Short on Time

Why does it always feel like I don't have enough time to do what I want to do? I need more hours in the day!

Watch our final Business Week video we made for Career Services:

What a Waste

I'm going to come clean about it: Today, I was an utter waste of life. No, seriously, I did absolutely nothing productive and I'm so embarrassed about it. So this is a reminder to myself to STOP being such a waste. Today was wasted when I could have done so many potentially great things. Tomorrow will be filled with success! Hurrah!

Love It

I LOVE Sex and the City! I love, how no matter how messed up, dramatic and "girl-like" they each get, they still love each other. I wish I had a stable group of girls like that! Don't get me wrong, I have a few great girlfriends, but they're not all within one group, you know? Anyways, I love my girls and this trailer just encapsulates everything I love about the show:

Fabulous clothes, girlfriends, and fun!

Home-Home

So I finally make the drive back up to Morfus this weekend and decided that in the midst of my procrastination, I would give you a rundown of my home-home. Now, keep in mind that the area I grew up in is different than the rest of the tiny town. I checked how many people are in Moorpark and it's just over 32,000 people. It's becoming richer, nicer and is still surrounded by lots of nice green farmland. If you're even MORE interested (which I know you are), check it out! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moorpark%2C_CA

But, if you don't know, I grew up in a predominantly Mexican neighborhood where we are the only Asian family in the whole area. Our "area" spans mostly within a one-chunk square of Morfus. I'd say it's a 4-block by 5-block area; small but it makes up about 40% of our school demographic. Yes. I think each house holds a huge family or two. Also, I think the city is trying to eradicate the Mexicans in the area so that they can renovate the area and build more million-dollar homes. No joke, they recently built "low-income housing" on my street and the price tag started at $400,000! "Low-income" my ass! It's also kind of funny because you can obviously tell which houses are new: they're two-story houses. Everyone has a 1-story house.

Here's the rundown:

1. It was not safe growing up in it. The liquor stores down the street were held at gun-point, and I remember once the owner's son ended up getting shot in the head. So tragic. Though, it is A LOT safer now, seriously.
2. We couldn't play after dark when we were younger because...well, see #1.
3. My friends could never spend the night at my house because their parents thought my area was "too dangerous."
4. Our neighbor's parties are way too loud and go way too late.
5. Mariachi bands exist and are frequent at these said parties.
6. Our cramped, 1-story house is right on the corner of the block, so we have a huge brick wall that has been graffitied more than I can remember (by the local gang(s) and whatnot). There are so many layers of paint on it that it has started to crack and "peel"...you can see the original brick UNDER all the layers of paint now.
7. The ice cream men put their stands by our house so the kids litter their wrappers in our front yard.
8. Someone threw poisoned meat into our backyard and poisoned my dog...she almost died.
9. We've been the subject of bullying, to say the least.
10. Cops are useless here.
11. They have the occasional drag race...though not as much anymore.
12. People stop traffic in the middle of the street where they start a full-on conversation with someone watering their lawn. Kinda fun, but often annoying when you're in a rush.
13. Our own neighbors have robbed our house. Not cool.
14. They blast loud music from their low-riders (yes, the stereotype lives on).
15. The 4th of July lasts for about a whole month here. Firecrackers are going off every night and on the actual 4th of July, there are different areas that set off those huge fireworks at different times so the police are racing from one location to the next as people scatter and hide. It's pretty amusing and awesome to watch. Though, I swear they get the illegal fireworks from Mexico, no joke.
16. Christmas lights are never taken down. Ever.
17. There's a house that we call "The Jesus House" because their entire lawn is overtaken by religious statues and colored lights (at night, of course.).
18. We still have "alleys." Yes, alleys with a pitbull that can jump over a 10-foot brick wall! I never ran so fast in my LIFE!
19. Fuck Homeowners Alliance. We can decorate our houses however we want. Actually, a lot of the run-down homes are much nicer now because (and seriously, this isn't to be racist) a lot of the Mexicans are the gardeners that work up in the hills (the richer/nicer parts).
20. We have our own gang: MPLS. I think they've pretty much disappeared by now though.
21. The local shops have the BEST tamales and meats. Seriously, I didn't realize how good our Mexican food was until I left MP.
22. My house is 1,000 square feet. It is very small and very cramped for 5 people and 2 dogs. People don't believe me when I say that I have a small house, but it turns out I do.
23. The Ralph's supermarket a couple blocks away used to be Hugh's supermarket and the Longs Drugstore next to it used to be Thrifty's, which had the best icecreams ever. We used to walk to the store almost every day since we only had one car (which my dad took to work).
24. We used to do our laundry at the laundromat near the superstore. We would wander around looking for coins as we waited with my mom.
25. Chris and Cody were my brothers across the street. All 4 of us used to rollerblade or bikeride around town, collecting recyclables and usually go get icecream and visit the pet store in the small shopping center. That was the best summer ever.

So there, I hope that's a simple description of what home is like. I'm sure that sometime in the future, I'll give more detailed descriptions of my favorite memories of home and what makes it feel like home. Even though this probably isn't the most ideal place to live, it's comfortable and I know my way around it.

Little known fact about me: I used to have a Chola accent. Usually it came out when I was angry and yelling obscenities, but it was there. No, I can't show you really because I can't just turn it on and off, but that's what I've been told. It's not as prominent anymore since I've been surrounded by UC kids these past 4 years.

And as a sidenote, out of all the kids who acted like such hardcore gangsters in high school, I was probably the one who most likely could have been as such. But I wasn't, so stop acting all "hard" because you look like an idiot.

*Here's the best picture I could find of our front yard and street. Obviously, Irvin is so excited to be visiting my hometown. Ooh, and that's my dog Chibi!

Green-Eyed Monster

Being a recluse due to lack of funds is really starting to take its toll. I know I try to use it as an excuse to stay in, study, rest, paint, draw, etc. but really, I'm missing my friends and excursions. In fact, I found myself going through a mental tantrum earlier today.

I was going to write out my frustrations, but I think that's enough complaining for today. I'm just going to look at this photo of where I want to go and imagine that I'm saving up for a trip there instead of a Kanye Concert.

Sixth College Practicum

Since I'm a 6th College student ("I WANT A STANDING OVATION!"...for my fellow Sixthers.), I have to complete the Sixth College CAT Practicum; CAT = Culture, Art and Technology. I think the program is designed to help broaden our minds, see different approaches and bind us all together as a college, but I also can see how people are merely bonded by their intense dislike (dare I say, hatred) for the program.

Hatred for the CAT program doesn't surprise me, but it throws me into despair sometimes.

Before you judge me, I DO think that a lot of the CAT requirements are dumb, useless and ineffective in broadening our minds. But I think the intention for it is good and that the students could really make it into a great program if they weren't so apathetic and judgemental about giving feedback and participating in the college community. I'm not saying that I'm always proactive, but I try not to hate on something that I probably could change.

Freshman year, I remember taking a class on Abortion and it's ethics, etc. And I remember that it was one of my most memorable classes in all of my college experience. Yes, it was definitely irritating; it often involved heated arguments and there were some people who I thought were total bigots, idiots and assholes but it was one of the classes that taught me the most at the start of my college career and would carry me through for many years down the same thought path. It really did teach me something and it wasn't necessarily the answer to whether abortion was right or wrong; it taught me that there are definitely reasons that lead people to believe in what they believed and even questioned if their basis for believing such things was sound. The question of ethics and morals and whether or not they exist was such a profound moment for me that I still like to toy with the notion while I'm waiting at the bus stop. Also, the notion of respecting people's opinions rang true; at least, that's what I have to tell myself in order not to strangle some of them.

Anyways, I digressed from my initial intent to post and that was to mention my current CAT Practicum course, which is called Developing Technologies for Developing Countries. It's being taught by Derek Lomas who is actually in India as the course progresses. Utilizing webcams, Skype, instant messaging, email, phone and basically anything else we can find, my professor is literally "wired" to us. If there was ever a time to experiment with classroom teaching, technology and remote teaching, this would be it...and I have first hand experience. It's definitely been challenging without his actual prescence here but it has also made it very interesting!

First of all, I noticed that I either get very excited and proactive, or lazy and procrastinative. Since he's not there, it's easier to slip into class unnoticed if you're late or turn in your papers digitally on the webwiki. On the other hand, I get very excited and post stuff on the Wiki in spurts whenever I need an outlet to dump all my images and writings. It definitely has its pros and cons and I think whatever you get out of it definitely depends on what you put into it.

Secondly, the class demographics prove to be very interesting. We're a mix of engineers, management science majors and...random liberal arts sort of majors (like me: International Studies). Whenever people start rambling about the specifics of cell phones or voice recognition, I tend to zone-out. But there are also people who I find to be interested in the same specialized area of helping developing countries and even questioning if we SHOULD be helping them or if they even WANT our help. It all ties back into the question of ethics and why we feel arrogant enough to say that they need our help.

Thirdly, and sadly, Apathy is still rampant. Despite being in our last few quarters at UCSD, many people don't seem to want to utilize the last chance we have at such a flexible course. It's really not that difficult! I'm kind of surprised how little some people have changed and at the same time, surprised at how much others have. How do you break through apathy?

Anyways, I'm just rambling, but if you're bored, check out our growing and developing Wiki: Design4Dev.com. I'm in the middle of writing our about our first project: Kiva: Empowering Loans

Fun T-Shirts

Me and Irvin were finally able to give Trina, Alan, Sirena and Calvin their [extremely belated] Christmas gifts! Among them included these shirts and since we weren't able to fully explain them at the time of their opening (I guess the other gifts were distracting), here's a better explination.


Sirena's shirt of Calvin! The text is kind of small so you'll have to click on the image for a larger view, but it stems off an inside joke that I think is pretty obvious, haha.


Calvin's shirt of Sirena! This one was actually really tricky; the image was so large that I guess it's harder to apply than a smaller one. I think this one took around a whole hour just to iron on! But I think it came out really cute because it looks like she's hugging him. *teehee* ^_^v

The photo below is what inspired Alan and Trina's shirts. It's from the night of Nataly's birthday celebration at On Broadway. I KNEW Alan would regret making fun of me when we took this photo! Muahahahaha!




He's grabbing at her...heart. See? =D As you can tell, I had to edit out Trina's hand/arm and add in the rest of Alan's hand/watch. It wasn't TOO difficult to do only because it's in black/white and highly contrasted, so don't be too impressed.

And last, but not least, Alan's shirt. Not as much of a story, but I like how they were from the same photo.

Okay, I'm really glad we got those done, and I hope they wear them...haha. Or maybe that's too much to hope for!

Money CAN Buy Happiness

I'm not saying that Money can literally BUY happiness, but it sure does help it come along! For this entire quarter, I've been trying to spend the least amount of money because...well, honestly, this is the least amount I've had. I don't want to sound like I'm complaining because, hey, it's really not that bad...it's not like I'm starving (thanks to the boy) or suffering in any way.

But I am a bit lonely, in way!

When I call people to hang out, it usually entails one of the following: eating, drinking (as in boba), yogurt, shopping, and/or clubbing. And in that order, usually. Not spending money means not being able to do any of those! I've tried to be creative, like going hiking...but that hasn't been a very popular option so far. So basically, I've become a hermit! Because now I don't have much to say when I call and invite friends to hang out..."What do you want to do? Um, sit?" =/

So this blog entry was more of an apology rather than a complaint:

I'm sorry for seeming to be antisocial and unfun! I really want to hang out and play, but I have no money to do so! So please don't think I'm trying to avoid you or that I don't want to see you because I probably I really, really do! But when we hang out, can it be something under $10? Maybe do arts and crafts at home? Rent a movie? Do our hair and makeup? =D Hope to hear from you soon!

Kevin's Painted Hoodie

For Kevin's birthday/China Departure gift, I painted him a hoodie:

Kristin Kreuk, his favorite actress.

Here's a bunch of pictures of the process. Unfortunately, the thinned paint bled all over the edges of the back image, so her legs and thighs look a lot less clean than I really wanted. It's not a complete failure though (I hope.). Click on the photos for an enlarged version.









And here's Kevin modeling it for me, lol. I even painted a small "kl" on the front.

Wrong Way!

A pet-peeve of mine is when people don't understand the concept of "right-of-way"...especially in shopping centers because it's usually a small, slow and congested situation that somehow prompts people to ignore right-of-way or just display how oblivious they are to a concept we were taught when we were 15.

Ok, no more procrastination...time for my essay excitement.

Coincidence

I just noticed how my last blog entry just so happened to be published at 1:43. Nothing more to report, just thought it was a cute notice.

Hallmark Ruined a Good Thing

Despite whether or not I'm in a relationship, Valentine's Day never ceases to amaze me in the fact that so much can come out of it (and profit off of it): Love, Anger, Jealously, Hope, Depression and silly candy hearts. And really what I think a lot of it stems from is Expectation and perhaps Disappointment. Part of me wants to embrace the commercialism of Hallmark and its notion of romance everywhere, but another part of me wants to throw up every time someone takes it all so seriously. I mean, romance cannot be sprung from plastic wrapped flowers, boxed chocolate and jewelry, right? It's all been prepackaged, sucked of any originality and real romance.

Some people call me unrealistic, but I have hope that true romance is out there still...without the obligatory jewelry, flowers and materialism that have come to consume our holidays and sentiments. I'd rather have a flower plucked off the sidewalk if it actually meant something, a hug at the right time, a simple compliment that costs nothing but a little bit of sincerity. They say guys aren't programmed this way or that, but I think that's no excuse. Girls aren't wired the same, so why should we have to change our ideologies to adapt what's lacking in men?

Anyways, I'm not sure what I'm trying to get at, but I'm just frustrated at people asking me what I'm planning to do for Valentine's day, telling me what to expect, what the guy should be buying me, the stories of their own grand gestures of romance, etc. I don't want expectations this year and yet I can't get away from 100's of them.

So girls and guys, can we just not pay Hallmark this year? Can we MAKE our gifts for each other and just pause to take a moment and remember why? Thanks for letting me rant.

[Candy] Heart,
Kristen

FAIL

So I was home in MP for less than 48 hours and for about 40 of those hours I was sewing. I was helping my mom with her orders but at the same time I was trying to make birthday gifts for my aging friends/roommates...haha just kidding on the aging! However, despite 5 dresses made, 4 came up short (in a disappointing way, not length)!

Dress #1's straps were too narrow (see: side-boobage) and I ripped it when trying to put it on (b/c of my foot, not my fat!). So I cut it apart again and redid it...inside out. So I had to redo it AGAIN before it become wearable. The printed pink flower fabric proved to be the most durable being a spandex and lycra mix, I believe.

Dress #2's fabric was the PRETTIEST color of soft knit jersey: bright blue turquoise! ...but the fabric was terrible because it just tears apart at the seams! I was so very disappointed and don't think that it'll survive even ONE wear.

Dress #3 and #4 were both the same...black. But the fabric was, again, not up to par! I forget what type of fabric, but I thought it would be durable. It's not as poor as Dress #2, but I can tell it won't last as long as I'd like.

Dress #5 was my last attempt since it was my last bit of fabric in my bin. It was a lavendar jersey, even softer than the blue! I made it for Melissa (perfect length since she's so short and the dress ended up being too short for normal people) for her birthday and even double layered the bodice (almost like a bubble skirt design but it laid flat) since jersey knit can be so thin. While the quality was great, color was great, length was great, there wasn't enough fabric to make the straps as long as I'd have liked! =( I was SO SAD. It still works as a dress, but it's not as amazing as it would have been if the straps were long like I planned.

No worries, I'll post pictures once I decide what to do with them. =D