rainy Days & Mondays

... talking with the head of the Comm department and being "sweet" enough that she allowed me into a class I'm technically not supposed to be able to take.

Yay for being sweet! And for being able to namedrop the fact that I'm part of the UCA board and the added bonus of a good friend vouching for me whom the head of the dept really loves. *happy grin* I don't have to figure out a new schedule! *eee*

... not dying while giving another speech for Comm 1. That's always a plus. On the downside, I don't know what the professor's feedback meant-- did he want me to be more personable or tone it down or have a more serious topic or whaaat.

So confused.

... realizing that it was both a rainy day AND a Monday. What're the chances?!? *grins* I love this song... I think I'll add the video at the bottom of this post. The Carpenters are awesome-- it helps that Karen Carpenter had a low voice. If I can sing it and it's in my range, it goes up several notches in my opinion. {Altos forever!} It's one of the reasons Santana is possibly my favorite character on Glee.

... doing my PoliSci homework relatively quickly. Considering PoliSci homework is one of the biggest banes of my existence this quarter, not bad. Not bad at all.

... taking half hour naps throughout the night as I study for my midterm. That's how we do it. Although I learned in the Comm 1 speeches today that each stage of one full sleep cycle {there are five stages} takes 90 minutes to complete, which means that an entire sleep cycle is... 7.5 hours? Baha! Oookay then. I don't think I've gotten a full sleep cycle since Winter break...

--

Sorry for the awkward screenshot. They chose it, not me! *laughs*

The Little Things in Life, No. 18: This Weekend

{Steph as a bear, Mickeyla as an armadillo, Me as a cow. Theme? Noah's Ark.}

... screaming my lungs out during Broomball.

Last year, I ended up in the hospital with four stitches on my chin from this annual GOC event, so while I didn't play because I didn't want to give my parents another over-$1000 medical bill, I could and did cheer my team on as loudly as I could.

Broomball is awesome. You should try it.

... making pancakes for/with friends at three in the morning after Broomball and discovering that white chocolate orange-flavored cranberry pancakes and marshmallow pancakes are the best things EVER.

The company was pretty good, too. *grins*

... realizing that having bony knuckles and elbows can be very useful.

For instance, when playing Punch Buggy, bony knuckles means your punch is pretty solid. And bony elbows come in handy when both hands are full of groceries and you need to tell the elevator to come to you and then where to drop you off. Bony elbows are also useful for turning on lights when you've got no hands.

... eating dinner with friends at our first CD Reunion. Which was actually held in my apartment. *eee*

I never get to have people over at my apartment, so having people over was sooo fun. We expanded Shellie's table and used all the dishes and the entire room was lit up and everyone was chattering and it actually felt warm in here and *happy sigh*.

Next quarter. Let's do this again!

... putting the apartment to rights in about half an hour while listening to the laughter of those who were playing Nertz and Bang.

Steph and I collaborated on the dishwashing/drying/dishwasher-loading. The double sink full of dishes, cups, and utensils was gone amazingly fast. She wiped down the table, I took out the garbage. You'd never know we were here just a bit earlier with all the chairs in the apartment {and the step stool because we ran out of chairs} surrounding the table and happy munching going on.

---

This was a good weekend.

The Little Things in Life, No. 17: Funfetti Cupcakes & Other Procrastination Techniques

... being able to make friends happy by delivering Funfetti cupcakes {and mini cupcakes} to them during the most stressful time of the quarter.

... baking randomly during the most stressful time of the quarter when I should've been studying. Oh wells.

... feeling no remorse for munching incessantly because it's the most stressful time of the quarter.

... reading online library books instead of writing my Psych Research Methods paper. On the downside, I probably could have finished this paper a long time ago had I just sat down and concentrated and gave it my full attention. On the upside, I've finished two full length novels in two days?

*sheepish grin*

... dressing up for the last Sunday before a month long Christmas Break at home. Yeaah, Christmas attire! Bright red cardigan, flouncy skirt, black tights, boots, and a pretty new peacoat?

Excellent.

The Little Things in Life, No. 16: Celeb-Spotting, Baking, & Free Time

{so purple...}

... finding out that the ice cream I bought {Pomegranate Blueberry Chocolate Chunk} has, wait for it...

{I love you, too, IceCream}

HEART-SHAPED CHOCOLATE.

Mind blown.

{She didn't seem to mind the crowd of college students gathered around her taking pictures, but not buying her new book}

... being able to see Jane Lynch sign books in Ackerman after class like it was no big deal.

UCLA is great for celeb-spotting.

{pretty scents}

... standing in line with Steph at the Bath & Body Works Fall 2011 Campus Tour booth they had set up in the middle of the Kerckhoff Patio and receiving free goodies!

This includes a Wallflower, mini PocketBac, a 3 oz lotion, and $5 off next purchase coupon.

*grins*

Props to the guys confident enough to stand in line with all the girls.

Takes guts... or a very strong desire for free stuff...

{the color! gaaaaah!}

... being able to take naps again and do my homework.

Explanation coming soon.



{recipe probably coming soon!}

 ... having the time to bake yesterday! Anyone want a Peanut Butter Oatmeal Banana Muffin?

 

They could be a little sweeter, but they're not bad, not bad at all.

 

 

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So, there is a Little Things in Life: No. 15, but I wrote it up right before midterm season and didn't have time to find pictures.

 

It'll be posted soon, but just a head's up that it will be out of order... Not that I think anyone will notice. *grins* Unless it's obvious in the things I mention that they were written two weeks ago.

 

I don't remember.

 

*laughs*

 

It was that long ago.

The Little Things in Life, No. 14: Speedsters, Scarves & Interviews

{I'm pretty sure this is what happened about 4 years ago}

... walking home from class and being passed up by a super-speedy, little bike expert. He was about four years old, I think, and he'd already gotten rid of his training wheels and everything! The kid was good. Mr. Speedster wove in and out of clumps of students like a pro.

Props to him and his daddy, who was already training Mr. Speedster's little sibling for a life on two-wheels by having the kidlet tucked into a bike-seat {those car-seat lookin' things} on the front of his grown-up bike.

Consider me impressed.

{breathe in...}

... inhaling deeply the strong scent of kettle corn as I walk back from a long day of class.

I'm a fan of the smell, not the taste.

Because kettle corn is just gross.

Ew.

{reading in bed is love}

 ... realizing I could go to bed super early if I wanted to today. The roomies are going out {read, clubbing with ACA} & I don't have any major homework due & I highly doubt anyone's willing to go with me to Ralph's for no particular reason besides the fact that I want to see if butter's on sale so I can buy some and bake things with it, sooooooo...

SLEEP! My old friend! How I've missed you so!

*glomps*

{hello panda!}

... wearing a scarf today.

Because I'm cool like that.

No, literally. It's cold down here. LA is getting colder and rainier earlier every year. It's only second week, for crying out loud. Why have I already broken out my rain shoesies & a scarf?!?

{step into my office. ha.}

... being done with interviews for the entire quarter! Yes! I was super excited to be interviewing applicants for the DBM internship because it meant that I was growing up! Getting older! Not necessarily always the applicant anymore! I've moved onto bigger and better things, like being the one asking the questions! So many exclamation marks!

But really, that's how excited I was about the whole thing.

Let me just say that now, after interviewing I forget how many people {I'd check, but that'd require logging out of this account & logging into my work email & then logging back into this account and that's just too much work}, I can safely say that I'm not as enthused about the entire process.

Although interviewing's still more fun than just sitting there & staring at a computer for ages. So I guess I'll miss that aspect of it.

It's just a little draining to have to ask virtually the same set of questions over and over and over again. And hear the same responses over and over and over again. I mean, this is UCLA. Everyone's a leader. Everyone's assertive. Everyone's super smart. {These are things that I've read/inferred over and over again as I went over written applications. Duuude, these people are smart. If I were applying now, I don't think I'd make it in. No lie.}

We're all going to sit down tomorrow and make a decision to see who still has a chance of becoming. America's. Next. Top. Model.

*pause*

Just kidding.

They are up for the title of Best Intern Ever though, so dramadrama time manana, no?

The Little Things in Life, No. 13: I'm Sick. Of Fruitflies.

{majestic}

... hearing some guy unabashedly break into a loud rendition of the vocalizing intro from Lion King's "Circle of Life" just outside our apartment building.

He wasn't half bad.

{I'm trying}

... drinking half my weight in orange juice in a day and a half.

Being sick is no fun. Although OJ does become your best friend almost instantly after that first sniffle.

{mine wasn't so colorful. no carrots}

... making my own chicken noodle soup for my cold. It turned out pretty well, except that because I left it out for a while so it could cool down, the soup got absorbed by the noodles and all there was left in the pot by the time I checked on it again were wet noodles. No soup.

Huh.

{the one I had didn't look nearly as pretty}

... getting one piece of bacon in my Turkey Bacon Club sandwich that I bought for lunch today.

And it wasn't even a big piece of bacon. How sad.

{how cute! I wish our fruit flies were this cute!}

... collaborating with Shellie last night to makeshift a fruit fly trap instead of writing our respective lab reports for Psych 100B.

I think it's working. There's a lot of fruit flies in there, hanging out on the chunks of ripe peach we placed at the bottom of the cup.

Go us!

The Little Things in Life, No. 12: Just Today

{Like those red & black checkered floors? Retro, man}

... getting Powell all to myself today. I took a picture that showcased just how empty the library was and how sunny it was outside, but the contrast between bright blue skies & quiet mood lighting in the library made the picture very dark, indeed. Therefore, please enjoy the loveliness that was my view for about four hours straight.

Yay, studying.

{Don't worry. The rest of our apartment/kitchen table is super neat. *grins*}

... watching our skinnyskinny Emma put away half a carton of ice cream in one 45 minute episode of "Glee". This was what her section of the table looked like in the midst of reading for her classes, planning ACA events, and trying to get some homework done.

Madness.

I do envy her the ice cream though... *wishful thoughts*

{Isn't that crazy? They were in a straight line all the way across the sky...}

... walking to class and just staring up into the sky because THESE are the clouds hovering above my head.

Amazing.

{if you've never visited Aran's foodie blog, you have MISSED.OUT.}

... going through the pictures on my camera for this post and laughing because about 90% of the pictures I've taken in the last two weeks are all food related.

{raindrops & wet leaves}

... looking out the sliding glass door to our apartment's balcony and realizing that it's raining out there.

Whaaat.

The entire day, we were on campus and it was muggy and hot and dense and overall just yucky feeling. The moment we get back, it starts to raiiin? Well, at least we weren't caught out there sans umbrella. Coulda been worse.

{Update/5 minutes later: Erm. Scratch that. It's sunny again. See? LA weather is weird}.

{no lie. LA weather messes with our minds}.

The Little Things in Life, No. 11: Longboarding & Companionship

{trio}

... being able to sit around the same table & feel completely at home with my roommates, even when we all have our computers in front of us and earbuds in.

The companionship is out of this world and I love these girls to pieces.

I'm so thankful.

{perfect}

... finding the last of the perfect bananas at Trader Joe's & coming home with five of them for $0.95!

I looove just-turned-bright-yellow bananas.

Spots aren't allowed on my bananas.

Once there are spots, they become banana bread.

{this recipe}

... successfully making from-scratch chocolate chip cookies.

This has never happened before.

I'm really liking this 'I-have-my-own-kitchen' business.

{this is not steph}

... spending time with friends & watching/helping Steph learn to long-board.

Why is it that guys are so much easier to be around than girls?

Girls are such drama.

But all that's a post in and of itself.

Moving on...

{eww, Macs. go PCs!}

... finding out that the almost $200 Abnormal Psych book I needed went down to $36.50 on Amazon {I went down an edition as well, but just last week, the same book had been double that price}!

AAAND. I got free shipping.

Does it get better than that?

No, I don't think so.

The Little Things in Life, No. 10: Butter Converters & Plum Juice

{vanilla pudding}

... discovering something called a 'Butter Converter' actually exists. It came in handy when a recipe I was staring at called for 1.5 TEASPOONS of butter. How do you measure that?

Apparently, 1.5 teaspoons of butter is the equivalent of 0.5 tablespoons of butter.

At least according to this 'Butter Converter' here.

Handy.

 

{plooms}

... realizing that no, I didn't cut myself, but gee, plum juice looks like blood.



{now if only our apartment would look like this!}

... looking out the window and seeing the crazy pile of discarded apartment stuff in the alley between our building and the next GONE.

Yes, those three mattresses, giant teddy bear, seven broken chairs, ten gallon sports cooler, and the miscellaneous cabinetry are all goooone.

This is my excited face.



{camera love}

 ... getting a picture text from my parents that shows they know how to use their new phones & its camera!

Such cool parents have I.

{heavy canisters}

 ... coming to the conclusion that I don't need to go to the gym to lift weights and get exercise.

All I need to do is try to lift the ten pound containers of flour and sugar from the bottom shelf in the kitchen to the counter again and again.

Then again, if I'm getting them out for baking yummy things, does that nullify the weight lifting?

Seven Things

{hello there}

1. Today I met a dog whose head was twice the size of mine. And he was about twenty pounds heavier, too, at 118 lbs. He was large.



{feesh}

2. Today I learned Zoe is afraid/wary of giant goldfish. She looked at them all suspiciously when they swam near her.

{tendrils}

3. Today I saw the fog roll into the city and thought of it as the clouds coming down to give us a hug. <3

Then I realized it actually looked kind of creepy, and creeper hugs are never good, so I didn't know what to think after that...



{I can't pull this off, ergo I am not as cool}

 4. Today I got to pretend to be a cool city kid buying boba after school. Except, you know, the fact that all the kiddies who were also at Teaway were high schoolers and infinitely cooler than I am. *le sigh*

{so white}

5. Today I wandered around a restaurant supply shop and enjoyed looking at all the random things that you could buy in there. Going here is high up on the list of 'Places I Could Spend a Bunch of Money In.'



{that's a "what?" expression if you've ever seen one}

6. Today I had my ethnic background called into question. Well, goodness, what do I look like then? Is it the new glasses?



{longingly}

 7. Today I felt my heart break a little as I watched my puppy stare confusedly out my uncle & aunt's window at our car as we drove away. She'll be spending the next week with them as my parents help me move back down to Los Angeles and into the apartment. Here's to hoping she does fine!

---

Did you know that most bloggers take Labor Day off? I didn't know that until I saw that none of the blogs I read daily posted anything yesterday. Who knew?

The Little Things in Life, No. 8: Cover Letters, Giveaways, & Mini-Cupcake Tins

{oh, number 2 pencils. how you remind me of tests & SATs & scantrons}

… finding those ACT scores from freshman year of high school and realizing that they suggested engineer as one of my highly potential careers.

Ha.



{just imagine them Asian. with a cat.}

… having one of my favorite people in the entire universe move from San Diego, which is a minimum two hour drive from UCLA, to about FIVE MINUTES AWAY FROM THE UCLA CAMPUS {give or take five minutes}.

Um, hello? That’s ridiculously awesome. You don’t know how awesome. It’s amazing.

Hopefully some of her talented sewing/baking/science/coolness skills rub off on me, now that I get at least another two years to be around her. Check out her blog, Cation Designs!

{no, not THOSE type of applications}

… dreaming about an internship with FOX that I really want, but have to write a cover letter for first. Drat, cover letters. You’re the bane of everyone’s existence. *sigh* But I vow to write that thing over the weekend so I can email in the cover letter & resume by Monday latest!

I. SHALL. CONQUER.

Grr.

… the giveaway happening right now on The Daybook. Trust me, you want to enter. Well, okay, maybe you don’t {Steben sir, it’s probably not your thing}. But for the rest of you! Lovelovelove. Although I don’t know why I’m telling you about this… If you enter, that lessens the chances I have of winning… Hmm… *wary glance*



{pretty & bite-sized!}

… turning in my first rent check for Apartment #216 {aka Paper Lantern Lane, see this post} and figuring out what kitchen-y supplies I’m bringing down with me via emails with Shellie. That girl is wonderful. She deserves cupcakes.

Or mini-cupcakes! I found a mini-cupcake pan in one of the cabinets and my mother said I can take them down with me! {Or rather, she said, “What mini-cupcake pans?” which I assume to mean she isn’t using them and they’re free for the borrowing}.

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Anyone else find something fun in their kitchen cupboards while looking for something else? Know of a fantastic giveaway you’d like to share with the rest of us? Hate cover letters? Have one of those friends that is infinitely cool and you really hope you can absorb their coolness via diffusion {just fyi, osmosis only deals with the transfer of water, not ideas/personality traits/etc.}? Does your actual career vary crazily from what you wanted to be when you were younger?

I love the little things in life. <3

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And I don't know why, but all my pictures are showing up fuzzy when I size them X-Large, so apologies for the itsy bitsy pictures.

At least they're clear!

The Little Things in Life, No. 7: Caramel Apple Pops & Movie Nights

{Because everyone's house looks like this... *rolls eyes*}

… having late night movie nights with the parentals that begin at midnight. And no one goes to bed before 3 am.

{Didn't find a photo of dried pineapple, did find a photo of pineapple pants... *O.o*}

… eating dried pineapple. The super sugary kind. Yumm.

{1981! Goodness gracious.}

… using a can of Baker’s Joy that’s {waaaay} older than me. Specifically 1981.

No, I’m not joking. Yes, it still worked.



{The UNimportance of Aging}

… being reminded of the joy that is The Magic School Bus & Ms. Frizzle. And getting excited when it comes on at 4:30 pm.

Just remember, age is how you act. It’s a mindset. It’s a number. It’s not a definition.

 

{These are pretty. But these are what I meant.}

… getting a Caramel Apple Pop for no apparent reason at work. I love these things. *happy sigh*