here comes the sun

7 more hours until the half marathon!!! The most running I've done in the last 3 weeks was 6 miles two days ago and I'm still sore! I borrowed a short foam roller to loosen up my IT band before and after the race. The therapists also promised me some ultrasound on Monday morning. You guys have no idea how freakin nervous I am for this race!!! My fear is that I won't be able to finish, physically.. or maybe mentally. Just thinking of it as a long leisurely run, enjoying the scenic route with the play list that Will is making me.

Probably wasn't a good idea drinking last night... but it's not often that I get to hang out w/ Jenny and Henry or socialize with the freshies on the team. Had dinner at Jenny's and played some drunken scrabble. Jenny: "Thuget is a little thug!" Yea ok. Had to sober up from the beer and wine before making it back to Westwood for the end of "paddle cutting" party... and then had some more shots. I woke up feeling bruised from all the wrestling with Yoshi... and I have no idea why. The stupidest thing I did was hand over my debit card to Julia. Kevin had just dropped me off at home and I wanted to go over to Bae's and so I called him to come get me again. I knew he'd be mad/ cranky about it so I offered to pay for their late night munchies, but i didn't want to go with them and I didn't have cash on me. Still have not gotten my card back yet...

sleep time.. wish me luck!

Pa-na-ma

So you've probably all heard me talking about Botswana, Ireland, Belize, and Panama over the last couple of months and I've decided to go to Panama for a few reasons.

I finally got to meet with Ran, the director of the Archaeology Field Program and he was really helpful with providing me with info and pictures of each site. All this time I thought they were generally the same environments, but the project in Belize is actually way inland, deep in the jungle... which SOUNDS cool right? I'm sure it is, but it couldn't compare to the beach front house in Panama. The site at Belize is new and has NEVER been excavated before. They found mounds there which could uncover pyramids. They're hoping they are 2nd tier local chiefdoms because there's been little artifacts found.

In Panama, animal bones and some human bones are excavated to determine the subsistence lifestyle of the early inhabitants of the island as well as human impacts. Ran made a point that working with vertebrates may help my potential career in PT in that I will be more prepared in an evolutionary sense. He also introduced me to Dr. Wake, the lead archaeologist of the Panama project, and he told me a bit more about his research. I also asked about volunteering in his lab, spending a few hours every week sorting, cataloguing, data input and whatnot. Doesn't sound like much but I'll be a pro in sorting shells, bones, and rocks in no time. I'll also be more prepared when I get to Panama.

Did I mention beach front house? The pictures were gorgeous. Another factor was the date of the program. It runs from early July to early August, so I'll at least have the option if i decide to take fall semester of CC classes.

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Irrelevant to Panama. Today is Lunar New Year.. not as festive as it usually is. I completely forgot to call my family til 11pm and by then they were asleep. Most of the people who actually wished me a happy new year were non-asian, which caught me off guard. I think I said "thanks" instead of wishing them a happy new year too. What's the right thing to say? Oh well, the day is over and life is back to normal.

booowling!

Ahhh, weekend well spent.

Finally got to sleep in on Saturday morning.. which I never get to do! I've been really lazy about going out to practices this quarter... just settling for the Sunday ones w/ UCLA. Good enough for now. Watched the UCLA men's bball team lose to Washington .. sad... we are no longer the pac-10 leaders, but I'm confident that they can come back by the end of the season. Went to powell after the game only to find out that they close at 5pm on Saturdays. That's the first and last time I go to the library on a Saturday. It's so depressing there.. so stuffy and dingy and the silence absolutely kills me. I forgot my headphones the last few times I've gone. Anyway, left for ISO's instead and stayed there closing. First time I've ever walked there too! Then... went to Janet Bang's homecoming gathering.. initially we thought it was an old people's party (they're all at least 23) cause it was 11 and people were playing chess, alcohol out but not many people drinking, and everyone just sat around talking. A bit awkward considering we were the only ones not a part of Unicamp and also the youngest ones there. Glad I got to catch up with Janet for a little and super psyched that she's moving back down to LA! She told me about her experience teaching abroad in Korea for a year, living by herself, traveling to other countries, and just living the life! Makes me rethink about what I want to do next year. I really want to find a job somewhere else and just get out of LA.. SF... California in general. Don't get me wrong, I love CA, but I just need to get out and away before I settle here.

Sooo... practice early today, mixed boats again. I realize it's not the same without my timing box crew... mainly JenSun, Julia, Will, Henry, Anita. The people sitting around me today are not as vocal and I need those words of encouragement and spikes of intense grunts to keep me pumped for the entire endurance piece, race piece, everything! I love dboat as a sport, but it's definitely the chemistry of the team that makes it worthwhile.

Went bowling tonight w/ the small group that showed for the social. I did the worst in the first game because I suck at bowling. But for the 2nd game, i PRed with a score of 110!!! I've never even come close to 100! For the first 6 frames I kept hitting 9's with one spare. Then i lost my magic for a frame or two, but came back in the end with a strike and spare in the last frame. It was awesomee. How do we end the night? Of course with some yogurtland and volcano. Did I mention that today is the 4th time I've been to Yogurtland in the last 7 days? I should really get to know the workers there so maybe they'll consider sponsoring our team. What a good way to start the week.

Two cents: Tattoos

I've been hearing different opinions about tattoos.. so here's my two cents.

I didn't have much of an opinion about tattoos before I got mine, but I'll admit that I did index them with "gangsters" and the rebellious bunch. But since getting mine my mind's opened up and now I believe that people, for the most part, get them as a personal choice for personal expression. Tattoos act as symbols and hold personal meaning for the individual and outsiders should not be judging. Albiet some are probably mistakes, but that's why tattoo removal is so readily available nowadays.

Another thought: Why does size matter? I've heard complaints that small tattoos are stupid and if you're gonna get one, go big. But seriously, how stupid would I look to get a large paddle permanently etched across my arm/ back? Some things are just meant to be small.

"I don't like girls with tattoos." Isn't that a sexist remark? When and how did tattoos become ever more stigmatized in the girl world? AAAANd isn't it hypocritical if the guy got one himself?!! I don't get it. Personally I love guys with tattoos. Very hot.

Reasons I got mine? The first one because I am really passionate about paddling. It's where I met my second family. It's been my outlet to relieving stress, anger, sadness.. you name it. It's a symbol for the ultimate team sport that does require 100% of strength and heart from 20 people to be successful. After that I realized the beauty of body art and craved for more. Round 2, I got the sea turtles because I love the ocean and it reminds me of Hawaii. The first time I saw a sea turtle was when I was kayaking at Kailua beach. I just wanted to jump out and swim with it. I originally wanted 5 because that's my favorite number, but realistically 5 was too many and cut it down to 3. The guy who did it actually convinced me to get them much bigger than I had intended and I'm soo glad he did!

I want to get a few more and i've been thinking about my next one since i got the turtles back in sept. And on thursday, the idea of getting a sea shell suddenly popped into my head. Thinking of getting a sea shell, scallop specifically, on the inside of my right foot, under the ankle. Haven't sorted out the details yet but at least I have an idea. I'm thinking of asking my dear friend Henry Cheung if he could design something for me.

Bitch, that's my orchid!

AHHHHH it's been a long day of chauffeuring my mom again once again. She drags me to costco EVERY time I come home and buys the same stuff or random crap she thinks she will use, but will never and it just piles up in the downstairs flat. That's the same reason why my sister's bf refuses to visit anymore because he's sick of going there. So the reason we went to Costco today is cause she overheard some old lady talking during dim sum about cheap orchids they were selling. I told her I had a lot of studying to do but she reassured me it would not take long and we could only get the best looking ones if we went earlier. Sigh.

Once we got there my mom left to browse through the orchid section while I just stood in an empty aisle being bored. But then, I heard some "shouting" if you can even call it that from the plant section coming from 3 old ladies. I thought they were just talking loudly to one another (cause that's how Asian people converse) until I realized they were actually calling each other "bitch" in Chinese... back and forth. Apparently one lady had snatched an orchid from the other ladies. The funny thing is it didn't even look like they were mad at all, almost like they were smiling. To any non-Chinese speakers it'd look like they were just having a friendly loud conversation. I just stood there laughing-out-loud for a good while. My mom spent a good hour just in the orchid section before I dragged her out of there. [I guess these things are worth fighting over... ?]


Spent the rest of the day hanging out at my grandma's studying and surfing the web in between. When I stepped out to bring my uncle something some old Asian lady with a cane had fallen down behind me so I went back to help her.. except she wasn't too cooperative. A toddler had been walking on his own and fell in front of her, leaving her to trip over him. The lady just kept fussing when we tried to help her up, complaining that her arm hurt and wouldn't get up. Finally the father of the kid picked her up from behind. I felt super bad for the mom.

I look forward to having some home cooked meals when I come back, but my parents have come to believe that going out for dinner is the cool thing to do. I go out enough when I'm at school, I just want something good without MSG for once. I can't wait to get back to LA!!!!!!!!!!!

Twix are for kids

Day 4 without consuming any chocolate... this is a really tough life for me, guys. If you know anything about me at all, it's that I used to eat at least one piece of chocolate (preferably dark) everyday. The day after I swore off chocolate (until race, at least) I gave away my 3 bags to the roomies, who happily received them.

So glad week 2 is over cause I've been working waay OT! I generally pile on the hours the first 2 weeks before midterms start, but this qtr was even worse with one of the aides at the clinic out, recovering from heart surgery. It's gonna be another 2 weeks before she comes back... going.. over.. load! ah! So Weds was a super super long day that started at 715 and ended at 8 pm. and how do i reward myself? by taking a shot of 151. not only did it burn all the way down, but the sensation lasted for at least an hr. and i only did this because i thought i had done it before, but nope. learned my lesson.

I've spent the last 2 days sorting old emails because once I linked my ucla account to my gmail, it transferred everything and labeled it at unread, basically overloading my inbox. it was fun and nostalgic re-reading old dboat emails about pre/post race, parties, farewells, etc. glad i found those and "marked as dboat".. now i'll know exactly where to find them!

Time to fume about FLYAWAY!! I've taken it plenty of times before and it's always, always left ON THE DOT and they wouldn't open doors for people even if they were chasing the bus. So today I hustled my butt from work to my apt, back to ackerman to return/buy books, and then to kinross in less than an hr! Thought i made it in time for the 6pm flyway but minutes passed and it showed up at 615ish. after everyone loaded, the bus driver who was SUPPOSED to leave at 6 showed up and decided to take off right away w/o taking any passengers, leaving our bus to deny the leftovers waiting. Our bus driver took forever just to get the bus going. 405 traffic was surprisingly light for a friday evening... it was the surface streets near the airport that was horrendous. He made some wrong turn that detoured us for at least 20 mins, only to come back to the same street we had turned off of. Managed to get to the airport at 740 for my 755p flight. Rushed through all the lines (thank you LAX security!) and got on the plane just in time for take off. Flyaway, you have disappointed me.

It's Friday night of a 3-day weekend. I really wish i were in LA right now. =( I'm really reallly sad I won't be able to practice this weekend either. Double =(

Where's my epiphany

No other feeling like going to the beach at 2am, laying down on the soft white sand under the moonlit sky, listening to the waves break under, the feeling of warm ocean breeze and watching the stars glimmer. I wonder how bright the moon was really shining without the intrusion from the light on the ferris wheel and pier. I'd like to think we were out there seeking for some sort of epiphany, but really it was just enough to be there and get away from the craziness that the world keeps throwing at us. I had work early the next morning, but like Chris said, "It's just something we have to do." We talked mostly of what we didn't want to end up doing after graduation and spoke dearly of our dream world instead. I want to do so much with my life, mostly exploring every country and everything they have to offer and never settling down with one career. I guess that's kind of difficult seeing as how the debt for the educational costs for all these career changes would accumulate till I died. But seriously, I can't see myself sticking with one job for the rest of my life.

To add to that, I went to an info session for the archaeology program I'm doing this summer. Most of it was boring and redundant in trying to convince students to do the program, but we were all anthro majors already and why would we come if we weren't interested? Anyway, the lady went through each program and gave a snipet about it, which proved to be pretty helpful. The two big ones I've been comtemplating about these past few months were Ireland and Botswana. I was waitlisted #5 for Ireland and after I found out that they are only taking 10 students, I was pretty sure I didn't stand a chance... so back to Botswana? Well that was the last one she talked about and at first it seemed perfect since it focuses on hunter-gatherers, one of my areas of interest... but when she showed a picture of it, she reassured us that we wouldn't see any lions or giraffes. HELLOOOO that was the best part about the program!!! Yep, heard that and scratched the idea right away. Back to square 1... kinda. I opted for Belize instead, but going to look through every program still just in case.

Work in 5.5 hours... man, why do I do this to myself.

bor-ing

I've probably started at least 5-6 posts since the new year has started but i have yet to complete and post one.

Haven't been training very hard with the running since classes started a week ago. The only workouts I've done have been with dboat and I want to think that they are suffice, but I'd only be kidding myself. With only 2.5 weeks left (holy crap! where did the time go?!) I'll probably have to start eating better and running regularly... great timing because I just bought 3 bags of Christmas chocolates today. Also sucks to run outside with the unusual January heat wave going on too. Ok, starting tomorrow... no more chocolate or junk food until after race.....

Guess I didn't realize how attached I was to my car, or any car, while at school. For one, I'm hungry because Linh's been kinda lazy/ tired about taking me grocery shopping. Tonight, I ate some peanut butter and honey sandwiches for dinner. I'm super used to driving down to Iso's with Chris because I can't study at my apt!! So really, trying to do any work once I'm at home is useless and I haven't gotten anything done since I've been back. One thing that REALLY sucks is I can't go to practice on the weekends unless Brent/ Chuck are going or else I'd have no ride. That's the saddest part because there's absolutely NOTHING to do here on weekends! Most of the time all the roomies go home and I'm left here alone. Sigh.

I'll try to update this more often.. I had a bunch of stuff I wanted to post about but just never got around to it and it's a bit late now. I'll be back...