oasis

I'm pretty sure I should be banned from the Internet during dead week and finals week. I have been so unproductive today! I have two papers due on Friday and the most I got done was a little outlining. I did go to the gym and did a bit of reading today, but I've also done a lot of lazing about.

I did however decide that at some point in my life I would love to live in a building with a cool rooftop.Whether it has a fantastic view, like this one in NYC,
(image via wandermelon.com)

or a modern, relaxing feel like this one,
(also in Manhattan, image via inhabitat.com)

or an exotic vibe, like this one in Marrakesh, Morocco.
(That's me!)

I love this picture, it reminds me of such a dreamy experience I had when I was in Morocco. My tiny, adorable hostel had this rooftop oasis that I escaped to on my first day in Marrakesh. I was tired and dusty and culturally shocked, and I simply needed a quiet place to relax. I lazed on that couch all afternoon and wrote in my journal, and the owner of the hostel brought up a tray with fresh, homemade Moroccan mint tea served in the most ornate tea set. She also gave me a little bowl full of semi-sweet crumbly biscuits that tasted like heaven. I watched a beautiful sunset and as a hush fell over the incredibly loud and chaotic city, the eerie, mysterious prayer call in Arabic echoed through a PA system across the entire city. The prayer call must have lasted for about five minutes, and the whole time I was sitting in the near dark with tiny lanterns lit all around me, and goosebumps on my skin. The whole experience was magical and I cherish it as one of the most profound during my entire time abroad.

Ahh I just got kinda sad thinking about that for some reason. It's really windy here, I hate the wind for some reason, and it makes all the windows in this old house rattle like crazy, which puts me on edge. I'm going to go make a tuna melt. Hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing weekend. Back to the daily grind tomorrow.

walking on sunshine

Hey hey heeey. Just got back from LA. I went down yesterday afternoon to see a play. I have a friend that lives in Sherman Oaks and so I got to his apartment at about 4 and then we headed down to Santa Monica. Without traffic it would normally take about 15 minutes to get from his place to Santa Monica but it was rush hour on a Friday afternoon of a three-day weekend, so it took almost an hour, but we just passed the time catching up and listening to good music and making funny faces at the other drivers on the 405.

When we got to Santa Monica we parked and walked down to the beach and the sun was just setting so it was really pretty. Then we walked back up to Main Street and ate dinner and got some beers at this pub called Finn McCool's. Some of our other friends met up with us and then we walked over to the theater. The play was really random and kinda awkward but overall I guess it was a good experience and fun to see an actual play. Everyone in the audience was about 50 years older than us which was funny. After the play we took the scenic route home and drove past UCLA and through Beverly Hills, and then down Hollywood Boulevard, which weirdly reminded me of Times Square in NYC.

Basically it was really cool to see LA, and I really loved Santa Monica. I can see myself working for some cute company there and living in a cute little apartment by the beach. I'm definitely keeping it in my sights for this summer/my future.

When we got back to Sherman Oaks we played a whole bunch of songs on my friend's piano and then passed out. I had to get up early this morning and drive home because I have work at 11, but luckily there wasn't any traffic and I stopped at a Starbucks to get some coffee. The drive home was actually really nice because it's super sunny today and I love driving up past Ventura when you get to that stretch where it's all ocean for like 15 minutes.

Anyways, not too much planned today, I have a split shift at work so I'm scheduled from 11-3 and then again from 5-9 which kinda sucks, but I'll probably get to go home early both times. Hope your day is as bright and sunny as mine!

2010

Dang, I suck at this. But it's a new year, and I'm determined to keep this up! At least three posts a week. Think I can do it?

So it's 2010. There is a lot in store for me in the upcoming months. I start my last quarter of college in two days. I will celebrate my 22nd birthday in February. And I'm finishing up school on March 20! After that, I'm hoping to find an internship in the Santa Barbara/LA area to keep me busy for the next few months (March-June).

After graduation in June, I have no idea where I'm headed. I'm hoping to find some sort of job/internship/editing gig. I have been perusing Craigslist job offerings in NYC and San Diego. It makes me excited but I'm nervous at the same time. I could technically move anywhere in the world, nothing is holding me back! Except the lack of a job...

Anyways, on to more exciting things. Spent the holidays with my family, and then was back to Isla Vista to ring in the new year with my closest friends. Went on a couple hikes and saw Avatar and Sherlock Holmes. The weather in Santa Barbara has been awesome, it makes me excited for spring/summer.

New Years resolutions?
-go on a hike a week
-swim
-run on the beach
-keep up this dang blog!
-paint/draw more

Not too exciting I guess. Talk to you soon.


Listening to: Silence. (Seriously. It's 2:30 am. No one else is awake. I kinda like it.)

Why hellooo

So it's been forever. Not days, not weeks, but literally months. I feel like I've gone to the moon and back since I last blogged. I had some crazy adventures in Europe, and even made it to Africa. I survived my 21st birthday, and took two separate trips to NYC. Sadly though, summer has come and gone, and school started back up last week. Now that I'm getting back into the swing of things, I decided it might be kinda nice to get a regular blog back up. So keep an eye out for new posts; I'll be talking about school, life, and my future goals, dreams, hopes, and anything else that I fancy. This week I'm going to Las Vegas with all my girls for the first time, so I'm sure I'll have some stories to tell soon. Right now I'm gonna go daydream and roll around in the sunshine in the park across the street. Pictures coming soon!

Listening to: Satellite by Guster

TIME

Just a few personal updates, then some ponderings...

Had the best weekend ever. Visited some friends, was super active, saw lots of cool things. Made me appreciate people and life and California.

Got a flu shot today to protect me against all the ickies that seem to be abundant in planes and public transportation. My arm is kinda noodlesque as a result though. But I got a cool bandaid and sucker nonetheless.

On another note, my right hand seems to be falling asleep quite often. Don't really know what's up with that...Hopefully it doesn't develop into something too chronic. Or fatal.

Also I don't know what happened last night, but I think I was having a sleep panic attack. Had dreams that someone brought a gun to school and killed a lot of people. It made me super anxious and I couldn't sleep, and then it felt like I had water in my ear so that pestered me and kept me up too. Super weird because I never have sleeping problems. I think I'm just getting anxious about my trip and it's messing with my brain though.

Hmm it's the last day of 2008. It feels crazy to think about how quickly time passes. And I hear the older you get, the faster time seems to fly. Which makes sense if you think about it for long enough...but again, that takes time.

I had to slow down to avoid a skunk in the road tonight. The moment seemed painfully slow to me, but at the same time the skunk's heart must have been beating so fast. It's weird how things can be like that. So slow and so fast all at once.

I've been saying a lot of adieus to friends in the past couple of days. Isn't there some saying about how goodbyes aren't for forever? I know I'll only be gone for six months, and like I just said, time flies, but at the same time I think it can drag on, and magnify and warp things. Who knows where I'll really be in six months' time: mentally, physically, emotionally?

I'm getting all philosophical, so I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes by Henry Thoreau which I think perfectly describes how I feel:

"Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes."

See you next year.

Listening to: Owl City-Saltwater Room