good tidings

i am glad to day that this year's christmas was filled with mostly enjoyable memories. christmas eve was a little rocky but Brian came over, with Nintendo 64 and Super Smash Brothers to make everything better. christmas day, without fail i was woken up at 7:45 AM by an excited younger (17 yrs old. ha) brother in order to open gifts with my family. i got some pretty cool stuff. movies, gift cards, some candy. but my favorite thing is my Magic Mouse. it is a Mac, wireless, blue tooth mouse and is truly amazing. not to mention it matches my macbook and desk. later in the evening we went to my cousin's house for dinner and gifts with the extended family. i actually played games with my little cousins (ages 8 and under) and didn't get really frustrated or feel like i didn't know what to say or do. that is kind of a first for me!

now i just can't wait until new years! i hope it will be a lot of fun this year.

Music: Party In The U.S.A - Miley Cyrus, Parentheses - The Blow

desperate reblog

i didn't want to post until after christmas festivities but i just couldn't help myself. i have to spread the word of the amazing Tokyo Police Club (or at least have an outlet for my excitement)!


Christmas is just 2 days away and i'm pretty excited. my dad's side of the family had a hanukkah celebration this past sunday and it was fun. my cousins and i ate latkes and played Beatles Rock Band. winter break has been mostly fantastic, just how i like things to be.

Music: TOKYO POLICE CLUB!!!! and the Harlem Shakes

to one and to all

i realize i havent updated in over a week. (not like that really even matters.) tis the season to be amazing because hanukkah is currently going on and christmas is in just 9 lovely days!!! the holidays make me sooo happy and this year it is even more exciting because i haven't seen a lot of people for a good 4 months and now we can all be together, i've moved back home officially, and i'm getting ready to start yet another new phase of my life. i'm both excited and scared but that is part of the thrill of life (or at least that is what i tell myself).
time for Christmukkah wish list:


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Music: Out of the Blue - Julian Casablancas

home is where the ___ is

i have a question. when do college students stop wanting to/getting excited about coming home? when do they begin to refer to their college town as their home? now, i know i have a bias because i don't particularly like my college situation and will be returning to sacramento for a semi-permanent time in five days, but i still see on all of my friends' twitters and facebook statuses that say they can't wait to go home as well. all of them are having a great time in college and yet they still want to return. i remember before we all left everyone said they couldn't wait to leave and to be on their own. now we find ourselves counting down the days until we return. i for one enjoy being at home with my parents. it is one of those "you don't know what you've got til it's gone" situations, and i found out that i'm not quite ready to be without them. i'm not sure why others are so eager to come home. we've all been at college for about 4 months, and in the span of our short lives that is a long time. don't get me wrong, i enjoy the enthusiasm from my friends when we are home and know that we only have short time together but i have to wonder when it will end. how long will it be until we stop returning home for holidays, going elsewhere with new friends? i don't know and i'm not really sure i want to.

Music: Kissing the Lipless - The Shins

found this and figured i should make my first december post before we get too far in. something i'm trying to remember everyday. i believe it. you should too.
7 days left in this funny city called Oakland.

Music: Strictly Game - The Harlem Shakes

food coma

thanksgiving break is officially over, but it has been grand if i don't say so myself. minus a small episode on saturday night/the trip back to oakland via train, everything was very fun. i got to see a lot of people i haven't seen in awhile (but i didn't get to see everyone i wanted to. thank god for christmas break being so soon.) thanksgiving break is pretty much about good food, good people, and good times, all of which were had. (i can't upload any pictures because i just realized i packed up my camera cord and it is at home!)

i ended the break with a grand finale finish of getting to see Rooney live on sunday night. my friend from CCA, Christine, went with me. i have literally been waiting since the 7th grade to see this band! i don't have any photos because cameras were not allowed in the venue but they were very good. the sound was amazing, their guitarist is super talented, and they are all extremely rockstar sexy! i also got to meet-and-greet because i bought their new EP, Wild One (which is great). so now i have a check on my bucket list and a signed EP and poster.

only 2 weeks left here in Oakland at CCA. it is a little bittersweet because i've found a few really awesome friends but i will just come to the bay to visit them and have fun!

Music: Wild One - Rooney

switchin' teams

being a teenage girl of america (though not for much longer) i ventured out with my main group of girls to see the highly anticipated second movie of the Twilight Saga, New Moon. for those of you who did not see the first movie (Twilight), it was not exactly the highest quality film. although the characters in the opener were cast very well, the film itself was overly cheesy and poorly done. New Moon was easily an improvement. the characters of Edward (Robert Pattinson), Bella (Kristen Stewart), and the rest of the Cullens were back in full force and this time little baby Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) stole the show. sporting a brand new set of 8-pack abs and big, buff arms, Jacob is now all grown up and him and his cute, also very buff, werewolf friends made me want to switch teams from Team Edward to Team Jacob (or maybe just Team Taylor Lautner). his many shirtless and scenes and smiling face were refreshing to see next to the brooding, cold, and dramatic scenes of statuesque Edward and Bella. overall the film was fun and pretty well done (although an improvement on the first one was not hard). the effects with the werewolves and volturi were not spectacular but they did the trick. all in all i recommend you see the movie if you love the series, even if the first movie disappointed you.

Music: New Moon Soundtrack (which i need to look up because it was pretty good)

shame on you

this is a video of students protesting the tuition increases at the University of California Berkeley (commonly known as CAL). students are upset about increased tuition, student fees, teacher furloughs, and the fact that administrators have not taken pay cuts. (this article explains more)this is not the first protest, and i'm sure it is not the last. i completely understand why students and staff members are upset. our state might be broke but education is not the place to make cuts. i myself am attempting to enter the public university system in california and everyone tells me i am crazy but honestly i have no choice. my parents cannot afford to send me to another private school and they shouldn't have to. i am a resident of california which has one of the best public university systems in the country. it is a shame that things like this have to happen. also, i feel that the brutality is unnecessary on both parts of the party. i'm all for the cause but i feel that the students who were beaten were probably beaten because they were refusing to obey what the swat members were telling them to do.i would expect UC Berkeley students to be smarter than to resist, however, i do not condone the swat members' behavior. you would think they would train these men/women how to deal with crowds better. i'm willing to be that 9 times out of 10, when you hit a young male he will only get angrier and come at you, rather than give up and run away. beating the young men with their batons was an ineffective tactic. i worry for future protests. students are angry and gestures of violence like this only fuel the fire.

Music: Revolution - The Beatles

black winter

lately i've been reading a lot of fashion blogs (my faves are linked to the left) and i find it all so inspiring that i thought i'd blog about my current fashion obsessions/aspirations/thoughts. having just painted my nails a navy blue, right now i'm feeling the winter vibe and wanting to wear dark colors. i'm in a dark, gunmetal, heavy knits, and loose-fitting tunics kind of phase. i just want to buy up every pair of black skinny pants i can find and black t-shirt tunics to match. this is hard for me because previously i really wasn't a fan of buying a lot of black clothing so in turn i don't have much. i wish stores were like movie rentals where you could just get things you wanted and then gave them back. instead of going out and buying a whole new black, super studded wardrobe i've been doing what i can to incorporate my newfound love for darkness into my look. dirty, gold pyramidal studded earrings to replace my little diamonds, dark shades of nail polish (of which i've always been a fan), loads of eyeliner and mascara, a new charcoal peacoat, an old, large sweater from my mom's drawer, and black leggings have all been my best friends these past few weeks. perhaps once i get home for winter i will thrift to find some cheap pieces.

(silly photobooth time)

Music: Tristan - Patrick Wolf, Bad Romance - Lady Gaga

O Canada!

i want one of these! what is this? it is a super cute Canadian boy who makes beautiful music with other super cute Canadian boys in the band more formally known as Tokyo Police Club. I WANT TOKYO POLICE CLUB!

they are truly ridiculous. ridiculously cute/amazing! i cannot wait for the release of their new EP or for them to tour in CA!


Music: Tokyo Police Club!!!!!

glee

glee has made me realize something: almost anyone can be seen as attractive if you just put them in the role. what do i mean? i mean leading man Cory Monteith, better known as Finn. honestly ladies, he is not even that cute, but because he plays the character of Finn we all think he is the cutest, sweetest, best singing, dancing, football playing boy we have ever seen. but let's not be too much of a downer. i have to say that Glee is a good show. it is different, quirky, hilarious, and has great music. i enjoy spending hours in front of my aunt's tv whilst doing my laundry watching Glee, instead of doing my homework. the cheesy, but funny characters are so cute. my faves include Will Schuester and Sue Sylvester, of course. and also the studly (or not so studly) Puck. i actually enjoy how the actors aren't what would normally be seen on other tv shows. the plot lines aren't too ridiculous. i love how it is outrageous but also edgy. (sex is often brought up. haha.) the only complaint i have is that they are terribly, obviously lip-synching.

Music: Gold Digger - Kanye West

lions, tigers, and bears

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays because it is socially acceptable to walk around in costume. i love costumes. the cool thing i've discovered about "college halloween" is that there are multiple days of opportunity to celebrate the occasion and thus multiple costumes are needed. if only knew that sooner because i would have come up with better things, but i can't wait until next year. my costume #1 was a french person. my roommate and i were both French for a little gathering in our dorm. we even made fake cigarettes. ha. on actual Halloween i was "Little Gold Riding Hood", although i wore the hood for about a good 2 minutes before it bothered me and i ditched it. but it was cool to be wearing basically all gold and lots of glittering make-up. my roommate and i headed down to my beloved Cal and went to a frat party with Spencer's roommates. drank, danced, played beer pong. it was a great time!

Types of Halloween Costumes I Love:
1) Group Costumes: when a group of people's costume go together (esp boys cause that takes effort, thought, and camaraderie). for example teenage mutant ninja turtles, the power puff girls, the beatles, etc.
2) Corresponding Costumes: differernt from group costumes because i'd say this is usually groups of 2. it is esp cute for couples to have them. for example John Lennon and Yoko Ono or a Tri Lamb and an Alpha Beta (something i actually saw two frat brothers dressed as. cute.)
3) really great celebrity/tv-movie character costumes. it has to be semi-elaborate and thoughtful like including not only clothing but also classic associated objects and accessories. examples: my roommate was GoGo Ubari from Kill Bill. Abe was Michael Jackson complete with sequined jacket and single glove, hat, (borrowed from me) aviators, and dance moves.
4) simple costumes done in an elaborate way. you can totally jazz up the simplest things like color crayons or sports players.

Tyes of Halloween Costumes i Hate:
1) store bought, poorly translated costumes. you know the ones that are like a character but portrayed really poorly. i just can't deal with their generic, terrible portrayal of things. it ruins them.
2) the common lingerie and animal ear combo. reality check: this is not a costume. you might as well loose the animal ears and be a victoria secret model. actually say you are giselle or heidi klum and i'd give you points.
3) "trend" costumes. like when one year every single person is the same thing. i'm pretty sure the joker is one of those. it is cool if you do it right but half assed jobs are unacceptable. i thought that would be michael jackson this year but i only saw one.

Music: I'm a Flirt - R. Kelly, Shots - LMFAO

i question God everyday to ask why things happen to me. i question God everyday to ask why things don't happen to me. i question God everyday to ask why things happen to other people. i have yet to get any sort of answers. i just don't understand it.

TIMF 2009

Treasure Island Music Festival 2009 was SOOOO MUCH FUN! i'm not sure how to describe it in a way that will do it justice. it was a beautiful weekend. sarah wong came down from portland. we enjoyed the sunny, but not too hot weather and amazing music all on the little treasure island surrounded by the bay, full of sailboats. i personally preferred last years line-up, packed with bands like Vampire Weekend, Tokyo Police Club, Tegan and Sara, Chester French, Justice, CSS, The Raconteurs, and more, but this year we actually were up close and personal for a ton of great bands.

DAY 1





Photos #1 and 2: Passion Pit was the first band we saw. they kicked off the day of dancing with their fun, unique sounds. if you haven't checked them out yet i pretty much guarantee you will love their electro keyboards mixed with an offbeat, high pitched voice.
Photo #3 and 4: next were British rappers, The Streets. i found out that pretty much all their songs are as fun as their hit, "Fit But You Know It" and am really excited to explore their music more. frontman Michael Skinner is quite the looker, even if he is an asshole.
Photo #5 and 6:a new discovery, Brazilian Girls. obviously points for the costume. their music was new and interesting. although i'm not sure what their obsession with "sexy assholes" or "pussy, pussy, Marijuana" was. ha.
Photo #7 and 8: another new discovery, MSTRKRFT. ironic that they spell their name with no vowels. these two DJ's did it big on stage with their bottle of Crown Royal and boxes of cigarettes right next to the tables. literally danced our asses off to their tasty remixes of songs like D.A.N.C.E. and Bohemian Rhapsody.
Photo#9 and 10: of course one of the moments i had been waiting for the entire day, MGMT. accompanied by pyramidal props and fantastic lights, they sang their album in it's entirety announcing that this would be their last show for awhile. sad, but ok because after they finished that album they enlightened us with some new material. my prediction is that they are taking a break from touring to record a new album!

DAY 2



Photos #1 and 2: day 2 was a little cloudier and windier, but when the sun peaked out and shined on Grizzly Bear it was "like something out of the Bible" (my exact words). their sleepy sounds mixed with the weather and our exhaustion from Day 1 was perfection.
Photos #3 and 4: another new band, Beirut, from New Mexico, kept the day going with a mash up of horns, stringy guitars, and an accordion. i definitely asked my roommate to burn me that CD as soon as i got home.
Photos #5 and 6: one of the most powerful, beautiful performances, the Decemberists played their entire album, The Hazard of Love, which tells a story. their mix of heavy instrumentals and folksy female and male vocals, all done in a theatrical nature was phenomenal.

Music: i recommend any band from this post. all are superb (and in italic purple) !

all together now (repeat)

my mind is racing with words, sentences, phrases, everything , just like a blog. so what must i do? i must blog of course! this will be my final post before i have a fabulous weekend of a day in the city with my mom and treasure island with sarah and kevin. i will of course post about that and want to leave it up forever in hopes that it will immortalize all the good times!

Thing #1: i was talking to my little sophomore friend Ryry (he goes to Jesuit High School) about homecoming and we were discussing how and why i thought prom was not the best dance of them all, even though it is always the one people make the hugest deal. this got me thinking about how kids in high school supposedly have these beginner relationships in order to prepare them for more adult relationships when they get older. let's face it, high school relationships are totally bizarre. most of the time they consist of a boy being attracted to a girl and vice versa, and then said boy asks out said girl. they hold hands, awkwardly PDA a lot, go to date dances, and see some movies. although i did not exactly have any technical relationships in high school i did observe them and learn a lot. i learned that the average high school relationship is all a huge scam, usually for some sort of status and that most people cheat on their bf/gf. if someone tells you they are in love with their high school beau, chances are they are lying or ignorant. how these high school relationships prepare anyone for meaningful, adult relationships in the future, i have no idea. (i apologize if you have had a good, meaningful high school relationship. that just means you aren't a statistic.)

Thing #2: here is a popular saying you might know "when you assume you make and ASS out of U and ME". i know it is bad to assume, because that is giving into stereotypes and profiling people and things. but i have to say, in my experience most stereotypes and assumptions are true. after all, that is where they come from. i'm here to tell you that sometimes it is ok to assume and draw your own conclusions. i'm going to even go so far as to say it is good. example: i wear a star of david necklace given to me by my grandma. now i can already predict the thought going through your mind. you're jewish? why yes jimmy, i am. most of the time when people see the star and ask me that i snap at them " no i just wear this because i like to get made fun of". no. i actually am jewish and i think that it is a safe assumption that a person wearing a star of david around their neck is jewish. and if the person isn't but you make that assumption, said person should not get mad because that is a logical assumption. the person instead should stop wearing the necklace if they feel so offended to be constantly mistaken as a jew.

Thing #3: i've been reading a lot of fashion blogs which is fun because it inspires me to experiment with all of my clothes for the winter to dress fabulously. also, they always have the best pictures of themselves. yea i am a narcissist and like to take numerous self portraits so it gives me tips and new ideas on how to do it in in more interesting ways. i'll leave you with one.


Music: Cornerstone - The Arctic Monkeys (credit to one Jack Taylor. check the link list for his blog.)

Lady Gaga Dickface

as you can see, this is Lady Gaga made out of dicks. ironic and hilarious? yea. (displayed on the SF campus of CCA among other renditions of people's faces with realted objects.)

Music: Paparazzi - Lady Gaga

Whip It/HOPE,CHANGE,BS (dual post)

First order of business: My review of the movie Whip It
first off, i highly recommend this movie. props to Drew Barrymore for the success in her directorial debut. Whip It is the story of a girl named Bliss (Ellen Page) whose small-town mother attempts to raise her through beauty pageants in order to assure her development as the ideal young woman. but Bliss has other priorities in life and finds a greater passion when she attends her first roller derby. She takes on the name Babe Ruthless and ends up on the Hurl Scouts, with Smashlee Simpson (Drew Barrymore), Maggie Mayhem (Kristen Wiig), and Rosa Sparks (Eve). now i don't want to give away too much, but what i love most about this movie is it's ability to be a cinderella story without the typical ending, but still satisfying nonetheless. all the characters were very well casted (something i really enjoy). you'll see plenty of familiar faces: Jimmy Fallon, Ari Graynor (Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist), Marcia Gay Harden (Into the Wild, Mona Lisa Smile), and many more. the only complaint i have is that a few parts were anticlimactic where their could have been more action or tension. all in all i give it two large thumbs up and recommend you go see it. i anticipate more films by Drew Barrymore in the future.

Second order of Business: Barack Obama winning the Nobel Prize
Yes, i am a Republican. No, i could not vote in the last election. No, i would not have voted for Barack if i could've. No, i am not a sore loser. go read my blog post from that day. i am willing to give the man a fair chance to do his job right and admire him as an intelligent qualified man. however, i do not believe he has done anything thus far which deserves the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize. he has been in office for less than a year and has not achieved any real progress yet. now i am completely willing to admit i am not the most informed citizen, but i am informed enough to be confused as to why President Obama has received this award. he claims the award is a "call to action". well if they gave out A's in school to call all the slackers to action, do you think that would work? preemptively awarding Obama the Nobel Peace Prize will not help him stop the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. it will only backfire on him if he is unable to do so.

Music: Youth - MGMT

talk speak

most of the time in my Intro to Graphic Desgin class we are asked to create type-based concepts. that means they use only type, or letters, to create the graphic. that got me thinking about words and language and all of the words i love. i talk a lot (if you know me, you know this is super true) so naturally i love words. but there are certain words i love more than others. you might have heard me say them. i am going to list them (in no particular order).

1) DELICIOUS: highly pleasing to the senses, esp. to taste or smell. this is such a fun word! just say the word and you must know what i mean. it has so many wonderful sounds and a wonderful meaning. it can be used to describe the obvious food, or other things such as an experience, person, etc.
Example: Today i went to the city and saw the most delicious boy walk out of H&M; naturally he was hand-in-hand with another male.

2)SWAGGER:as defined by urbdic, poised, sassiness that can't be touched. It may be in the walk or it may be in the talk, but there is no doubt it means you own the room and you have that natural charisma. all very true. anyone worth describing is described as having swagger.
Example: While on a relaxing vacation, Jay and B stopped all of those walking the streets of Rome with their immense, intense swagger.

3)HELLA (HELLUH): An intensifier, with a grammatical function and usage similar to "very" or "really". It's a contraction of "hell of", and may have originated in Alameda County, California. It was definitely in common use in Berkeley public schools as far back as 1979. (urbdic) basically it is something commonly used by and associated with northern california youths, although my father has dropped a few hellas. if you go to norcal, don't be alarmed to hear it and don't complain about it. instead you should pick it up because it is such a fun word.
Example: The girl from San Diego was hella trippin because she tried to say that norcal sucks.

4)POOP: i think you all know what poop is. basically i use it a lot in place of fuck, shit, or damn. it is a universal curse word which makes cursing something seem less harsh. it can be variated to poopoo, poopy, etc. try it out sometime.
Example: Girl 1: you totally just ripped your project.
Girl 2: POOP! now i have to do it all over again.

5)INEBRIATED: Exhilarated or stupefied by or as if by alcohol; intoxicated. as a teenager i encounter, and you probably do too, many inebriated people. i will admit to be occasionally inebriated myself. it is a fancy word which gives the appearance of intelligence. it is also waaaay more fun to say than drunk or high or even intoxicated.
Example: Max of Chester French arrived at the in store performance in his usual, inebriated state.

obviously i use more than just 5 words a lot, but these ones are quite fun. try to work them into your vocabulary and try them out. i think you will more likely then not enjoy it. another fun thing i like to do it either shorten everything to one syllable or add the suffix -ie to the end. it works best with nouns.
Example: oak=oakland, berk=berkeley and foodie=food, sodie=soda

Music: Bebe Buell - Chester French

Love and Haight

i am currently quite exhausted from this weekend's jam packed activities. i suppose i shall go day by day.
Friday: went to haight st to thrift with Joel. we discovered that because vintage (esp on haight) is so trendy they can charge you 20$ for some old guy's previously favorite garment. we didn't buy too many things. i did manage to escape with a cheaper priced American Apparel cardigan thing from Crossroads and i did buy a gold headband directly from AA. i think Joel got a tshirt. Jack met up with us and i ended up spending some time at USF with Jack and his friends that night. USF is a beautiful school...yea.

Saturday: the day of the infamous Lovefest (now officially called LovEvolution for some reason or another). the basic breakdown of Lovefest is thousands upon thousands of fun loving hippies, dressed crazily, totally inebriated, dancing in the city hall square of San Francisco. i brought the big guns to take advantage of this great photo opportunity.


photo #1: some random guy in front of BK lounge who asked me if i could take his photo. but one was not enough. after i snapped one shot he wanted to do another pose. editor's choice, i chose this one.
photo #2: i asked these lovely folks if i could take their picture and the girl in the front, getting her ass smacked, asked me "where will this be? my parent's won't see it right?".
photo#3: me and Nicky, duh!
photo#4: one example of many interesting characters i encountered. the man (yea, it is a man) in the middle is sporting furry leg warmers, one of the most popular items seen at this lovefest. other very popular items included angel/butterfly wings, anything neon, AA tube tops, body suits, leggings, headbands, etc., and tutus. of course there were always those select people who chose to wear nothing. (i did not photograph any of them.)
Saturday night i headed down to berkeley to spend the night with joel, greg, and spencer. unfortunately USC did major damage on the Cal football game that evening so everyone was kind of down. we still had fun. watched Animal House with Spencer's roommate Abe and their friend Allen. lesson learned: twin bed does not refer to two people sharing said bed. hahaha.

now i face all the work i've been putting off...most of it is due tuesday so i'm probably going to continue to put it off.

Music: Dont Steal Our Sun - The Thrills

Let's Talk About Sex

i'm sitting in my Intro to Graphic Design class and bored out my mind because i've already finished the project. usual story. to entertain myself (and hopefully you) i'm going to post my English 1 essay. it is quite humorous.

When I was younger I thought sex was just passionate kissing while you were in bed, naked. This I learned from Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis in their risqué, Top Gun sex scene; the first sex scene I had ever witnessed. (My parents were terrible at proper censorship and therefore I had access to such things.) One day, when I was in probably the second or third grade, my dad and I were watching TV and he began to give me what might commonly be referred to as “the talk”. I’m not really certain how the subject came up but what my dad told me wasn’t exactly the typical “where do babies come from” talk. At this point I already knew that babies came from sex. Instead of a talk about fertility, I got more of an anatomical biology lesson on sex. My dad told me that a man sticks his penis into a woman’s vagina and sperm from the man fertilizes the egg, which eventually makes a baby. This was definitely not what I saw Tom, Kelly, or any of their cohorts doing when I saw sex on television and at the soft age of seven or eight I found this entire idea to be totally unnatural and wrong. I had yet to go through puberty and although I had experienced crushes on boys I never had the urge to have sex with any of them. I just didn’t understand how a penis would, could, or even should go into a vagina and I didn’t like it one bit.
Most of my friends admittedly never officially had “the talk” like I did. There was enough sex in the media and popular culture that they learned everything they needed to know from TV, books, and their friends. Because I was the friend who actually got “the talk”, I was the one who got to enlighten them with the penis-in-vagina reality of sex. I’m not sure if they felt the same way about it as I did. We never really talked about it. I suppose that was because we were all a bit uncomfortable with it. We also didn’t know all of the details about boners, ejaculation, uteruses, etc., so we were all silently curious as to how exactly the whole thing worked. Did a man use his hands to put the penis into the vagina? Where did the sperm come from? Does it hurt when a penis is in your vagina? How does a penis reach all the way to a woman’s stomach so that it can fertilize the egg? There were so many things we didn’t know but none of us were about to ask our parents any of these questions. I especially wasn’t going to because I didn’t want to know. As far as I was concerned sex didn’t concern me because I didn’t want to do it.
Not long after the incident with my dad my younger brother, Tim, actually posed the question “what is sex” to my father. In anticipation for what my dad was about to tell Tim, I ran upstairs to my room, closed the door, and put my N’sync CD in my stereo at full volume because I just didn’t want to hear it. Sex seemed unnatural and made me uncomfortable. I couldn’t understand why my brother wanted or needed to know about it. He was younger than me and he had seen Tom and Kelly in Top Gun just like I had. I almost wanted to warn him. Hey Tim! You don’t want to know about sex! It is icky!
Naturally I got older and went through puberty. Puberty and hormones definitely contributed to making sex more appealing and not scary anymore. I came to accept sex as something everyone, including myself, would, could, and should engage in. I mean, if you really think about it, sex is sort of disgusting. It is the exchanging of bodily fluids by two people using parts of their body commonly associated with going to the bathroom. One could imagine how a third grader, especially one corrupted by the passionate, on screen relations of Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis, might find the idea foreign. My previous feelings of being scared of sex seem pretty ridiculous to me now. In fact, I find my former phobia of sex to be kind of humorous. Nowadays I am completely comfortable talking about, thinking about, and considering the reality of sex. I suppose that just shows how much I have matured since the third grade, something I’m quite proud of.

Music: Get Up - 50 Cent (because katie woke me up today with it. the story is actually quite ironic.)

Holy Bowlers

i'm sure you've heard, Christian Brother's won Holy Bowl 2009 this past weekend. o yes, the rumors are true. our fabulous falcon boys took it to those jesbians and finally took what is rightfully ours: the Holy Bowl Victory! the game was intense with an ending score of 21-6. it was awesome to see the large amount of alumni support from the class of 09. i definitely screamed my lungs out. i live for moments like these.
for those of you who don't know what Holy Bowl is, here is the Urban Dictionary definition for you (yes, it is on urb dict):
"-The annual meeting between bitter Sacramento rivals Christian Brothers and Jesuit High School. Refers to all sporting events between teams, but generally refers to the football game, which takes place at Hughes Stadium in late September. It's easily the most important day in the life of any football player and student of either school. Holy Bowl is war; a life or death situation. You beat your opponent on the field or face a year of utter humiliation. Trash-talking is an unspoken demand, and dirty hits a must. Holy Bowl is never clean. Holy Bowl is the clashing of blue and red; a hatred so intense the schools alumni journey back to Sacramento to witness this epic game. It sends chivers down your spine, from the moment the sun sets behind the west bleachers to the last second beneath the lights."

that my friends, sums it up. all i have to say is i will forever be proud to be a Christian Brother's Falcon. i will bleed blue until the day i die. proud much? hell yes.


Music: We Are The Champion - Queen

when pigs fly

timmy has swine flu.
note:i did not come into any close proximity with the contaminated subject. my father took this. that is why i also have to stay away from him.

Music: Little Maggots - The Matches

technologic

i just got out of my Art History class and i i noticed something very interesting: a guy taking his notes on his laptop. now, in college this isn't such a strange citing but what i noticed was that because he was doing his note-taking on his computer he was able to supplement them with the exact pictures that the teacher was showing us by looking them up on the internet and copy and pasting them into his note document. this amazing feat made me think of two things: first, i should ask this kid to email me a copy of his notes and second, that technology has really taken over the educational system.
i've found personally that this can sometimes cause issues. sometimes there really is the need for good ole', organic, printed out paper. the first battle i faced in the technological advancement of the my educational system was in high school. my high school used something called Powerschool which was a website where your parents (or in my case, me, because my parents didn't keep track of my academics) could see the exact breakdown of your grades and an up to minute update on your attendance record. this little beauty was the cause of many of my friends' groundings and cell phone confiscations. i didn't mind so much that they allowed parents to be informed about how their children were doing, probably because my parents didn't use it and so it didn't affect me. what really bothered me was when i wanted to know what my grades were in a class and i asked the teacher. their response was always "check it online". how annoying! i just wanted to know right this minute what my freakin' grade was! is that such a hassle for you to pull it up on your computer? ok, so maybe it isn't that big of a deal, but i didn't like it.
my second major battle with the new, technological education system was college application season (something i am more likely than not going to be facing again quite soon). nearly all college applications are done online and the worst college website i've ever been on is CSUmentor. CSUmentor is the site used to apply to all 23 campuses of the CSU system, something commonly done in California. to give you a brief idea of how complicated the site is to navigate my school's college counselor held 4 CSUmento Tutorial Sessions after school because that many kids just could not figure it out. i was applying to only 2 of them and i even was tempted to give up.
i now attend California College of the Arts which has officially "gone paperless". this means that any and all paperwork is emailed to you or presented in PDF form. there are no printed notifications in your mail. the course catalog is even on PDF form. now, i'm all for not wasting out precious resources but paper can and is easily recycled and made from recycled fibers, most of which are not trees and trees are also a renewable source. what does it take for a kid to get a physical copy of the course catalog for crying out loud? a lot more than you'd think.
i'm sure there are a large number of you kids out there who appreciate online AP Art submissions, blogging HW assignments, and strictly email submissions of papers, but i on the other hand miss the classic methods of educational systems where i printed out my paper and handed it to the teacher. i suppose i like knowing that i physically handed that assignment to the teacher so there is zero chance that it can get lost in cyber space and my teacher can try to twist it into some story that will earn me an incomplete.

house bunny

last night my roommate (andrea, if i haven't previously mentioned her) ventured to Cal. we met up with Spencer Tierney and went to a frat party with him and his roommates. this is the first frat party i have been to and i observed a few interesting things about both Cal and frat parties.
1) i like frat parties in a general sense. there are a lot of people having fun, drinking, playing beer pong, and they are usually themed. i like things with themes, beer pong, and fun of course.
2) the whole idea that they can be extremely exclusive is a little messed i will admit. when we arrived there were 3 guys from the frat standing outside screening people. if they didn't know you, good luck. if they did know you, you better either be a girl, have lots of girls with you, or be one of their really good friends. luckily spencer's roommate was invited by some guys at the frat and we had a 1:1 boy:girl ratio.
3) jungle juice is not the best drink in my opinion but it is very popular at college parties. to me it just tasted like beer, banana juice, and vodka. keystone and natural light are also the shittiest beers. there is no debating this.
4) there are SO MANY smart people at Cal. when i would tell people about how i'm not happy at art school they would ask me if i was going to try to transfer to Cal and i was like "yea right. i am NOT smart enough to be here." and that is the truth. i'm not smart enough or hard working enough to be at Cal. that place has a rep for a reason.
5)i really enjoyed the classic university vibe of Cal. walking from residential hall to residential hall, eating in the dining hall, frat parties, frats in general, talking about football, everything. i suppose it has a certain air of tradition and classic structure that i am into. we just don't have that at art school.
6) having coed, communal restrooms (including showers) is very weird. i suppose you get used to it but it was odd to be washing my hands and be greeted by a group of boys coming in the bathroom to also use it. i definitely like how we have jack and jill, suite style bathrooms. it feels a more like home and less like a dirty school bathroom. and if you think school bathrooms are dirty then you have never been in a frat house bathroom. i do not recommend it at all.

all in all i had a very fun time and good experience. it was nice to get out of oakland and partake in some visceral college experiences. i hope to go back. it was very nice to see spencer and meet some interesting characters at Cal.

Music: Forever Young - Jay Z (ft Mr. Hudson)

fantasy boy-toys

because i have a lot of time where i just sit on my computer i decided to compile a list of my top 10 Favorite Male Fictional Characters. this was inspired by me watching Freaks and Geeks (big surprise). they are not in any particular order because i can't seem to pick which one is the best. i also had a lot of trouble narrowing it down to just 10, but here they are.

Bill Haverchuck: i begin with Mr. Haverchuck simply because he inspired the entire list. Bill is from the tv series Freaks and Geeks and is one of the friends of main character Sam Weir. Always the voice of fairness and reason, Bill is pretty much your average geek with huge, thick glasses, a cheesy smile, and an enthusiasm for science fiction. it is hard to describe to one who does not watch the show what exactly makes Bill so amazing. i suppose it is just that is odd habits and strong convictions create some of the funniest scenarios on the show. although he is not necessarily the main character, Bill is its star in my eyes.

Jim Halpert: although i totally support PB and J forever i would definitely like to have a piece of this guy for myself. why is Jim so cute? it probably has something to do with his simple white shirt-and-black-tie uniform, perfect smile, sarcastic cracks at michael, and shenanigans to terrorize dwight. just thinking about this makes me want to go watch the office and swoon!

Jason Bourne: one of my favorite men of action. naturally when considering the list i thought of James Bond, but Jason Bourne has a dangerous appeal that mr. bond just does not have. not to mention Mr. Bond gets plenty of ladies so he doesn't need me fantasizing about him. there is just something sexy about a man on the run from the government who sleeps with a gun under his pillow. he always has a large supply of cash from a variety of countries and he can speak numerous foreign languages. the tight black t shirts don't hurt either.

Chuck Bass: our favorite bad boy, or at least mine. Chuck B is the master seducer of women of all ages, including our own baby B (Blair Waldorf). no one can resist the sly, foxy smile, large quantity of limitless plastic in his wallet and whispery voice, all which comes wrapped up in a perfectly tailored suit with a monogram scarf to top it off. ladies, don't be ashamed to admit you want to be the girl who wakes up in that penthouse suite at the palace hotel.

Edward Cullen: somewhat of a guilty pleasure, but cmon. how can you resist his chiseled body, epic circumstances, and vampire appeal? we all go batty for this hotty vamp. he has piercing eyes, a coy, mysterious smile, hair you can run your fingers through, and an almost scary commitment to the women he loves. his poster decorates the walls of many teens across the globe for a good reason. vampires are hot! (well really they are cold, but you understand)

Mr. Darcy: one word: ENIGMA. when they told us in Lit class that appearances can be deceiving, i think they were referring to the mysterious, confusing Mr. Darcy. he might act like he hates your guts but in reality he holds a passionate, burning love that is only for you. dark and brooding is fine with me and mr. darcy is all of the above.

Ron Weasley: squeamish about spiders, a complainer and a pessimist, but we still love our little won won because when it comes down to it, he is a truly brave Gryffindor. i don't know about you but i am a true sucker for that fiery red and hair and those cute little freckles. this silly but magical man surely makes my lion roar.

Indiana Jones: it's not everyday you find a guy who can wield both a sword and a whip and still manage to commandeer his jeep down a raging river. if you've got a craving for adventure, hottie Indiana Jones can surely satisfy it. ooh, and he's a professor. can you say hot for teacher?

Nick (of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist): he's the underdog but you want him to come on top, if you know what i mean. ha. sad little nicky is depressed about trish dumping him, but none of us would mind cheering him up. i love those semi-emo, indie boys. they are so delicate and you just want to make out passionately with them in the backseat of their yugos.

Trip Fontaine: if you don't know who this one is, Trip Fontaine is the school ditching, football playing, girl getting, hottie from The Virgin Suicides. his raspy, whispering voice will make your knees buckle, especially if he sits next to you in the auditorium and whispers in your ear "you're a stone fox". Trip, you can take me to the dance anytime.