I graduated!

Did I forget to mention that I graduated?? 

Well I did. 

My last few weeks at Mills were a blur of finals-induced craziness and moving-induced stress. Though compared to other semesters I had probably the easiest finals I'd ever had, when combined with moving out of an apartment as well as knowing I'd be leaving Mills forever and Oakland for awhile, it ended up being very stressful and I am a little surprised that I made it out in once piece. 

My mom had to force convince me to participate in Commencement but in the end I'm really glad she did. Even though graduations are long and boring and the speeches all sound the same, it's much more exciting when you're the one graduating. When I picked up my walking card I saw that I was graduating with honors, which made me feel great. Also, Lena was able to come up to see the ceremony! So all in all it was a lovely day and I was one happy graduate. 

Then the next morning we all got up at the crack of dawn to drive back to LA. Now I'm readjusting to life in So-Cal, unpacking, and frantically applying for jobs. I promise to (try) to post more regularly now! I have a room tour on the way as soon as I get the last box out of here. 

<3

Bittersweet

It may be the first day of spring, but it's rainy here so Nicole and I decided to make a spontaneous trip to Bittersweet today.

If you live in the Bay Area and like chocolate then you have to get a hot chocolate from Bittersweet, it is the best hot chocolate I've ever had.

Bonjour/Hola/Hello

I had the great idea to take French IV and an upper division Spanish class this semester (La Literatura de Viaje, if you were wondering).

I have to say I'm not sure it was one of my better ideas. I keep thinking of Spanish words when I'm trying to speak French, and vice versa.

I'll either end this semester being nearly trilingual, or unable to form a coherent sentence in any language.

the last first day of school

I had quite a busy day today! I decided at the last minute to take French IV which means that my Wednesdays now start at 8:30 am and end at 5 pm. It felt like I was running around all day going back and forth between classes and work, but the highlight of the day was going to the opening of the Hung Liu exhibit at the art museum. I didn't get any pictures [I really need to get into the habit of carrying my camera with me], but it was nice spending time with friends and enjoying the free food. And the art of course. :]

 All in all if first days are any indication of how the semester will go, I think me and this semester will get along just fine.

Done

At the end of my first semester at Mills, I was in the library during finals week when i heard a woman across the library announce (in a fairly loud voice for a library) “I’m done with my thesis.”

I looked up and watched her as she stood up from her computer, walked toward the printer, and came back to her computer with her papers in hand and repeated slowly, “I’m done with my thesis.”

I remember wishing that I had known her, so I could give her the kind of celebration that moment deserved. And now, years later I have just finished my own thesis, and I wish I could find that woman so we could celebrate together.

I’m done with my thesis.

favorite

This is my favorite place on campus, and where I spent most of my weekend.
I hope your weekend was swell :]

what you eat

I haven't mentioned that I'm living in on-campus apartments this year instead of the dorms. The only thing I was hesitant about before moving in was having to cook for myself. I had to make my own food in London, but I had no pots/pans/kitchenware of any kind so I basically had to rely on there being a dirty pot in the sink that I could wash and use and put back before it's owner noticed. All I knew how to make at that point was pasta, so it worked out fine but I was aware that a diet that was 95% pasta was probably not the best idea. So when I got back I decided I was going to try to really cook this year, and luckily for me my roommates already know how to cook, so I figured it wouldn't be so bad.

But seriously, I can't even believe how amazing the stuff we've made is. In the last 2 weeks we've made pumpkin risotto, tofu stirfrys, broccoli fritters, and eggplant parmesean. Last night everything on my dinner plate was green! I'm so proud of us, and I really don't think I've ever eaten this healthy. I'm going to start taking pictures so I can share what we're making. [I promise there are going to be pictures here soon, and regular updates]

Do you have any favorite recipes?

<3

Moving [again]!

So, summer is ending and I find myself about to make another move from LA to Oakland to start my final year of college. I was telling my friend the other day that I wish someone would have told me that going to school far away from home would mean that I'd be in a constant state of transition. It wouldn't have stopped me, but a little heads up would have been nice. In the past 4 years I have not stayed in any one location longer than 5 months; I'm a packing pro now.  Part of me loves this, because it makes every year a fresh start. When I'm moving into a new room every few months it keeps things exciting, but the grumpy old man part of me wishes that I could just stay in one place for awhile.

Also, this year comes with a lot of general unease about what's going to happen after I graduate. I'm a planner, I like knowing where I'm headed. I can already tell that the fact that I have no idea what I'll be doing this time next year is going to stress me out more and more as the year goes on. Hopefully I'll find some answers soon to silence the plethora of questions about my future keeping me up at night so that I can actually enjoy my senior year.