Home Sweet Home

I haven't posted in so long that it may qualify as a case of neglect. But never fear, I promise to make it up to you.

Last weekend was fall break, allowing me to go home for the four day weekend. I didn't realize how many little things I missed until I was able to use them again. Like not having to wear flip-flops in the shower, getting to use my own toilette, and good breakfast food. I didn't do too much; rather, my family treated it as though it were any weekend. I got to help with chores, go shopping with my mom, and eat dinner with my family. The normalcy and simple household tasks made me feel completely relaxed.

I also got to see the tree in my backyard drop some of its leaves as the season changes.

I flew back on Tuesday night, and it was weird being back on campus. My dorm room is, however, really beginning to feel more comfortable. According to my mom, that's simply because it's becoming my reality. I personally think it's because I'm really adding my personal touch and making it reflect me, which makes it just feel right. I've started a sort of collage/collection on my wall:

Maybe I will post more pictures as the collection grows.

Today marked a landmark in my college experience so far, as it was the first Friday that I actually went out at night to do something. A large group of my friends and I took a trip to Market Street to see the movie "Never Let Me Go." It's based on the amazing book by Kazuo Ishiguro, and although sad, was a very good movie. It felt good to go out at night, even if it was just for something as simply as a movie. Quite frankly, I'm proud of myself.

The ride back to campus was a little more eventful. When our bus stopped at one of its designated stops, a homeless man got on the bus and refused to pay the fare. Of course, he also refused to get off the bus, and the driver ended up calling the police. He declared the bus temporarily out of service until the cops showed up.

Needless to say, we got off the bus to avoid the trouble that was brewing. Our group ended splitting up; three of my friends ended up taking a cab back to campus, while the rest of us decided to "rough it" by sticking to public transportation. Of course, the bus we ended up taking was so crowded that we got stepped on, sat on, and temporarily separated. But we got off okay, and had a good story to tell our friends.

Everyone needs at least one crazy, late night experience on the bus.

Just an Interesting Thought

Do you remember when I said I was worried about becoming one of those annoying people who update their blogs every day? Well, I'm about to surpass that level of annoying and post twice in one day.

My apologizes. But I just had a revelation, and I felt the need to write it down and share it with all of you.

After getting out of my last class of the day, I headed back to my room for an hour of relaxing before I had to go write an essay (which I really should be doing right now). Anyways, I was listening to some music when the song "Bad Day" by Daniel Powter came on. Take a look at the lyrics:

Where is the moment we needed the most

You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost

They tell me your blue skies fade to gray

They tell me your passion's gone away

And I don't need no carryin' on

You stand in the line just to hit a new low

You're faking a smile with the coffee you go

You tell me your life's been way off line

You're falling to pieces every time

And I don't need no carryin' on

Because you had a bad day

You're taking one down

You sing a sad song just to turn it around

You say you don't know

You tell me don't lie

You work at a smile and you go for a ride

You had a bad day

The camera don't lie

You're coming back down and you really don't mind

You had a bad day

You had a bad day

Will you need a blue sky holiday?

The point is they laugh at what you say

And I don't need no carryin' on

You had a bad day

You're taking one down

You sing a sad song just to turn it around

You say you don't know

You tell me don't lie

You work at a smile and you go for a ride

You had a bad day

The camera don't lie

You're coming back down and you really don't mind

You had a bad day

Sometimes the system goes on the blink

And the whole thing turns out wrong

You might not make it back and you know

That you could be well oh that strong

And I'm not wrong

So where is the passion when you need it the most

Oh you and I

You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost

Cause you had a bad day

You're taking one down

You sing a sad song just to turn it around

You say you don't know

You tell me don't lie

You work at a smile and you go for a ride

You had a bad day

You've seen what you like

And how does it feel for one more time

You had a bad day

You had a bad day

I was listening to this and suddenly it hit me. I've always loved this song. It's a very cheerful, catchy tune that is juxtaposed against the topic of having a really bad day. But I suddenly wondered just how serious about this "bad day" Mr. Powter was when he released that song. Upon listening to it in the context of my life right now, I felt as though he were making fun of people who wallow in their bad day. How many times have I been feeling sort of crummy, so I looked for little things that would make my day worse? The real tragedy, this song seems to say, is when you make a day bad for yourself. Every day has the potential to be amazing, and it's only when you think of it that way that it becomes bad.

Just some food for thought.

Thank God for the Little Things

Hello again. Sorry that I haven't posted in a while, but to be completely honest I've been a little down this lately. To be more precise, I still find the weekends hard. That's when I miss home and the only time I ever let myself cry.

But this weekend, I got reminded by the little things that life isn't really so bad.

I couldn't focus on my homework yesterday, being both sad and in a highly distracting environment, and so I went for a walk. A short bus ride and four blocks later, I settled down at Mountain Lake Park by my grandparents. I sat in the sun, watching parents teach their little kids how to throw baseballs or kick a soccer ball. There was one family having a birthday party, complete with a bounce house! At first I thought it might make me sad, sitting there by myself with all these families, but then a funny thing happened.

I got recruited to play by this cute little thing.

The man sitting next to me had brought along his dog and baby. He was trying to get the baby to go to sleep and the dog kept whining and nudging his ball; he wanted to play. Unfortunately for the man, he already had his hands full. Eventually, the dog got the hint, and went to chew on the ball right behind where I was sitting. He was so adorably bouncy that when the ball rolled to a stop next to me, I couldn't resist throwing it for him.

And that turned into a whole two and a half hours of playing with this random dog in the park, while reading Plato.

That may sound like it was distracting. Didn't I go there to work, after all? But to be completely honest, playing with that dog was exactly what I needed. I didn't want to just go out on the weekends to distract myself, and frankly I wasn't in a very playful mood. But this little afternoon delight reminded me that sometimes, you just need a break. When you get to far inside your head, and you feel like you'll never get out, that's when you need to go for a walk, get outside, go smell the flowers.

Although I will still miss home and will still get sad sometimes, I know that it's okay. But it's not okay to sit and wallow in my tears. It's best to get out, and play a game of ball.

Take me out to the Ball Game...

Good morning world! Hope everyone is having a good weekend. I know I am, with the exception of the stupid school washing machines.

I was doing a jean load, when the washer stopped in the middle of the cycle for some unknown reason. And I mean dead in the middle of the cycle: there was still soapy water inside! Frustrated after doing as it asked and "reselecting settings" twice, I put my jeans in another washer and am having to start all over again! Needless to say, it was a complete waste of my time and money. And what was the response of the guy working at the front desk when I told him? "You want your money back, or something?"

Um, no, but the last hour of my life would be nice.

On a brighter note, I got to go the Giants vs Brewers game last night! Even though we lost, my friends and I had a great time. We had the bleacher seats right in left field, which was pretty exciting for only having paid $15. We took a charter bus to the stadium with a large group from school, and although we all sat in a clump, we got to go off and do our own thing.

Although it's been cloudy all weekend (and still is) the sun did come out for the beginning of the game yesterday. I hadn't been to a game in almost five years, so I couldn't help but marvel at how amazing the stadium is.

I've been raised a Giants fan, so I was super excited to get to go to a game. Can you tell? I wore my Giants t-shirt, a bright orange scarf, and a Giants beanie I got for my birthday. One of the first things that my friends did when we got there was to buy baseball caps. This was Wade's hat, and even though it's a bit big, I think I pulled it off quite well. What was the first thing I bought? A hotdog! The second? A pack of Twizzlers! We ate pretty much the whole time.

In the end, the Giants ended up losing 2 to 1. To be completely honest, the last two innings were very painful to watch. But I had a great time, and couldn't have thought of a better way to celebrate my first birthday here in San Francisco!