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picking up where elaine FAILED. hahahaha!! :P here's my january...a bit for every day. i'm cheating and posting it all at once. so beware. this is heinously long.

Day 01 Your favorite song
my favorite song ever is don't stop believin by journey. glee does a fantastically epic version. i love this song, i never get tired of listening to it, and i never get tired of singing loudly along with it, off key, and if the occasion calls for it, air guitaring. put it on your to do list; with the car windows rolled down and some awesome people. :)

Day 02 Your favorite movie
ugh...too many! i guess i always default back to little miss sunshine. such a fantastic cast of people, hilarious, touching, true to life yet fantastical at the same time. just enjoyable, start to finish. i saw it at the arclight in LA, and it's a true trip to the movies, even off the big screen.

Day 03 Your favorite television program
wow...overall, i have to go with scrubs, even though it's off the air now. it just has so many elements of things i enjoy in a tv show - it makes you laugh, cry, and think. there's great multi-faceted characters, quippy sarcasm, slapstick bits, love stories, life issues, truth and wisdom in comedy and tragedy. and, of course...the medical stuff that gets mushed in there occasionally. a show currently going on...i like glee a LOT. and heroes. but definitely glee more!

Day 04 Your favorite book
after many a summer dies the swan, by aldous huxley. i love this part in the beginning where one of the characters is reading off signs and billboards while driving through LA, and when all the phrases and titles and names are smushed together, it becomes complete gibberish...i love how cleverly that points out that all that we notice and take in but don't actually SEE is mostly gibberish. and the main themes that run through the book, about immortality and longevity, ego and corruption, happiness, transcendence, virtue, the greater good, etc. etc, etc. and the complete irony of the ending...of de-evolution, of regression, of decadence. fascinating, all the way through.

Day 05 Your favorite quote
i obsessively collect quotes. document them. cling to them with my brain, and if not, with pen and paper. or a keyboard. but here's a favorite i always go back to: "Listen. Do not have an opinion while you listen because frankly, your opinion doesn't hold much water outside of Your Universe. Just listen. Listen until their brain has been twisted like a dripping towel and what they have to say is all over the floor."- Hugh Elliott

honorable mention: "'My fire is in that fire: / that is the shore that holds my light.'/ And sudden strength returned to my weary arms, and the waves seemed calmer to me” - Ovid, Heroides XVIII

Day 06 Whatever tickles your fancy
hmmm...ummm...so this quarter is off to a kinda crazy start- full speed ahead, ready or not, here it comes sort of feeling. it's alright, i guess...i'm keeping up for now, and not at all at the same time. i'm slightly resenting have saturday clinicals, mostly because of SEARCH retreat, dance marathon, international dinner, and missing a whole day that anna will be here. especially since amanda told me she'd be done by the middle of february! blarrrgggghh...annoying. i really hope that this isn't the quarter that takes me down! i don't want to go down, never never. i'm just ramblinggg...this stuff floated up first in my thoughts to mention.

Day 07 A photo that makes you happy
definitely the secret santa christmas photo from last year...i know we took another one, but the one from last year is still so amazing...haha. it makes me smile every time i see it, even though there's someone in it who sort of kills it for me.

Day 08 A photo that makes you angry/sad
huh. well...pretty much any picture with that someone mentioned above in it makes me angry. i know that shit was a long time ago, but the pictures still piss me off because they remind me of how stupid i was back then, and how stupid he still fucking is now. as for sad...currently, any pictures with liz and joe in it, but especially the photobooth one on our fridge from the puyallup fair. :(

Day 09 A photo you took
my favorite photo is one from milan that i took while we were walking by everything in a big rush...it's an upward angle of a really cool street lamp, and i drew/painted it a couple years later for aimi for a christmas present.

Day 10 A photo of you taken over ten years ago
hahaha...so...i love the one of me without my front teeth in my school uniform.

Day 11 A photo of you taken recently
ummm...most recent i guess was dinner at chili basil?

Day 12 Whatever tickles your fancy
we talked today in ethics class about virtue, and what makes a person virtuous, not just doing good because you're afraid of the consequences, but having the right motives, and also the right emotional responses (feeling good about doing good, feeling guilty about doing bad). and also, assessing a person's established patterns of behavior is important in looking at virtuousness. i asked if creating an established pattern for the purpose of being able to have lapses in the future and those lapses being more easily forgiven as a result of the established patterns made one immoral...and it turns out that it does, even if the lapses weren't planned...just accounted for as part of the original motive for behavior...and it occurred to me then that i am definitely immoral, for this is my life's philosophy.

Day 13 A fictional book
i just finished reading shutter island, which that movie with leonardo dicaprio coming out is based on. it was a good addicting read, had some very intense moments; overall wasn't too mindblowing but it made you think a bit too. a perfect page turner for some downtime.

Day 14 A non-fictional book
i don't really read any nonfiction!! nursing books don't count. they just don't appeal to me as much as fiction, no idea why. ummm...i'm going to have to go with this awesome book i got for christmas last year, passive-aggressive notes. for anyone who has some pent up aggression, this is your therapy.

Day 15 A fanfic
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Day 16 A song that makes you cry (or nearly)
c'mon through - lasse lindh. a theme song for your melancholy.

Day 17 An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)
ooohhhh....this section opens up so many possibilities...! do i put something of mine up, or do i pick a favorite piece from another artist? let's do both! hahaha. so one of mine...probably my favorite piece i've created is this melon head one...the suit and tie was inspired by mr. bean, and it was the first time i used straight up ink on a major piece. the melon was inspired by another artist's cracked melon painting, and i loved the details in both and putting them together - they just fit, like pieces of a puzzle. as for a favorite piece ever? ummmmm.....that's difficult. i have to go with the garden of earthly delights, a triptych on wood by hieronymous bosch. it's so intricate with such fine details, amazing to behold. i have a big poster in my room of just a small section of one of the 3 panels, and there's so much to see, so much to think about. it would be so EPIC to see the whole thing in person, including the outside (you can fold it in, and there's a painting on the outside too). oh and guess what i just found out? it's the cover art on the fleet foxes album. what do they both look like? well...i unfortunately don't have a good pic of the first, and i recommend googling the second, and maybe looking at some of bosch's other pieces.

Day 18 Whatever tickles your fancy
things i've been highly enjoying the past couple of days:

cooking
lazing on the couch
playing mario galaxy until i acquire what christine lovingly and humorously observes as "the claw"
newly acquired movies (500 days of summer, sunshine cleaning, inglourious basterds, lady vengeance)
swimming for the first time in a loooonngg time

Day 19 A talent of yours
ahaha. natural or acquired? i'm actually a pretty fast reader and writer. i tried speed reading a couple times, it's hard! you have to skim to pick up words on the pages and sort of piece it all together/summarize what's going on so you can move on quickly. this is why i skip some big stupid descriptive paragraphs, because they don't really add to the plot if the book is silly (cough twilight cough emie!). i don't usually skip though!!! i read everything if the writing is good (harry potter!)/seemingly needless passages actually contribute to the themes running through the book, to symbolism and motifs, etc. as for writing, i do pretty well taking notes by hand in lectures, as long as i manage to stay awake! (sleeping in class is another great talent of mine.)

Day 20 A hobby of yours
i write a LOT. i think that's my biggest hobby as of late. i write about stuff i'm thinking about, to destress, or writing letters, or stuff like this - sort of self prompting stuff. i like being introspective and sorting out my feelings with finding the right words to make them tangible on screen or paper.

Day 21 A recipe
i just made this interesting soba noodle recipe with almond butter and red curry paste as the base for the sauce. it's easy to make, delicious, really filling, and pretty healthy too! it's also good cold, which made it perfect for a packed lunch. i used broccoli, and next time, i might add a little balsamic vinegar or a little more lemon juice. i definitely recommend trying it!

Almond Soba Noodles Recipe:
2 teaspoons red curry paste
1/3 cup unsalted almond butter
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
very scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
6 - 8 tablespoons hot water
12 ounces dried soba noodles
12 ounces extra-firm nigari tofu
4 ounces pea shoots (or other greens, or tiny pieces of broccoli)
12 leaves fresh basil, slivered
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Make the almond sauce by mashing the curry paste into the almond butter. Stir in the lemon juice and salt. And then whisk in the hot water one tablespoon at a time until you have a pourable dressing that is about as thick as a heavy cream. The dressing thickens as it cools, so feel free to thin it out with more water later on if needed. Taste, and add more salt or more curry paste if you like.

Cook the soba in plenty of rapidly boiling salted water just until tender, then drain and rinse under cold running water. Drain and shake off as much water as possible.

While the pasta is cooking, drain the tofu, pat it dry, and cut it into matchsticks or 1/2-inch cubes. Cook the tofu, along with a pinch or two of salt, in a well-seasoned skillet over medium-high heat for a few minutes, until the pieces are browned on one side. Add a tiny splash of oil if needed to prevent sticking. Toss gently once or twice, then continue cooking for another minute or so, until the tofu is firm, golden, and bouncy. About 15 seconds before the tofu has finished cooking, add the pea shoots to the hot pan.

In a large bowl combine the noodles with 2/3 of the almond sauce. Toss well, be sure all the noodles get coated. Arrange the tofu and pea shoots on top of the noodles, drizzle with the remaining sauce, and garnish with the slivered basil and toasted almonds.

Day 22 A website
a pretty cool polaroid project.

Day 23 A YouTube video
everyone loves some stop motion fun. and legos.

Day 24 Whatever tickles your fancy
music i have been listening to lately and loving:

bon iver = no, i do NOT like them just because they were on the new moon soundtrack. (not sea wolf either, for that matter!). it's just mysterious, calmly painful and woodsy songs for any occasion of heartbreak. and i will usually fall prey to anything acoustic anyways.
phoenix = yes. that awesome cadillac commercial song (1901) just sucks you in. but despite all that, all phoenix songs just catches you and makes you want to dance/listen to it over and over.
matt and kim = another band that made a commercial breakout. lessons learned is my favorite track at the moment though.
the 500 days of summer soundtrack = fantastic movie, amazing soundtrack...enough said.
80s music = is so good. i know what you're thinking. but 80s music isn't all synths and michael jackson and cyndi lauper. i encourage a listen to some of the slightly lesser iconic songs that you will still recognize and love...REO speedwagon, i salute you.
bad romance a la lady gaga = i know. but you're lying through your teeth if you aren't also weirdly intrigued by her.

Day 25 Your day, in great detail
i woke up at 10:30ish, ate a bagel for breakfast, got dressed and went to med/surg 2 class at 12:15. we learned about heart problems. then i had a quick lunch at subway with lindsay and we talked about this guy mike that she sort of had a thing with. then i went to work, which was mostly me sitting around then doing a bit of work at the end. i went home to change and grab a snack, then headed off to ethics class. came home and made a quick dinner of potatoes and salad, then went to the clag quad for heroes. we watched heroes, then i played mario galaxy til 1:30 am! i wasn't tired yet, so then i watched elizabethtown and a little bit of discovery health channel before finally going off to sleep.

Day 26 Your week, in great detail
sunday, i mostly relaxed, we watched top gun, and i took an online quiz with lindsay, natalie, and rachel, and then i went to mass. monday, is described above! tuesday, woke up, had coffee and a bit of yogurt, then went to the gym to go swimming. i swam about 1125 m, then i went home, showered, then made tomato orzo soup for lunch. watched bride and prejudice while cooking/eating, then we tried to donate blood, but were unsuccessful! went home and wrote my writeup, made pasta for dinner, and turned in my writeup around 11 pm. today, i woke up, went to a meeting up at the lab for work, then came home and watched a bit of glee, tv, and have been wandering around the internet. went to class at 6, realized that next week will be terrifically busy. thursday, i went to work, and then came home, ate dinner quickly, then went off to model call. friday, i went to class at 8 am, went to our cohort meeting, ran to QFC between classes to get cupcake mix and other groceries, and then went to my second class, went home and baked cupcakes and made dinner/lunch for the next day, then i up to the lab to meet everyone so we could go up to tiffany's house to visit her and her baby and have dinner. after that, came home, talked to cynthia and christine, then went to bed. woke up early saturday morning for clinical, and spent my day in the ER. so busy! so many patients! i regret not doing an IV start, but i wasn't very confident in myself then. later, i suppose, i will pluck up the confidence to learn. came home pretty tired, but wanted to eat out, so rachel and i went to cafe presse. i had delicious roast beef terrine and frites. we came home and i went to bed early! sunday, i did my writeup and midterm clinical evaluation, then crammed for med/surg with lindsay, then stayed up too late doing absolutely nothing productive!

Day 27 This month, in great detail
geez. i'll do my best!
i started off the year at a new years party in a warehouse in LA. i made a silly mistake, right off the bat. i hope it's not indicative of what this year will be like. i spent a couple more days at home, trying to relax and get a couple of last minute hangouts in. then i came back up to seattle, started school, and was very overwhelmed at first, like i usually am. it felt like it took longer to get my shit together, but not at the same time? this quarter i will be working through med surg 2, pharm 2, and ethics. it's not so bad so far. i'm liking my weekend in the middle of the week. it's helping me keep my sanity...and get adequate sleep at the same time. who knew? i'm doing fitness challenge again, and unfortunately not with my roommates. it's also going pretty well! i'm actually wearing my retainer and making it to the gym. i am also doing model call again...as fun as ever, but with too many people! it feels a little unfamiliar now, but at the same time, i have closer friends in it now too. very glad the fashion show is NOT around graduation, and hoping it rocks, as the alice in wonderland theme is super awesome!! my friend anna from la came and visited me on MLK weekend, which was amazinggg!!! and january came and went, the start of a monumental year of tumultous change. i hope i can rise to meet it.

Day 28 This year, in great detail
how am i supposed to begin to address this?? i have no idea what this year will be like. i know that if i pass all my classes, god willing, and manage to plan pinning well enough, then i will graduate in june. after that, i will be studying to take the nclex, then actually taking it somewhere. after that...who knows? it's the real world, it's uncertain, and i'm scared and excited but mostly scared. i keep thinking that i'll cross that bridge when i get there, but i don't feel like i have that luxury at all either. trying not to stress too much...right now, i'm trying to handle what's in front of me now. later can wait a little longer for now, even though each day is pushing me forward, unwilling or not.

Day 29 Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
hopes? dreams? plans? such beautiful words. well. i hope to graduate, to pass all the hurdles in order for me to finally be an (employed!) RN. i dream of the chance to travel a little, and to do something for the world. i keep thinking about being all heroic and charitable and getting out of myself and doing SOMETHING because i am unbelievably fortunate and i have everything, but others have nothing. i plan to start making every day count, to stop making so many damn excuses and stop taking things for granted. i plan to get outside of myself more this year.

Day 30 Whatever tickles your fancy
i was just thinking about what quirks or characteristics about me is actually from other people. sometimes i can't even remember who certain sayings or mannerisms are from anymore. they've all been integrated into who i am. i am an amalgamation of everyone i've ever met. i take little bits of them and make them into part of myself. this is a disclaimer to everyone i've met and to everyone i'm going to meet: facial expressions, funny phrases, quips, silly actions, all tastes in music, film, internet meme, art, television, literature; they're all fair game. hope you don't mind...it's all out of a very sincere admiration of each of your quirks. :)

I had a dream last night, I was at this old house built in colonial style. It was sort of like a winchester house, with lots of staircases and levels and hallways, and it was like a huge maze. everything was painted white and covered with dust and cobwebs. I was supposed to be going through the house like an obstacle course in competition with this other guy, and the goal was to get to the top of the house. He went first, but for some reason, I followed him, and our audience followed behind me, so it was more like him being our tour guide and everyone followed and poked around as we went along. We would go up stairs and have to turn back down because they didn't go anywhere, or staircases would move or be traps. And as we progressed, level by level, we started to hear this voice. Someone whispered that the house was haunted, and it was the voice of the ghost of the man who built the house. I could picture his face, although I didn't actually see him, and his voice was deep, booming, and threatening. It seemed like only I and the other guy could hear him, and we were both terrified. The voice was warning us about reaching the top level- that we shouldn't venture up there, that we had gone too far already. We were on the second to the last level, and there was a bed there, an old wooden bed. And I felt his presence so strongly around the bed, and the voice telling us that we were standing in the room where he died, and not to go up, DO NOT GO UP. I was so petrified of what we would find upstairs - I imagined something akin to the attic in ju-on/the grudge! I was completely frozen until the guy looked me straight in the eye, absolutely blanched of color from his face, and both of us turned around and worked our way downstairs, the crowd following us curiously. We convened on the bottom level and I remember liz and aimi poking around in this old desk that was down there. They found a bible that people had sort of turned into a guestbook, signing their names and little messages in its pages. And then I woke up.

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Tuesday, April 27, 2010

awake at 2:32 am...

Monday, March 29, 2010

model call photo shoot 2010

Friday, March 12, 2010

instead of studying...

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

january 2010: a collection of daily leaves.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

this old house

Saturday, December 19, 2009

it's only been a couple days...

Thursday, December 17, 2009

winter breakkk

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