so i've been carrying around my clunky ass (and heavy) camera for the past 3 days to take pictures of my new hood and housing (as requested by L) but i never actually get to the point where i'm pulling it out of my purse. could it be because my days are largely spent at the nearby borders studying gchem? yes, that could be it...

plus i'm holding out on the room pictures until i get my painting here :D. it's gi-normous and i think the oil paint is still drying so i haven't been able to bring it over. but i will take some of those people-less scenery pix lynn luvs so much b/c there are so many beautiful opportunities for those here.

so to continue my update... let's see........

oh! so on new year's day, while the guys were engrossed in their poker/pai-gow/blackjack games, my cuz and i were idling by a slot machine. she says to try it out so i pull the 7 bucks cash i have and hit the max bet button (3 bucks). nothing. down to 4 bucks, but hit max bet again, and ..... 7.......7......7!!! with 1 dollar left. COOL HUH? :D ehehe... the jackpot was kinda dinky ($300) but from 7 bucks that's not too shabby eh. and it gave me a way to help pay for the trip since it was "winnings" and the guys wouldn't take my money otherwise. altho i had to argue considerably even for that one. still not used to having someone pay for everything.... in fact, still question the implications of that practice (to be continued another day).

SO after new year's, i got my shit together and moved up HEA. :D and like my last post said, the first 3 were spent... blahblahblah. so my first friday here, i caught up with anobel. REMEMBER HIM? i bumped into him at patrick hammon's bday thing and it turns out he's a student at UCSF MED. me being aspiring med student and all (i can't even say aspiring doctor anymore :T) talked it up with him at the party and we exchanged contact info. so i send him a HELLO NEIGHBOR-ish text after i get here, and we meet up.

you know that feeling when you're in the presence of great people and you feel this big? that's how i felt talking to ano the whole nite. ANOBEL! my high school memories of him consist of dirty jokes and humorous (somewhat uncomfortable) come-ons. 5 years later, he's published a paper on some ancient assyrian architecture, read 3 full shelves of quality literature (that's all i saw anyway, i'm sure there's more), started a program for high school retention, travelled around the US, become a skilled photographer, and is a med student at UCSF. and something about him, his endless energy and passion for learning, and how he lives big and follows through on his ideas..........wHOOOSh. that's the sound of greatness blowing me away.

i am in awe of people like him. there were a couple of those in college, a black med student named jesse and our aussie pledge class president, harold. people who live life largely and follow-thru. you kno how you can tell if someone's achieved something noteworthy? GOOGLE them. google anobel. he has AT LEAST a page of results. google me. nada. i meant that to be kind of humorous, but actually, that's really sad........

OK, enough gushing about how hot intelligence is (b/c it IS hAWT).

{1 hr typing pause}

YAY. i'm so happy :D. i jus talked to lynn and i missed her SOOOOOO much. miss her SOOOOOO much. i really need to figure out how to call korea from here. no land line and cell phone costs BANK. it was so nice talking to someone, for a brief moment, who understands how my brain works and relates, and vice versa. other than my sister, it's been a while since i've felt that kind of connection. YAY for childhood butt buddies. :D

newayz, i have pretty much killed tonite in terms of studying. i started this entry 4 hours ago, meaning i stopped studying 4 hours ago. :P but i needed a break. all this brain activity is making me a lil weird O___o (weirder than usual). something i've learned about myself, these past few days... when i'm in study mode (ie. non-brainless play mode), the best brain food and motivation is MORE information. more as in different, interesting, pertaining to life kind of information. for a while, i was a little worried i had A.d.d. because i couldn't sit thru a movie or finish a book. but i realized it was because i felt like the stuff wasn't teaching me anything. same old u kno? i'm so scared of life at 80 when EVERYTHING will seem like same old, but that's a whole other can of worms....

i NEED GOOD BOOKS. recommendations are VERY welcome. :))) books that teach me something. not just pretty or engaging or told well. BRAIN FOOD. if it doesn't teach me something, i won't get past the first chapter. as for movies.... i'm not sure if i've found a solution yet. there are movies i like okay, but i could equally walk out and be fine. give me a good, glue-my-ass-to-the-seat-and-won't-budge-even-when-my-bladder-is-screaming-and-won't-allow-me-to-stop-thinking-about-it-after-it's-over movie. gyeah :D.

i <3 sf. i <3 lynn. i <3 <3<3!