Because...a toon killed my brother

The college nap is an imperative thing. I'll admit it, I hate napping during the day. I don't like having to break up my day like that. Then I usually wake up groggy, sleepier than i had been when i laid down, and i forget to take my contacts out so my eyes get really dry and the contacts make it hard for me to blink. If I had my way, I would sleep 8 hours a night and then be able to make it through the day totally awake and happy. In high school, this goal was much easier to realize, but now that I'm in college Ive realized that it is almost impossible to go through a week without a few afternoon naps. Especially around midterms time or when fire alarms go off at 4 am or when that damn pigeon outside my window is making creepy bird noises on our balcony all night (how DO you get rid of pigeons? does rat poison work?), I only get about 4-5 hours of sleep a night so Im ready to crash again around 3pm. Maybe I will look back at this time in my life fondly and think, wow, I remember when I used to be able to take naps in the middle of the day. Good times. But I will say that on an overcast,cool day like today when Ive finished my homework and midterms and don't have a care in the world, it's fairly pleasant to curl up on the covers and stare up at the ceiling or close my eyes for a few minutes.

My sorority is having a barbeque and beverage evening with ZBT, but I am not going. I feel like lounging here and writing letters and watching tv rather than socializing. I'm being a very bad sorority girl today.

So last night was completely random. I had started my day thinking it was going to be a fairly normal Wednesday...go to class, do homework, chill in the apartment and watch Sex and the City (my new obsession) with my roomies. In my design class, however, my friend Sara asked if I wanted to go with her and a few other girls to this Rock the Vote rally. I said sure because sometimes I like to be spontaneous and we headed off to the rally. Turns out that the rally was being held on the Warner Brothers set in Burbank and was fairly exclusive. One of the girl's brothers was doing the PR for the evening so we got in. So much cooler than I thought it would be! Turns out this was a rock the vote rally which is awesome in itself because this election is so crucial and youth apathy in voting has gotten horrendous in this country. Theyve almost hit the 1 million marker for new registered voters and there are only a few more days to register so if you havent yet for some reason, go do it right now! Ok, so not only was it a rally, but it was also this celebrity function and a ton of WB celebrities showed up. I got registered to vote by Josh Hartnett!! He's incredibly gorgeous in real life. I used to think that people like that don't really look that good, it must be the lighting, makeup, effects or something, but he did look that amazing. And was super nice too. Some PR guy came up to us and said "Hi girls, we're about to bring Josh Hartnett out to register people and we don't have anyone over at the table, so if you guys wouldnt mind going over Josh needs some love too." As if he even had to ask. I wouldve paid him to talk to Josh. Anyway, the whole evening was fun. Jake Gyllenhal, Alexis Bledel and Milo (jesse) from Gilmore Girls were there, and the entire cast of Jack and Bobby. Jake Gyllenhal compared voting to sex...which was interesting and kind of embarassing. I felt extremely out of place because i had just come from design class and looked like i had gotten hit by a gust of wind or something, but it'll be a night to remember im sure. And that is why I love LA.

I had a wonderful typography lecture yesterday and would love to share a few things with you non-type design obsessed people, but I'll save it for another entry. Thanks for the comments on here! They are fun.

Our man Jack is king of the pumpkin patch. Everyone hail to the pumpkin king

Hey everyone who reads this blog, as you can see I updated the template because I felt like it was time for a bit of a visual change. I like the new one, but now that you can change the format so easily, I'll probably do it more often. Oh, and now people can leave comments so please do.

Today, two of my classes were cancelled and I couldnt be happier. It's a great day. I went from super stressed out and ready to chop someone's head off with a dull kitchen knife if they even mentioned the word midterm in my presence to being totally relaxed and happy. I talked to my french teacher today and she said that I missed the midterm question that I was obsessing about because i was absent one day and that's when they went over it. The person I asked about the missed class didn't tell me that they studied it. oh well. But the professor was really cool and nice about it and indicated that I got the other ones correct so I feel so much better about it. YES, i am not a retard! i just can't ever miss class again and i should learn to go with my first instinct on questions because it's usually always right and then my mind fucks it up. I can't wait to get the test back though and see how I did on the rest of it. I've just been lounging for about an hour since my classes were cancelled. I have design at 2.

For my politics class, I have to attend some events going on Saturday at the site of the former Holiday Bowl. It was this bowling alley created in 1958 by Japanese Americans in Crenshaw and was a significant spot for racial issues and bringing people together throughout the 1960's. Unfortunately, it was torn down last year after a 3 year battle to turn it into a city landmark, but this weekend they are having speakers and forums going on in Crenshaw to commmemorate the building and the people involved. We are forced to go to two of these events and earlier in the semester when my teacher was talking about the project I was very unexcited about it. But the more and more I hear about it, I kinda am looking forward to going, hearing the lecture series, and meeting some people. Lately I feel like I'm living in my little bubble again because I don't really leave campus unless it's a school trip or something and I don't watch tv so I dont hear about anything besides campus news. it'll be nice to expand.

I'm looking forward to disneyland saturday. I'm not sure if they've redecorated the haunted mansion yet to be Nightmare Before Christmas, but either way it's fun. My mom, dad, and I always get caramel apples to take home. They sell them in that store over by the freaky Winnie the Pooh ride and I usually get the kind with all the chocolate and peanut butter on top. I'm in the mood to see the electric parade too. I especially like the little caterpillars and bugs floats that whirl around. If you haven't seen it yet, check it out next time youre at California Adventure. It is not to be missed, even though everyone seems to hate CA Adventure. I guess I could see how you wouldnt want to buy a day ticket for that park, but i like a few things over there so it's nice to have the park hopper season pass. Oh, i want to make reservations for Jon Brion. If you would like to go one friday night in late october/early november for dinner and the concert, please let me know so I can make reservations for everyone soon.

But I don't want to go among mad people!

So I saw this on Kris' blog and his personality diagnosis seemed really interesting so i wanted to see what mine would come out to be. Here's what it said after taking the quiz. I'm happy with that, but I dont think Im much of a leader. I don't know why the quiz thought that.

"You are a WECL--Wacky Emotional Constructive Leader. This makes you a People`s Advocate.
You are passionate about your causes, with a good heart and good endeavors. Your personal fire is contagious, and others wish they could be as dedicated to their beliefs as you are.
Your dedication may cause you to miss the boat on life's more slight and trivial activities. You will feel no loss when skipping some inane mixer, but it can be frustrating to others to whom such things are important. While you find it difficult to see other points of view, it may be useful to act as if you do, and play along once in a while.
In any event, you have buckets of charisma and a natural skill for making people open up. Your greatest asset is an ability to make progress while keeping the peace.
Of the 32330 people who have taken this quiz since tracking began (8/17/2004), 6.1 % are this type."

Interesting stuff...anyway Ive been incredibly stressed the last few days because the weekender was filled to the brim with events going on the entire time and then i came back and realized that I had two midterms today. yay! So I pulled an all nighter last night studying for my french and art history midterms. It's such a relief to have them over. So much of my last week has been hinging on these tests and now that they are over I feel so great. I think I did pretty well on my art history midterm. It was essay format comparing various greek, egyptian, and roman classical sculptures and I knew all the slides she put up. I was glad I knew everything, but left the lecture hall with my left arm killing me from digging in really hard with my pen when i was writing and not stopping to give my hand a break. My french midterm was another story though. I think I did ok on most of it, the paragraph part and where you have to fill in with articles and possessive articles, but i always seem to fuck up on the oral. Like, I wont understand one word in the sentence that the teacher's saying and itll make it so i can't understand the sentence at all. That happened with two questions today and Im REALLY kicking myself about it. Grrrrr, stupid french! What is it about me and language that just don't click? First japanese (which was fairly impossible for me), now french. There are people in other countries that grow up speaking 5 languages fluently and I am completely retarded and unable to do more than one. But now that my tests are over I am ready to go out and have a little fun. Thursday we have a BBQ & Beverages thing with ZBT, then Sigmma Chi exchange friday and Disneyland with my family on Saturday. I still need to find a date for our ADPi invite on the 8th, it's kind of knawing at the back of my mind. I want to go see Jon Brion again.

One thing that made me smile was the delivery i got from my parents at Monday night dinner last night. It was incredible. They somehow found out about the Greek Escape store and sent me this big basket full of candy and then this gigantic, hot air balloon type thing. I felt like I was going to float away carrying it home. It's now in the living room taking up a ton of space. And they sent a card too which said "Just because". I really do have some of the best parents around. I've always felt so lucky to have this super close relationship with my mom where we can hang out together and have a great time as friends and not so much as the quintessential mother daughter relationship. My dad is awesome too. I mean, my mom hated the idea of me getting my tongue pierced but she let me do it anyway because she had confidence in my own decisions. I can't help wondering if the whole dynamic would be different if the whole thing didnt happen to my sister, but my family is the greatest just as it is too and I cant take it back anyway. They are always there to send me little notes or call to say hi and i appreciate that a lot, even when im stressed out and yelling at them.

Ok, time to unwind after a horrible day of midterms with an episode or two of sex and the city. yay seasons 1-4 on dvd!!

weekender

I'm leaving to go to the Bay area right after my class today. I'm so excited!! The next few days marks the USC annual weekender, where each year almost the entire campus migrates up north to watch USC football play either Berkeley or Stanford. This year it is Stanford. I'm driving up with my suitemates from last year Angie, Hilary, and Leona and then we are staying at Angie's house in San Jose. I have tickets to sit with my sorority which will be cool, but I didn't want to stay the whole weekend with them because it was too much hassle trying to find people to ride up with and stay in a hotel with. I would love to visit with my friends going to school up in Northern CA, but I don't think there will be much time. Maybe i could make a trip later for that. Last year when I stayed the night at Berkeley, I left to meet up with my USC group early the next morning, but the bart wasn't open yet so I had to take a bus into the city and then wander around the streets for a bit before taking the BART to my hotel room. It was kinda scary being lost by myself in the city, but it's nice that you can take the BART pretty much anywhere. I made it back safely, but i forgot to call home to let my mom know that I was fine and in the meantime she called caitlyn and kris who told her I had left....mayhem ensued. My parents were pissed later that I had been wandering the city and didn't call, but it all worked out.

Ive got an insane amount of homework to do this weekend and have to study for two midterms that are on Tuesday. I dont really know why Im going on this trip, except that I had bought my ticket and made arrangements before I knew about all these tests. I'm taking my binders up so hopefully I'll be able to get some studying done in the car on the way there and back. We just had a quiz in French on Wednesday and now we are already having our midterm this upcoming Tuesday. It definitely feels like I'm in school mode now.


It's getting late so I've got to go pack. Hope everyone has a nice weekend.

When Harry Met Sally

Sally: We are just going to be friends, ok?
Harry: Great, friends. it's the best thing. You realize of course that we can never be friends.
Sally: Why not?
Harry: What Im saying is--and this is not a come-on in any way, shape, or form--is that men and women can't be friends, because the sex part always gets in the way.
Sally: That's not true. I have a number of men friends and there is no sex involved.
Harry: No you don't.
Sally: Yes I do.
Harry: No, you don't.
Sally: Yes, I do.
Harry: You only think you do.
Sally: You're saying I'm having sex with these men without my knowledge?
Harry: No, what I'm saying is they all want to have sex with you.
Sally: They do not.
Harry: Do too.
Sally: They do not.
Harry: Do too.
Sally: How do you know?
Harry: Because no man can be friends with a woman that he finds attractive. He always wants to have sex with her.
Sally: So you're saying that a man can be friends with a woman he finds unattractive.
Harry: No, you pretty much want to nail them, too.
Sally: What if they don't want to have sex with you?
Harry: Doesn't matter, because the sex thing is already out there, so the friendship is ultimately doomed, and that is the end of the story.

More to be seen than can ever be seen, more to do than can ever be done

This is a quick update seeing as I have to run to French class in about 15 minutes. I can't even believe how busy this year is compared to last. Freshmen year I had time to sit and watch entire movies on any given evening...this year I barely have time to sleep. I like it this way.

This past weekend I went on my sorority retreat at one of the girl's houses in Orange County. I was expecting some sort of embarassment or hazing (even a bit), but there wasnt any! We got to the house, hung out and watched USC kick BYU's ass, had really good italian food, played games, and got to know everyone. Before we all went to sleep, my pledge class had to make up a song so we decided to do a Lion King Medley, complete with the "hmmma nan nan" background to circle of life and one girl holding up a stuffed Simba at the end. It was ridiculous, but surprisingly a lot of fun to create. When we went to sleep, I ended up having to sleep on the hard tile floor and when I woke up, i found that I was curled up in a ball, tangled up in my blanket. The only downer was having to drive straight back to the house to participate in another retreat with the whole house this time where we did workshops on alcohol awareness and the rules of the house. I wouldve been happier with 3 or 4 cups of coffee though. It was an extremely busy weekend, but I did manage to get to know all my pledge class and I feel a lot closer to them now. It's nice to have more people on campus to hang out with or just see them passing by and saying hello to. ADPi's social schedule is picking up this week, so Im trying to balance out my homework load and attending events. We are having a barbeque and beer thing with TKE this wednesday with the theme "Take me out the ball game." Does anyone have a baseball shirt I can borrow? Then Oct. 1st is our first exchange (theme unknown), with Sigma Chi. Then Oct. 8th is our semiformal invite. I have a dress, but forgot it was coming up so soon and really need to find a date. Bah, it reminds me of high school winter formals and prom.

I have to drive all the way home to Valencia today to go in search of a white dress. I dont have time for this. But thing's always seem to get taken care of one way or another so I'm just going to trust that I can get everything done.

I'm not talking to my friends at other colleges as much this month because I've been so busy and never at my apartment, but I miss all of you and will try to send out letters soon.

Who else is clever enough to make my Sandy claws outfit?

Wednesday night...well Thursday morning really, our apartment complex decided to have a surprise fire drill at 4 am. 4 am!! Who in their right mind would make students jump out of bed at that time of morning and go stand outside until the drill is over? I can understand them scheduling it for a time when lots of students are at home, maybe like 10 or 11 pm, but by 4 am everyone is asleep and following the fire drill would mean hoping out of bed in pajamas, my hair sticking out every direction possible, and wandering down to the street totally blind (i had forgotten my glasses at home and wouldn't have time to put in my contacts). Kids could have tests and midterms the next morning for all they know. No one in my apartment decided to leave b/c we could see it was a drill and not a real fire, but I still wasn't happy at having that blasted alarm blaring when I only had a few more hours to sleep.

Today I made a quick trip to LACMA to see these Egyptian reliefs and Roman sculptures that I have to write an essay on. I would have liked to stay and wander the museum to check out all the various galleries since I've never been there and it looked pretty awesome, but I was there with a girl from ADPi who had a bunch of homework to do and was motioning for us to go home as soon as possible. It's on my list of places to go back to though. I'm going to the sorority retreat tomorrow so I'll be gone for a few days in case any of you were wondering where I've disappeared to. They're having the emmys at The Shrine (about half a block from my apartment) so it's going to be a zoo here. I just hope they don't have the walkway to my apartment roped off for the evening.

The seaweed is always greener in somebody else's lake

Tonight is Thursday and I believe this is the first thursday this year (not counting rush) that I haven't been out. I think it's a step in the right direction though. I love going out with the sorority people, but my favorite thing was to go out Thursday nights with my Parkside suite freshman year. Most people are really busy this year and don't have time which is cool because I don't have as much time either, but I think the nights of meeting up with suitemates, taking the tram, and hanging out with everyone at dtd is over...for a while at least. I'm glad to be spending the evening in my apartment tonight, playing the role of recluse extraordinaire. I'm already in my pajamas and thinking about finishing up my homework so that I don't have to worry about taking it with me this weekend. Its incredible to think about the 180 degree turn ive made in college. I entered college with a very clear idea of sororities, how they are filled with annoying Barbie girls and how I hated them. I hated the greek system. To look at me or talk to me, you'd never think Id be involved in such a thing. But I guess over the year I realized what a big, impersonal campus this is and how hard it is to meet people when everyone is just doing their own thing. I realized that I could be in a sorority and meet nice, non-Barbie people and still keep my own personality and the same ideals...just without the cynicism of the system. I think if you just open yourself up to any opportunity that comes your way, you'll be happier than automatically judging everything. I just hope my outlook stays that way.

I am going on a mandatory house retreat Saturday and Sunday. Saturday's retreat should be fun because it's at some girl's house in Orange County and is a chance to really get to know my pledge class and apparently there's gonna be fun activities planned. Sunday, however, is an all-house retreat where everyone in the house has to sit and listen to national board members (little old ladies from georgia) talk about the rules of ADPi for 5 or 6 hours. I don't expect Sunday to be all that fun, but hopefully it'll give me a chance to meet some of the older girls. I don't have a problem with my pledge class because everyone's on the same level so Im not intimidated, but being the extremely shy, quiet person i can turn into at times, I usually clam up around some of the older girls who are by far some of the coolest people I've met. I was over at the house tonight and we made smores and ate them out on the lawn. We couldnt find any candles, so we ended up using the microwave, but it was still fun.

Tomorrow I'm going to LACMA for the first time. I'm going with my mom and this one other girl in my art history class because we have an essay to write about some classical Greek pieces at LACMA. I've always wanted to visit the museum and have heard great things about it, so we'll see. More and more over the years, Ive started to love modern art above all else. I guess maybe because it demands more thought and personal incorporation, and because it's a movement I can associate with my generation of artists. Anyway, I'll write all about it after I see it. Also went to see the Thorton Symphany Orchestra tonight at Bovard. Whenever I hear classical music, I choreograph ballet in my head. I'm slowly widdling down the mad amount of homework I have and sat on campus for about 2 1/2 hours today under a tree trying to make a dent in this "Southland" book that we're reading for politics. I have to do an oral history project for that class which freaks me out. I'm not good at talking to strangers.

I never ever do a thing about the weather for the weather never ever does a thing for me

It's about that time in the semester where we've been in school for almost a month and, at least in my case, the workload is starting to hit hard. You start getting those raccoon eyes from staying up all night, walk around campus in such a daze that you barely notice the bike rider heading right towards you, and feel all the early signs of mid-semester stress. The last two weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind filled with unsurmountable amounts of reading for my politics of the 1960's class and art history (where my professor is a female version of Ben Stein). My apartment is usually empty in the evenings cuz my roomies have night classes, so i have been heading over to ADPi for most weeknight dinners and then a few hours of study. They have a cute porch swing that you can sit on facing the Row and do your reading out there. It's really nice actually. That's one thing that's totally lacking from these west coast homes: porches. Back east, they have these awesome porches build on to the front of the house where you can go out and sit, eat dinner, or whatever. I remember when I used to live in New Jersey for a year or so, my brother and I would camp out on the porch and watch the fireflies through the screen that surrounded the porch.

Speaking of ADPi, I was completely embarassed today on my way to Monday night dinner and chapter meeting. I was walking from my apartment when I saw this girl across the street. If you know me, you know that I have the vision of an 3 toed sloth (not good) and so I thought this girl was Chelsea, a girl from my sorority. I called out to her and she turned around so I assumed it was her. She had Chelsea's coloring and answered to her name and was wearing big giant sunglasses so I crossed the street and starting talking to her as we walk to the house. I told her about my day and this long elaborate story about how I almost got locked out because our locks were changed. I was talking for about 2 minutes when she looks over and says "oh, what sorority are you in?" WTF? I did a double take and realized this wasn't Chelsea, it was some random girl I didn't know at all!! Turns out it was a girl named Caitlyn from Kappa Kappa Gamma and she pretty much thought I was insane. Which i am for not realizing who I was talking to. So we walked the rest of the way in pretty much complete silence...all the while I wanted to jump in an open sewer covering. But at least i got to send out some deliveries today. I hope people liked them.

First home football game was last Saturday against Colorado State. My dad went to University of Colorado and I guess they are rivals, so he eapecially wanted us to beat them. I went with Angela, Hilary, and Leona. We decided to go for the whole experience with tailgating around campus and then heading off to the game early enough to get seats. It was soooo scorching! An easy 95 degrees before the sun went down. I wish it was winter with the cold and the rain and the sweatshirts. After about an hour of standing in the sun Angie and I decided it would be good to get some water, which was just in time cuz I noticed I started getting all icky and lightheaded. It was a good game, we kicked Colorado's ass with a score of 49-0. I love when USC wins, but sometimes it's more fun to watch a closer game. I was never super into football before coming to college. Basketball was definitely my sport to watch, but I'm glad I have a new found appreciation for football. I'm heading up to Palo Alto for the Stanford weekender in 2 weeks, it should be a good trip. Better than last year Im sure when I got lost in San Francisco by myself and ended up wandering around the downtown area before finding the right BART to take.

I Want to go to disneyland soon. Would anyone care for a trip??

And the sand in the glass is right

Last night I got nostalgic. It all started when my mom and dad brought home a white dress from a garage sale they went to in the afternoon. Once I tried that on, my mom decided it would be cool to bring down my grandmother's wedding gown from the 1940's. According to my mom, my grandma bought the dress for $2000 dollars, which was a lot of money back in the day. Especially since most women were getting married in pantsuits at the time. If you know me, you'll know that I get really into vintage fashion, especially from the 40's and 50's. This dress was beautiful. It was a gorgeous champagne color, had a long train, intricate beadwork, and long sleeves that came to a point. Anyway, I tried it on and had a great time going over all my mom's old memories of grandma. Who knows, I may even wind up wearing it for my own wedding gown. I think that would make my mom happy, plus it was a very nice gown so I wouldnt mind wearing it either.

I guess playing dress up got my mom in a nostalgic mood too because she went into the garage and came out with a huge paper bag stuffed full of pictures. We spent the evening going through them all. Some were ones I had never seen before of when I was a baby, or when my mom was in labor, or when my dad was my age and spent a year in Israel living on a commune. It's crazy to see pictures of your parents at your age and see what they were up to. My dad seemed really adventurous and mature for someone that age...you'd have to be to spend that much time alone in a faraway country. Not even through a college study abroad program either...he just went. I wish i had the spirit to just pack up, close my eyes, put my finger on a map, and take off. Anyway, I found out lots of interesting facts about my parents that I didn't know before.

Today is Labor Day so we had no school thank god. ADPi planned a beach trip with the whole sorority which I went to this morning. There's a bunch of social things going on recently which is such a relief after rushing. Thursday night we went out on the row and then today was the beach. I might just be getting over my fear of wearing a bathing suit in public. I have some weird body issues that have hung around for years and have been really restrictive, but today I actually wore my bathing suit in the water without shorts or a tshirt. It was a breakthrough. I got really sunburned on my face and chest...but when don't I get a sunburn when i go to the beach? It was a pretty fun way to spend the day and I am having more fun as the days go by getting to know the girls in the house. I just recently signed up for facebook and have been a tad bit obsessed with it this weekend, but I think as soon as school starts up again tomorrow I'll be out of it and not checking in every 5 seconds. I wish we had monday night dinner tonight just because I have some deliveries for people that I'd really like to get to them now rather than next monday, but i guess what they dont know about wont hurt them. Ok...I'm completely ignoring my French homework and I'd like to pass the class. Update soon I'm sure.

You've got an aesthetically pleasing configuration of hair humans go nuts over

Despite this week being fairly fun with all the rush events, I've been looking forward to the weekend quite a bit. Things have felt very busy lately and I havent had much of a chance to catch up on sleep because I'm always running off to somewhere or other. Dragged myself to the politics discussion today, only half awake but luckily it was the only class I had today so it wasn't too painful. I was out last night with my Big Sis and some other girls from my sorority and it was a relief to just get out and have fun without all the pressure of the past week. Last night we had a meeting and I offered to make the website and everyone seemed happy with that. I'm really excited to be able to do that because our chapter doesn't have a website and I'd love to give other people a place to check out, see what it's all about, view pics, and I like the ability to shape people's opinions through design. That's why Ive always loved design. You can take someone's mind and steer the way they view whatever your promotion is through things like typography, imagery, and style. If it's done well, they can come out of it thinking your promotion is the coolest thing in the world, and vice versa if your design is shitty and doesnt provide the right "feel" then a person's opinion of your promotion can be bad. I love that. Anyway, our colors are blue and white, but I think I might throw in some pink cuz one girl asked me to. I really want to get super involved in the house because i enjoy it and because then maybe I can even live in the house next year if my other friends do off campus housing. I hope it'll be a cool site and I'll provide the link when I'm done so you can all check it out and give me advice to make it better.

Tasha is coming to visit today and I'm excited cuz I haven't seen her in about 3 weeks. Originally, Brigitte's friends from Florida were coming down to visit too and we had all these things planned to show them around CA. But because of the horrible hurricane out in Florida (and people say it's bad to live in CA with its earthquakes??) they couldnt come. So now it's just us. Then tomorrow I'm heading home to see my family and get a break from school. We are planning to go up to Lake Arrowhead tomorrow which is one of my favorite places to drive up to and just relax, read, write letters and be away from things. One of the best things about having my friend off at other schools is being able to write long letters to them. Not many people write back, but that's ok. There's this one coffee shop where we usually go sit that has these enormous bay windows overlooking the lake and the other cabins. It's beautiful. I get a little car sick on the windy roads up to the lake, but it's worth it. Unless I throw up, then it's not worth it.

I have some design homework to work on. I have to figure out a good packaging idea for a imaginary self promotion of our work. We found 6 graphic design things we liked, linked them together somehow, and now need to package them creatively. mine turned out to be vintage/nostalgia design because I have a Winston cigarette ad from the 60's, a Hitchcock movie poster, Russian propaganda poster art, and Disneyland attraction posters. I'm thinking maybe of packaging the images in a vintage 1950's tin lunchbox, but we'll see. Any good ideas?

Each of us the child may bless with a single gift...no more, no less

The past 2 days have been wonderful! For the past week, I've been participating in rush week for a sorority. As you can see, my last post was written right in the middle of the process and I was starting to get anxious and irritable. But now it's all over. Bid night was on Sunday, where I went to my final two houses and then ranked them as the one I wanted most, and then the one I wanted second if I couldn't get into my first choice. I was dead tired and was just looking forward to being done. I started getting really nervous as i walked across campus to see if I got in, then my rush counselor told me that I had gotten into Alpha Delta Pi...my first choice. I was ecstatic and finally feeling like the whole greuling rush process was worth it. One of the coolest parts of the night was when all the rush counselors (who had hidden their own chapter identities during the week) revealed which chapters they belonged to. Unfortunately, neither of my counselors were in ADPi. Anyway, after we found out what sorority we were in and got grouped with our pledge class (who all looked incredibly dazed and lost in a sea of other girls who were shouting, cheering and hugging the first person they saw), we ran down to the house and met up with the rest of our sorority. I met my big sis, whose name is also Sara, but without the H. She’s a very nice girl and we get along well. She gave me a chapter shirt and we all went into the house, which was set up like a mini-casino with blackjack, roulette, and craps…none of which I know how to play. It was evident that I didn’t know what I was doing when I just slapped some chips on a random spot on the roulette table and the dealer looked up at me and gave me the “you are a complete retard” look. It’s ok, I don’t think I’ll ever become addicted to gambling. The games never really appealed to me and I don’t like gambling with actual money. Monopoly money maybe, but I probably wouldn’t play poker with tens or anything. I’m cheap like that. Anyway, there was also a lot of dancing during bid night. Up until then, I had been very nervous about my decision between the two, but once I got there and hung out with all the girls I knew I had made the right choice. They’re all very down to earth and are already arranging a bunch of upcoming activities. This Thursday after the pledge meeting, a group of the girls are all going out together. I noticed a few of the girls have Disneyland season passes too and were even talking about the mysterious Club 33 where you have to be on a certain list to get in, so maybe we can organize a trip there this year. I don’t care what people say about sorority life. I’ve been already getting a lot of crap from people…”sororities are evil/ why are you changing who you are/all sororities are full of drama.” Blah Blah Blah. I’m not changing anything about my personality to be a part of one and the good aspects are so numerous, like getting know a great group of people and participating in a lot of philanthropy. I think I’m going to have a wonderful year because I already love it. I’m sure anyone who has a problem with it really doesn’t know what they’re talking about because they haven’t experienced it first hand and are just going off generalizations.

It’s been a big priority for me to get involved on campus this year. Last year was lovely, but I had so much free time I’d often get bored. We had the involvement fair the other day and I noticed the Unitarian group so I meandered over and signed up. Our first meeting was today and it was interesting, though I could tell it wasn’t as involved and organized as I would like. There are 7 of us, which amazed me because I hardly expected any other Unitarians at USC. I talked to the head guy about filling the Unitarian space offered on the interfaith council and told him I’d be interested in doing that. It seems so important to me to be involved with interfaith council, just for my own edification and practice in tolerance, acceptance and learning. Plus, Brigitte’s on the board so I’d at least know someone else there. We’ll see how it goes.