Job Search

Will be applying to A&F.

December Second Twenty-Eleven

Remember Dance Dance Revolution? Today in the arcade at John's Incredible Pizza, I definitely had a flash back. I remember spending time in middle school just tapping away on the mat at my grandmother's house. Or playing for hours after our weekly Girl Scouts meetings. It was one of those games I was so addicted to that after a while, I started seeing arrows going up the walls of my house. Core. If I can get the game with the pad, I'd be willing to drop money on a TV for room in my apartment. Dedication. 200 COMBO!

Anyways, I had a pretty good day today. It started off at 8 AM, but then I decided I wasn't feeling well enough to stay awake, so I slept till 11 AM. From there I went to Day St. and purchased a gift for Letters to Santa. This is a Christmas Program that Honors puts on every winter. UCR students "adopt" an elementary school child and grants their Christmas wish. My little girl asked for a bead set. Next Friday we will go to the elementary school and deliver our gifts to our students - Cant Wait!! 

Classes didn't start till 2 today - last classes of the quarter!! Today in Dirty30 we had a Child Birth Panel. Speakers shared their experiences in pregnancy or as a parent...apparently the pain you feel while having contractions makes having an epidural feel like nothing. That blows my mind. A needle into your spine = nothing...I'm so fucked.

So one more class goes by...4 hours later, the Honors Peer Mentors meet at John's Incredible Pizza for our annual Holiday Social. It was so much fun. The food was kind of bad, but the arcade was pretty awesome. We all got $5 to spend so we played a few games, rode a mini roller coaster, and battled it off on DDR. I had a great time with my friends Becky, Corey, Paige, & Jackie. I am really glad I have gotten a chance to make such good friends this year and to be a part of the Honors family. 

Now that I have grown some roots here at UCR, I dont really know how I feel about transferring. Even though I submitted my UC application this Wednesday, I feel like my application was not very good. My personal statement was written 2 hours prior to submission, I did not have any documents to record my classes/grades/AP scores correctly...so there is a good chance that my application will not even be considered due to inaccurate data. There goes $350. Well, in any case, I am happy here at UCR and applying was primarily just to appease my parents. Thanksgiving at home just was not pleasant because my mother was upset about me not wanting to transfer anymore.

Anyways, tonight I will try to stay up as late as I can. I spent the last hour going through magazines and ripping out pictures that I liked. Hopefully for the rest of the night I can do some damage for Race&Ethnicity and perhaps do some research on Orlan / Marc Quinn.

One more week and I am outs. Lates.

P.S. Below is me and my friends Becky & Corey

Just Popping In

  So it has been a while since I've blogged about anything. It's a strange thing when you log about your life (whether it be through a journal/ diary/ blog) and have missed a couple days...there exists this peculiar need to try and describe everything that has passed since the last entry date. Well, fortunately now that I reflect back - there hasn't been much to catch up on. The only things that really come to mind is the Occupy Wall Street movement, my Getty visit with my Art class today, and dreams.

  The first picture above is a photo taken from my visit to the local Occupy Riverside meeting. Our politically active members of society have pitched tents and arranged tens of posters around the center of Downtown Riverside. Recently, there have been news about police cracking down on protesters - most notably the riot in New York where the city announced that the owners of Central Park have the power to determine whether or not the protesters can occupy the park. A few days ago, students at Cal State LB had a demonstration and were also assaulted by the police. So much is going on throughout the nation in response to the state of the economy - but I wonder what the Fed is doing in response to us. 

  Anyways, today my good friend David and I visit the Getty Museum in LA with our Art History class and it was so much fun. The visit at the museum was wonderfully informative, interesting, and a wonderful break from Riverside. There, we were met by the Curator and Assistant Curator to the new revolving exhibit titled "Images of the Artist." The focus of our trip today with our professor was to view the pieces they had in this exhibition and tie it to our class - Self-Portraiture. I loved the variety they included in this exhibit - particularly the ones by Zuccaro, Lucas Samaras, and an incomplete pastel sketch by Louis de Silvestre:

  Something I was really excited to finally see was one of Messerschmidt's Character Heads. This particular head featured at the Getty (shown above) was sculpted from marble. I wish I could have seen a bronze head...but nonetheless, very happy to have seen that in person. After our tour with the curators, our group split up and explored the museum on our own. My group and I went upstairs to see oil paintings. Very prominent ones were by Rembrandt - which are astounding. I could continue on forever, but in short, very worth the 3 hours it took to drive there and back (due to my poor sense of direction).

  The last piece I wanted to share is about dreams. Firstly, last week I had a dream that really stood out from the rest. It started in a village where I was the head of a Native American tribe. People came to my home and described an impending doom that would befall my people unless I found the solution. So my family (my mother, sister, and grandparents) jumped into our van and drove towards the city in search of this answer - whatever it may be. We journeyed through underground caves and desert cliffs, and finally arrived at a modern Native American reservation. Upon arrival, we walked into a clean, square shaped clinic and were seated in a circle on a small stage. What seemed to be at least 3 hours, my family and I passed around a HUGE bong and just smoked weed. MAN. Let me just say, I have never smoked weed in my life, and here I was passing a bong to my grandmother. The purpose of this seemingly random practice? I think we were all smoking in hopes of reaching an epitome where the 'solution' would ascend upon us like how antique gods would in Greek tragedies...In the end, no one found the solution and we all decided to take a break and have lunch: Chinese food, of course. My dream ends around here with my grandmother lecturing me how I was not rolling my joint correctly and that she would teach me how to blow 'O's after lunch...

  Strange...but quite an amusing dream.

  Secondly. Today on the way to the Getty, my car and I were having a conversation about dreams. One of the passengers in the back seat, Sam, was telling us how her dreams were very similar to the surrealist paintings Salvador Dali painted. That concerned me...then she goes on to tell us that she gets sleep-paralysis and saw shadowy shapes that stand at the end of her bend and occasionally sit on top of her. THAT scared me. She then told us that in her house, she sometimes sees things crawling/walking around and also hears voices. All of this has become normal to her. I don't know what to make of her strange life...but what with crazy, surrealist dreams AND scary paranormal activity in her home??? There is most definitely more to this provincial life - for sure.

  Well, that's enough for another 2 weeks. Hopefully I will finish my Transfer essays soon, nab something cool on Black Friday with my BF, and then finish off Fall quarter with a Bang!

Christmas - I'm almost ready for you!!

IT'S COLD

No I am not going out.
No, it is not snowing.
And no, the air conditioning is not on full blast.
Am I taking the chilly weather a bit far?

Perhaps.

 However, I must say...my room is SO COLD. As I am sitting in front of my desk trying to concentrate and do some Race&Eth. reading...my fingers and toes are freezing. I just can't think of anything else but try to find warmth. And so I decided my toes deserve to hide in my warm, fuzzy boots and that my fingers must find shelter in my uber cool Urban Outfitters finger mittens. And since my thermal really just isn't doing the trick the only solution is my fabulous red vest and scarf...I wonder if people who live across from my apartment can see me dressed like it's snowing...inside...

I'm not crazy.

(Actually...its kind of strange now that I think of it, how often I have said that recently.

I truly believe the more conviction I say it with, the more convincing it really sounds.)

And I'm not lying.

Anyways, I am glad that Riverside has finally cooled down and that it has rained a number of times in the past month. However, whenever it is cold...my poor old joints do start to hurt. My left ankle that I've sprained 3 times was definitely hurting today. Sigh...but on the flip side, I got some great hazelnut coffee for about $1.50 today at the student market!

Alright. That will be enough rambling. Thursday is the big day, and I must finish all my readings by tonight. Plus, I have not touched my transfer essays, internship essays, nor put in time for my Monday Condom presentation.

Now that I am warm there is no excuse to dilly-dally any longer. Peace.

(Go on. Judge me.)

So Happy

Earlier tonight, I was really struggling to get work done. I am a week behind reading for my Race & Ethnicity class - which is great because I have a exam this Thursday for it - and am in desperate need of studying for my Dirty 30 class - which is tomorrow.

Then out of nowhere, it starts raining!! YES!! Light + Thunder!! I am so happy. My night suddenly got 10x better!!

Not to mention I made a bomb dinner :)

Now...Vampire Diaries...then study for bio.

Reflecting

12:30 AM.

Yesterday, I woke up to the sound of rain. It was absolute bliss. I love the rain - but not being in it. I love being in side where it's warm, with a hot cup of tea, with a book in my lap, nestled in my favorite sweater on my bed. All while the rain sings outside. I love it.

And so this morning, I took my time getting my day started as I listened to the rain. At 11:30 AM I picked up my girlfriend Ashley from school and we jumped onto the 60 to kick back at Panera. OOhh how I have missed Panera. The smell of bread with my hazelnut coffee was on point. Not to mention the hot liquid really hit the spot on a chilly, rainy day. At Panera, Ashley and I took our time eating brunch and exchanged stories from the past Halloweekend, the latest going-ons between past hallmates, and more. It was a well-needed reunion.

From there, I went to class at 2 PM and learned quite a number of things today. In my "Dirty 30" class, I learned that there is a myriad of sexual minority. These include LGBT, BDSM, Fetishists, Paraphilias, and more. It was fascinating to learn about certain practices, for example, those who practice sadomasochism (S&M) are educated in how to properly inflict pain. There are actually classes that teach you how to give a good flogging - and there's supposed to be nothing better than receiving a good flogging.

In Phys20 (Family of Planets) I learned that the sun will probably burn out in about 6 billion years. Like other medium sized stars, the sun will convert all its hydrogen to helium, then it will experience a helium flash which will expand the sun's radius all the way out to Jupiter, then it will shrink again in which the helium core will be converted to iron...at which point the solar winds will blow the remaining hydrogen into the universe...leaving what remains of the sun = a cold star...ultimately the suns death...but I feel like before the Earth has a chance to freeze over...we would burn first? Or maybe some other catastrophe would befall us first? Either way...I feel grateful for being born in the present - despite current economic and environmental woes - because I don't have to be worried about being consumed by the sun's Hellish fires.

Good stuff.

Anyways, tonight I am challenging myself. It is a Friday night, but I plan to pull an all nighter and get work done. I want to see if I can stay motivated and be productive despite it being the weekend. If I succeed - 10 points to Gryffindor. If not...I have Saturday to sleep and Sunday for safety. It is fail proof.

There is reason to my madness.

That's the end of my break. Time for Angela Davis, Women, Race & Class.

Aaahh, the college life.

Let the studying begin!

Double Rainbow - It Never Gets Old

Physics20 Midterm

 

It is currently 9:42 AM and I am cramming for my 3 PM Physics20 midterm. Physics20 is an intro astronomy course that focuses on the formation of planets, stars, and the growth of the universe. I was just reading about the formation of stars and came across these two beautiful pictures. These pictures depict the two different star clusters: Open and Globular. The one on the left is an open cluster and consists of thousands of loosely packed stars. All the stars in the cluster were formed at the same time. In the picture to the right, a globular cluster is a dense ball of up to a million or more stars bound together by gravity. 

Truly astounding. Images and the new information I learn about this class really blows my mind and inspires me. I feel pretty good about today's exam!

Here are a few nebula photos that are just stellar:

Lagoon Nebula

The Eagle Nebula

The Horsehead Nebula

Halloween 2011

This year I had a great Halloweekend! Too bad Halloween was on a Monday this year...and too bad I never got the chance to hunt down the house that had an AMAZING light show (video here). Anyways, last Friday I packed my car with beaautiful women including Ming, Jackie, Gabby, Molly, and Christine. I was...Nicki Minaj? I'm not quite sure, but I wore a blond wig that had pink streaks through it, with a leather jacket and a leather dress. Then tonight, I was an elf. I had green and red stockings with a red skirt, green cami with a Christmas tree headband in my hair. I kept it rated G :) Tonight I went out with Nataly and Michaela and we visited Pike. It was literally 'one big room, full of bad bitches.' I never thought it'd be possible to have too many girls...but it happened. Hahaha!

I was super sad last week when I opened my Halloween props and couldnt find my mermaid outfit - but that turned out for the best. Every party...there have been droves of mermaids...and cats. 

Siighh I'm glad this holiday is over. Now I can finish my midterm, apply for an internship, get a 4.0, and become a snail. I'll also have to work off this extra candy weight as well...can I qualify as a girl with 'a cute face, thin waist...' with big thighs? I wished it would go to my behind...I would love to acquire a nice donk. But I guess I should to listen to Elphaba when she sings, 'don't wish, don't start, wishing only wounds the heart'

Alright well it is officially 1:30 AM and I need to get up for my 9 AM class...and finish hw...and send in my Boeing application -.- Ooooooooof...

Goodnight!

Franz Xaver Messerschmidt Challenge

I wonder if I can match the Franz Xaver Messerschmidt's 69 Character Heads with my own expressions...

Here's a pretty good elevator speech about Franz Xaver Messerschmidt from www.artexpertswebsite.com -

"Franz Xaver Messerschmidt was an Austrian sculptor, known for his highly expressive busts of people making less than dignified faces. Messerschmidt quite literally broke the mold when it came to traditional 18th century busts and sculpture portraits, not necessarily in his technique or materials, but more so in his subject matter. In an era where stately men and women of power and wealth were having serious busts commissioned for themselves, Messerschmidt focused on capturing human expression in a way that was far more advanced than many other artists of his time."

Some say Messerschmidt was insane and so sculpted about 70 Character Heads as a way for him to reclaim reality. There are written accounts by Friedrich Nicolai who took first hand notes on Messerschmidt. According to Nicolai, Messerschmidt told him that the Spirit of Proportions was envious of the artist's discovery of the relation between the face and the body - and tortured him for it. To break the Spirit's power, Messerschmidt contorted his face and thus sculpted these grimaces. 

Only about 45 of these Character Heads have survived and they pose to be quite a curiosity. Messerschmidt never named these busts and were not commissioned to create them - leaving much ambiguity as to the real purpose to the heads and leaves us to question whether they are self-portraits.

Personally, I believe Messerchmidt was exploring how far one can mutilate expression. He was pushing the boundaries of caricature and really did not embed much of himself into these masks. And so I always found it funny to imagine a serious art historian examining a Character Head up close...all while the head was laughing at the viewer's frustration. Can you imagine?

Sometimes you just cant be that serious!

Although I have not examined each Character Head myself, I feel like there wouldn't be one that had no expression at all - otherwise how would Messerschmidt have broken the Spirit's power over him? And so I started simple...

Expression 1

130

Disappointment. But...I think it was worth it. I have gained some weight over the course of 2 weeks, but looking back...it was worth it.

Friday morning - I woke up around 10:30 AM and make bomb spaghetti and garlic bread

Saturday night - Farhad makes me dinner! Pink sauce (that looked orange?) with mushrooms, tomatoes, chicken sausage all over angel hair - the best! (Talk about massive servings)

Today for lunch - A colorful, light balsamic vinaigrette salad. I broke up some romaine lettuce, threw in some cranberries and candied walnuts, and tossed in some sweet mandarins!

Tonight - I'm thinking about Occupying Riverside tonight, so maybe I'll go buy some pizza and donate it! Click the pic for more info on Occupy Riverside!!

Serious talk. After this weekend...it's diet time and gym. Le'goo!

Success

Best meal I have made for myself since I moved into my apartment. When I finished making my fried rice, I thought to myself Man, that looks bomb. I should take a picture of it! And as I was about to snap a photo, my camera runs out of batteries...Not bomb.

Here are a few other Not Bomb moments that came across my mind -

When you make an amazing lunch...but forget it on the kitchen counter...

When you are super excited to be on your vacation trip...and then realize you forgot to pack underwear

When you just want to buy one pack of gum and all the registers are backed up like Christmas Eve

When you really need to use the bathroom but find that all of the toilets in your apartment are not working...super not bomb..like right now..

When you talking to a super beautiful person...and then remember that you have a fat, juicy zit smack-dab on the middle of your forehead...

When you eat shit. Hard.

When the traffic cam snaps a picture of you for not making a full stop before making a right turn on a red light

When your iPod dies.

When you're almost done typing your Midterm paper...and your laptop crashes...this might be the winner

When you're strolling down the sidewalk and a car drives through a puddle and drenches you

When someone copies off your paper and get a better grade than you

When you're reading something and feel like you're really learning some great new information...only to turn the page to find that you've been there before...

When bird shit lands on you...there's just no way you could have saw that coming

Anyways...school time.

Peace.

Stream of Consciousness

Tuesday Wednesday morning...I guess


I hate it when I get ready to shower and go to bed, and then someone else steps in right before me...delays. I also hate it when I have to wait in line to use the restroom...honestly lines are over-rated.


Today was an eternity...but the morning was a beautiful beginning...I love the rain. What a shame I didn't get to take advantage of it and go back to sleep...


I looked skinny today...someone actually complimented me today...well actually they complimented Farhad for walking with me...so being objectified as an accessory counts as a compliment right? Or is that degrading? Its actually a strange thing how girls say they feel or look skinny on certain days...women can actually look more attractive - on days they ovulate. It's been scientifically tested through the study of strippers and how much they get tipped within a menstruation cycle. Too bad I'm not currently ovulating...


I ate fries for dinner...I was given a donut for breakfast...and I had an $8, delicious Southwest Chicken Salad (which must mean it was loaded with fat)...I need to get my life in shape


My Crayon costume looks like shit.


I can't believe I stayed on campus for 12 hours today...The best part is I only stayed so long because I had to watch a movie on Michael Caravaggio...What really gets me about my Art History class is that I have to read about 200 pages each week - with no illustrations or pictures to boot - and when I went into watching this film...I figured it would be easier than analyzing someone's self-portrait...Oh how wrong we can be...


I wished everyone was pansexual.


People's personalities change about every 7 years...I wonder if that's the reason why I cant decide what my favorite color is...hm...19's not even divisible by 7...


I got sharpie on my white pants...


I am so glad my mentees canceled their meetings with me tomorrow...now I dont have to be responsible till 2 pm...


What's for lunch tomorrow...I only have eggs, pasta sauce, cheese, and milk in the fridge...and unfortunately these ingredients dont combine and make something to eat...wtf mate.


donezos.


Hahaha I love cartoons...too bad Wall Stree Journal doesn't have them...

Monday Morning

My Monday morning started at 10:30 AM thinking, Darn...woke up late again...At least I don't have to be on campus until 1 PM...I have no more underwear...

And so I proceed to turn some music on, get dressed, and head to my apartment's laundry site. As I am sitting here waiting for my laundry, I am reading The Wall Street Journal and also waiting for my first batch of cookies to finish baking. On my walk back to my apartment from the washers, I was suddenly overcome by this need to bake...and so I figured I could bake some cookies while I waited for laundry to finish...I would have just enough time to get to my classes. At UCR I am an University Honors Peer Mentor, and so these cookies today will be for my freshmen mentees to help them get through their first midterms. My boyfriend would jealous...


Today I will be meeting my mentee Jasmin at 1, then I have Bio30 (Sex and Reproduction) at 2 followed by Phys20 (Intro Astronomy) at 3. Best classes I've ever taken!!

Anyways, keep in touch and I will show you my finished products!

Currently listening to: Mine by Taylor Swift

Monologue

Let me set the mood for you,

I am sitting on my friend Farhad's bed on one end of his room, Michael is on the cot which is placed in the left-center of the room, and Farhad is at his desk opposite me. Together since 1:30 PM we have been diligently studying and catching up on school work. By around 11:00 I feel a bit unfocused - I take that back. 'Unfocused' is an understatement...I was over my assigned reading. And so the three of us begin a discourse on the subject of Christianity. Questions like "If God were to exist, should I choose to worship him?" "How supportive are the examples of Jesus' existence on Earth?" and "How Christian are most proclaimed Christians?" were tossed around and debated over. As a novice on this subject, I left the house filled with new information...but what perked my interest most in our discussion was the relationship between human psychology and religion.

At one point, Michael brought up a theory about Jesus as a schizophrenic. From a respective, Agnostic perspective we analyzed this theory and I do not fully accept it but I do find it interesting. There are a few distinctive characteristics of schizophrenic personalities and one is that the schizophrenic person believes they are the Messiah. Known as the Messiah-complex, these individuals believe that they are meant for a greater purpose and to spread the word of God. Could it be that Jesus was perhaps schizophrenic? And that his 'miracles' were rumors? And just like today, perhaps people began following this Jesus due to these rumors. When is destitution and desperation, it is normal to believe in something that will grant you freedom - a sort of leap of faith I suppose.

I hope to look into this theory more and see what other people think. Was Jesus really here...or has he not even arrived yet...or maybe I should just think about this tomorrow...

An Excuse

Can I make an excuse just so I can have Adam Lambert on my blog?

Well it's really not an excuse because his music with Maroon5 really is inspirational...his artistic expression channeled through his tattoos are inspirational...and I think his body inspires me ;]

Anyways, I love love love Maroon 5 especially their Hands All Over album and can't wait to see them in concert - one day. I wish I could go to Europe and see them in Rome...and perhaps Adam will fall in love with me. Perhaps.

Shout out to my first love, Hugh Jackman.

Good Morning at 11:46 AM

Good morning! Actually, it should really be 'Good Afternoon' shouldn't it? Well, despite the time of day, I woke up with a craving to get a hot cup of coffee and nibble on some biscotti. Guess my body is ready for a 3 o'clock snack already...The reason why I woke up so late today was because I slept with my blinds closed last night. Usually, I sleep with them partly open which allows the cool night air in as well as the morning sun. However, Riverside has been cooler lately and I just forgot to open my blinds so today I didn't have the sun to wake me up :( Guess my body just thought it was still night and decided to snooze my alarms for me.

But that's okay with me!

Today is a new day and it is time to start getting back into school mode. Sigh, just thinking about all the things I need to do gets extremely overwhelming. Not only do I need to read about half a ton of literature for my  Race & Ethnicity and Art History class, but yesterday, I epic-ally failed to buy materials for my University Honors Halloween Social costume (an Orange Crayon). Here's what my costume needs to look like:

I feel like this is way too hard to make -.-

But anyways, wish me luck today I aim to do some reading, submit an application to be an SAT tutor, buy the materials for the costume (but not make it yet...hehe) AND work out!!!!

Now it's time to get out of these PJ's and find some coffee and biscotti!!

Au revoir!

Don't forget to follow me!

First Post!

My first post!

Thank you for visiting me and I hope we stay good friends!

As my first post, I would like to share with you a little about myself and what you can expect from me.

I am a first year Business student at the University of California, Riverside. I hail from the city of Torrance, CA and have been fortunate enough to be surrounded by the eclectic culture that makes up Los Angeles. Although it has been quite a challenge becoming accustomed to life here in the desert, I have found that it is a beautiful place full of life -- something I hope to share with you as well.

As I continue to blog and post images, I hope to not only introduce new pictures and clothing but to also get your mind excited! This year my courses have really challenged me to do so and my eyes have really undergone a new experience. Likewise, I would like to present new ideas and hear what you think!

I already know this is going to be a beautiful relationship ;)

P.S. This photo was from this site: http://shinuhholt.blogspot.com/2010/12/images-bywww.html