A Day in My Life - April 29, 2010

My name is Colleen, and I’m a sophomore working on a Biological Science major, a Chemistry minor, along with a Single Subject Teaching credential at California State University, Fullerton. Here are 55 photos illustrating my April 29th– a filled with types of science, a nice food break, and a very long night of studying. (Previous ADIML: Oct 19, Nov 19, Dec 23.)

7:41AM

I woke up and was feeling extraordinarily tired. I was actually about to be late to Chemistry lab.

8:32AM

I got there two minutes late, which wasn’t too bad! The experiment that day was going to be long, though.

9:40AM

We’re calculating the specific heat of these “unknown” metals. (It’s not hard to tell that this one is Copper.)

10:16AM

The other one, I am not too sure about. Still calculating. The data we collect is through seeing how much the temperature of the water changes as we dunk in different amounts of heated metal. Everyone in the class is sharing these baggies of metals that we each made. It was a long, arduous process that involved boiling metal, cooling water, tossing burning hot metal into water, measuring heat, and then trying to find someone who will trade your sample with their sample that you need. Also, you have to toss out your water each time just in case.

I had a bunch of beakers around me that were only for water. They were things like water straight out of the sink that was warming to room temperature, waste water that’s been heated by metal that I didn’t want to dash around the room to pour away, boiling water to heat the metal in, and the room temperature water I was going to dunk the hot metal in. I work pretty fast, so I often was just sitting to wait for someone to trade with me.

10:33AM

After I had finished a little early, it was time for me to confront the scary equipment lady. On my way out, I run into some of my classmates from my Biology lecture. My benchmate and I share a drawer of equipment, and for the past few weeks we’ve noticed that we’ve been missing an item here or there. Then, twice, we came to class and found our drawer unlocked. Our TA confirmed this too by watching us lock it the week before– no one else should be using the drawer. Initially, the equipment people did not believe us– but now it’s getting ridiculous and it’s irritating sharing one graduated cylinder all the time, among other things.

10:35AM

I talk with the lady in charge, and she looks at me with disbelief. She then tells me to come back at the end of the school year and tally up what’s missing. I guess there’s only so much you can do.

11:19AM

I head down to my Biology lab to study with some of my friends for the upcoming quiz, and we all try out the mystery gum. Tammy gave me an apple to eat too. The manicure I have is also done by Tammy, because she worked at a nail salon before.

12:21PM

After a quiz, we watch a presentation on transposons and how we’re going to do gels to find out who has and in what kind of combination.

12:22PM

Our TA, Marcy, demonstrates how to dance while swishing with saline solution to get cheek cells.

12:27PM

My two labmates are the test subjects because we already know generally whether Asians such as myself will have when it comes to the transposon genotype.

12:27PM

I end up not doing very much labwork today because everyone would prefer to handle their own spit.

12:36PM

Handling the spit. She’s resuspending it after centrifuging and removing the supernatant.

12:50PM

Boiling them to lyse the cells because we’re after the DNA.

1:02PM

Meanwhile, my other labmates who are also not doing the experiment are setting up a tablet pen. It takes a while for all three of us to get it to work, sadly. The first thing three guys drew were penises. I drew breasts because they asked me to draw them.

1:14PM

Then we go over a worksheet from lecture that is very difficult. Even our TA was racking her mind over it. It was a very long “what if” question– I can’t remember specifically how it went, but the gist of it was something about a mouse enzyme and a bacteria enzyme have the same function. The bacteria enzyme is in an operon system, and the mouse enzyme is transformed into the bacteria, and one of them is deactivated. There were other specifications too, but it was just… a wall of text that we were very baffled at.

1:54PM

Afterward, Alan has to copy my lecture worksheet because he was absent from lecture when it was handed out. Sadly, the copy machine ate our money.

2:00PM

Here we are getting a refund for $1.00, which took quite a bit of work to get back. We had to put more money into the machine to unclog it and were refunded for that too.

2:02PM

Triumph! The dollar and the copy. Alan then went on his way, possibly to see his girlfriend who lives in Torrance.

2:05PM

Outside, there was a promotion for a new Hookah bar and a pita bread place! Tammy was very attracted to the drum player.

2:11PM

They gave out free pita sandwiches, which was great. Pictured ahead of me are Kevin and Tammy, who work together on Tammy’s research project because he is her assistant. We are on our way to the artificial lagoon she is researching at. I will also be assisting today. The reason we are going is because their friend Valerie wants to also try a similar research. Otherwise, we would not have gone because it was very windy that day and the gulls that Tammy tracks do not come out when it’s windy.

2:13PM

We meet up with Valerie and go into separate cars. We’re getting pho afterward, and Valerie does not want pho– so we had to take more than one car.

3:01PM

You can see how strong the wind was in this photo. Tammy and I get there first, and to her amazement there were birds everywhere. She said it was the most birds she’s seen in her lie, and she could not figure out why they were at the lagoon.

3:10PM

We soon found out why! The wind was so strong that the birds could not fly out of the lagoon, and were thus stranded on the manmade beach. Whenever they tried to fly, they would be pushed back from the wind. It was easy to take this photo because they looked like they were floating in the air, unable to move forward. I timed Tammy as she counted the number of birds on the beach. It was really surreal to see the birds appear to be stuck in the air– they were frozen in space, almost!

3:13PM

The water was very rough that day, and the clams that Tammy were studying were doing alright because the gulls were having a hard time doing their drops to get them. Even if they picked up a clam, they would be knocked out of the air by the wind and drop the clam back into the water.

3:15PM

Tammy and Kevin noticed peculiar raised spots in the sand and investigate. It was all very exciting for everyone, but not very good for Tammy because part of her hypothesis was that the gulls do not come out in the wind. We explore the beach under the peculiar conditions, and I take many photos for Tammy to use for her presentations and also as proof. Valerie then leaves to eat food that is not pho.

3:58PM

After we finish counting the gulls and whatever other data was might need, we finally relax at the pho restaurant. It’s 50% pho there all the time, so it’s a great deal. However, water costs $1.50!

3:59PM

Tammy takes this photo of me while we wait.

4:03PM

They get extra meat, while I get a large instead of a normal. I had forgotten my wallet that day, so they were treating me. So nice! It was really tasty too.

4:53PM

On the way back, we girltalk in the traffic.

5:55PM

I get home and have some toast while I relax with a magazine. I was on my feet a lot today, so I was feeling like all I wanted to do was relax.

6:33PM

However, there’s a pile of work that must be done. I had a lot of doll heads to prepare for Cendoll because I was invited to be a guest there to do face-up demonstrations. I clean the heads and coat them, and then put them away so the coating dries completely while I plan their face-ups.

7:51PM

After that, it’s time to study once again. I needed practice with Molecular Orbital theory, even though later I realized it was far simpler than I initially thought and was fine with it. It was just difficult at first because it was such a foreign way to think about molecules and bonds for me. Reading the textbook later helped a lot when I was able to visual the sigma and pi bonds better.

12:41AM

I then take a nap, and when I woke up I saw that Tammy had sent me a concerned message over Facebook. She also fell asleep, and she was feeling a cold coming on. I was also feeling a bit like I was developing a cold, and was getting a bit of a migraine. I appreciate the concern, Tammy!

4:28AM

I keep studying, but truth be told I was also very distracted because I was chatting with my buddy Lauren for a lot of it. She wanted me to explain what I was learning to her, so I was showing her how it was done and applied. I talked about how molecular orbital theory, lewis structure, and valence shell electron pair repulsion theory all look at different parts of the molecule– but as a whole, come together to loosely form a more accurate particulate representation of the particles. Each one reveals different information about the particles that you are dealing with, and to know information means one can use or manipulate it.

That’s why knowing all the theories– even if they are describing different details of the same thing– is important in having a broader and workable understanding of what you are dealing with. It took me a few hours to explain this and a bunch of the other concepts I was working on. I didn’t mind though, because I love answering science questions– even though these are all basic things because I am early in my science career. It reinforces what I know, and I really enjoy science so I get excited when talking about it.

4:41AM

Then I realize I had class at 8, and should really head to bed to make the most of the few hours of sleep I was going to get. I was super tuckered out by this point and almost forgot to take this last photo because all I wanted to do was sleep. Good night!

The cozy houses in the hazy morning air.

I took this photo at my cousin’s house one morning after staying over to watch the fort while she was in San Francisco with her in-laws for Christmas.

Despite the sleeping schedule I’ve had for the past few days, my favorite time of day is the early morning. Katrina often invites people to go watch the sunrise with her, and I’m surprised I haven’t gone yet. Being up at dawn with good spirits is feeling that is to be cherished, but nothing beats having a good view to further solidify those feelings of awe at once again starting another day in this world.

I like it so much.

Next semester, I might get to enjoy this everyday because I start at eight in the morning. I’m sure on some days I would be less than welcoming towards the light breaking through the clouds– such as if I go to bed when I hear the birds chirping and hope I can cheat time by getting in eight hours of sleep in two hours. However, I’m just as sure that maybe sometimes I’ll wake up, crack open the window and see the streaks of light slipping down the sky and illuminating patches of the street and feel that everything is once again new, fresh, and clean. I trust that it’ll keep me going just a little longer when things are tough.

I think it's lovely.

By the way, it’s not the start of a decade– it’s the end of the decade! When you count decades, the tenth unit is the last while the first one is the first, yet people forget this. It won’t be the beginning of the decade until 2011.

I went to Disneyland with my mom, sister, and her best friend for New Years. We stood outside of the gates because you can see the fireworks from both parks from there.

Here are some photos of what we saw. ♥

I can’t tell which of these two I like more.

This year I will strive to continue to be good, like always.

After finishing the shabu shabu dinner, my family went for a walk. I took my camera with me. I hope you enjoy.

A Day in My Life - December 23, 2009

My name is Colleen, and I’m a sophomore working on a Biological Science major along with a Single Subject Teaching credential at California State University, Fullerton. Here are 57 photos illustrating my December 23rd– a day out with friends to celebrate the holidays and catch up a bit after the semester ended. (Previous ADIML: Oct 19, Nov 19.)

11:31AM

I woke up a bit late but I was having a really weird dream that I kept falling back into. It was partially about my friend Marc all of a sudden belonging to a family of sorcerers, along with some weird stuff about prostitutes and Disneyland. Lou was in it too, and so was I. There was also a girl with one hand that had two fingers because she hacked off the rest.

11:32AM

I check my phone for the time, because I’m supposed to go out at one to eat lunch with friends.

11:33AM

I turn on my laptop so I can check on my commissions and check on lunch plans.

11:39AM

Lunch is changed to dinner, but my friend Marc asks if I want to go with him to Frank and Sons for some shopping. I say yes, and he says he’ll come get me at three.

1:01PM

I do my morning things like brush my teeth and shower, then decide to put on some makeup for the day. I used to wear makeup daily, but stopped.

1:06PM

A shot of my whole outfit from the big mirror in my dad’s room. Boots, shorts, black blouse, and grey leggings.

1:19PM

Got work to do today, though. This doll head needs to go home!

1:35PM

The post office is pretty busy right before Christmas, but everything goes well.

1:43PM

Marc calls me and says he’s coming over at two, which gives me juuuust enough time to finish one more errand.

1:48PM

I needed to buy some essentials, such as a new toothbrush. I wanted to shop around, but didn’t have time. I’ll have to hit up the bank some other day too.

2:07PM

I get home at exactly two, and look around for something to eat for lunch. We’re having all you can eat sushi for dinner, so I go for something light.

2:09PM

Then I send off the information and invoice to the customer, and Marc arrives just a little bit after I finish all that. My desk is still a mess of art supplies… but I’m keeping it there to remind myself to get things done. I have a lot of dolls to paint this week.

2:11PM

I place Haro on Lou’s chair so I can tidy up my bed a bit better. I think I like him more right next to me like that. Just a nice feeling.

2:29PM

Marc comes over but says that Anthony needs time to eat lunch, so he helps me put together the Christmas present he gave me. A Sliver deck! How nice. He’s a bit annoyed at the sleeves because they’re a bit loose, but at least it means the cards will be easy to take out.

2:36PM

We go to pick up Anthony, who lives really close by.

2:38PM

Buuuut he needs more time, so we chill a bit in the car. We drive to Vinh’s house, and on the way Anthony talks about what it was like growing up in Santa Ana. I didn’t know that his father was a doctor in Vietnam, but had to start over here and became a Pharmacist instead.

3:06PM

We pick up Vinh, and he’s a bit groggy.

3:45PM

There was horrible traffic on the way there, and we all talked about Magic and Yu-Gi-Oh cards.

3:48PM

Finally! It was my first time there, and I was not sure what to expect. Parking was hard to find.

3:55PM

Frank and Sons is interesting. They headed over to the Magic section, and I soon left in search of Adventures Comics and some back issues I’ve been looking for. I wandered around for a long time by myself and even got lost, and met some nice people.

4:58PM

When I get back, they’re all playing and their friend Omar arrives. I left my deck on the car, so Anthony is using Marc’s other decks. He used to play in middle school but is getting back into it, while Marc just started learning.

5:10PM

We get hungry and cave in on some small snacks. I got a small hot dog and drizzled so much fresh onion on it. Delicious.

5:14PM

Marc and I share churros while Anthony buys some cards. He’s going to get back into the game. Yeeeeah! Marc basically ate both of those by himself, though.

5:26PM

We meet up with his other friend, who has cool gloves to wear during combat. They’re all nice guys.

5:39PM

Anthony said that he thinks he’ll get some holos, but we all doubted him. He did. After going through the cards he bought, he decides he wants to start a red deck. I had some red deck stuff that I gave to Marc, so Marc gave those to Anthony. I have about three decks, so I’m good.

6:11PM

Omar takes Vinh home, so we go directly back to Irvine to pick up our other friends.

6:50PM

We pick up Vincent first, meanwhile Vinh (a different one) and Crissy leave first on their own car. Vincent is in mega high spirits, and so is Marc. They want to stuff their faces.

6:58PM

We pick up Tiffany from Angela’s house, and she’s excited but not hungry.

7:09PM

Vinh and Crissy get a bit lost on the way, so I used Marc’s iphone to try to get them there. We also stop by Marc’s house to get his presents for Vincent and Tiffany, then finally we’re there.

7:49PM

We’re seated immediately but the place is packed, so even though we ordered right away it took a long time for us to get our food. Vincent, Marc, and Anthony were very disappointed in this because they had come on a not busy day before and were able to eat as much as they want. However, we had to wait such a long time. Yikes!

8:13PM

But we ate…

8:29PM

And we ate…

9:02PM

And did not stop!

9:15PM

The sushi was flying off the plates as we all shared the rolls.

9:21PM

We ordered seconds, thirds, and fourths of ones that we liked.

9:35PM

I tapped out eventually because I had eaten some handrolls and appetizers instead of just sushi, and chatted with Lou on Facebook with Marc’s iphone. Everyone was getting pretty done at this point, and Vincent had to loosen his belt. Anthony waited the entire time for his one order of bean curd, which he was really excited for, but when it arrived last he didn’t have the stomach for it.

10:00PM

We had forty rolls, and sixty pieces of nigiri. The baked rolls were half rolls, so they only had four pieces– but the rest of the rolls had seven to eight pieces. There were also some other appetizers that we had too. Some of the guys were still hungry, but the kitchen closed at 9:30.

10:00PM

Victorious! We’re too full to go home, so we go to Marc’s mom’s house nearby to digest.

10:14PM

Marc’s neighborhood is full of young couples with kids, and there were a lot of lights. His own house was brightly decorated, and there was a huge box in front of the Christmas tree that was about the size of a coffee table that said, “To: Marc; From: Santa.”

10:15PM

Marc’s room was nice and clean because he reorganized it recently. We all just sat down wherever we could and relaxed. Vincent picked up a guitar and played some music while we just talked.

10:35PM

Marc showed us some stuff on the computer and it was nice and warm indoors.

10:35PM

When we were sending Lou onto his flight, he said he would get Jon a barrel man. Vincent didn’t know what it was, so Marc gave him one on the spot. Halfway through opening it, he remembered what it was again.

10:36PM

So he gave it to Tiffany, who gave it right back to him after she took off the barrel.

10:44PM

Marc’s mom practices a lot of martial arts and encourages to do the same, so he took out some of the stuff she gives him so that he may practice. All the guys took turns smacking each other for a while, and Vinh kept beating up on Crissy. I didn’t get hit at all, thankfully.

12:12AM

We reminisced about high school, compared college experiences, and talked about relationships. Tiffany said she already had a feeling that Vincent was dating someone new, and they talked it over since she’s friends with his ex-girlfriend. Marc said I gave it away, but she Tiffany said she was suspicious of Vincent going down to Diamond Bar so much in the first place and knew that it was within his personality to move on quickly.  We talked about how cool Vicky is, and Vincent explained his innocence (it’s just timing, really!).

12:23AM

Marc plays DotA with his friends from the club, and Vinh takes over to try it out since he hasn’t played in a long time. We go over Marc’s plan to find his “magic parking lot” (a girlfriend) and decide that either this weekend or early next week we’ll go scout with him to find the best ramen in the area because the girl loves ramen. Vicky, Vincent’s girlfriend, is apparently a huge fan of ramen and follows ramen blogs, so we decide she should come too.

1:45AM

Crissy wanted to go home but Vinh told her that he was feeling lazy, but in the end it was getting pretty late so we left.

2:23AM

Vinh takes me home and we chat on the car, and I get home juuuuust a bit too late and miss out on Lou– who had IMed me just minutes prior. Darn it!

2:45AM

I send him a text anyways because it’s Christmas Eve in the Philippines, and in a few hours it’ll be Christmas for him.

2:55AM

I remove my makeup and take care of my face.

3:12AM

Then decide to do my nails so they’ll look nice for the holidays. The silver glitter takes a super long time to dry… So I surfed the net and took care of anything I needed to do while it dried.

4:17AM

About an hour later, I finished. Maybe it dried slowly because it was really cold? I considered revamping my website or buying a domain because of GoDaddy’s one dollar domain registration for a year deal.

4:19AM

The time on my laptop was a bit off for some reason… but it was getting pretty late.

4:29AM

I write a letter to Lou because I didn’t get to talk to him today and had things I wanted to tell him.

4:46AM

The internet is pretty distracting, so I forgot about the time again.

4:56AM

I take Haro off the chair and into bed. Not going to see any of my friends till the weekend at the earliest, and I have my own things to do too. I want to deep clean my room and computers, paint all of the dolls, and write or draw something that I can maybe print. It’s an ambitious schedule, but school does not start till January 25th, so there’s time. Just gotta get things done! Good night!

After much deliberating and sneaky shopping around during the week when I wasn’t being with him (and I was so excited all the time I felt like my heart would burst– actually, I still feel like that and I think I’ll keep on feeling this way when he’s around) I settled on getting him two things: a bracelet, and a belt. The leather wraparound bracelet was made of black and brown strips of leather, and ran around his wrist three times. The reason why I picked that was that I noticed on our first date that he wore black and brown elastic hairbands on his wrist, and when I asked why he sheepishly shrugged and said that it was a bit of a habit and he likes how it looks, though it is a bit out of place for someone that does not tie his hair. The second thing was a bit of a gamble, because while I settled on getting him a belt due to noticing that he had chunky, studly belt on almost every time I saw him– I was a bit iffy on choosing the design. It was between a tasteful tan belt with dark brown designs of birds of prey, or an eyecatching Japanese flag. I liked the first choice because I remembered that one of his favorite colors was brown, and that I felt it suited him and his style. The second one I liked because I wanted to make fun of him a bit. In the end, I chose the birds. Something about their solitary but strong form drew me to it. It reminded me of him. Months later, we played a personality game and he chose a bird of prey as his favorite animal because they are free, independent, and powerful. So I guess what I saw in the birds was something I saw in him.

There’s a story behind how exactly I gave him his belt, but only a few people know it. It was pretty sneaky, and included me hiding it. Maybe I’ll tell you too sometime, but it might be better discussed with diagrams. In return for the belt, he gave me his favorite, treasured stud belt that one of his best friends had given him– and in return for the bracelet, he gave me his grandmother’s beautiful bracelet. Needless to say, I was very touched. While what I gave him did have thought and meaning behind them– what he gave me was so much more. The belt immediately became a frequently worn part of my wardrobe, and the bracelet always sits nearby me in a pretty spot on my mantle.

Because of Lou’s slim waist, the belt was actually too big for him. But he deliberately wore it for me, even though his pants would slip down. Eventually, it got put away until he popped a fitting hole for it– but in the meantime, he wore the bracelet everyday. It made me happy to know that he carried a piece of me with him all the time, and when that bracelet wore out from daily use I immediately replaced it with a more hardy one. I want to always be a part of him, even when I’m not physically there. To this day, it still makes me happy to see Lou wear the belt, and I can’t help but smile whenever he asks to borrow his old belt from me when he comes over.

Today, Lou forgot the belt I gave him after he left. I picked it up during the wake of him going home while I tidied up a bit. I was going to wrap it around itself so that I can place it on the chair where I keep all of Lou’s stuff so that it stays organized and nothing gets lost, but while doing so I noticed how rough the fabric of the belt felt. The belt used to be smooth, with a light tan color that was almost creamy, but now it’s taken on a darker tone and even has a different tint to it. The hole he punched is extremely worn down, and there are many dark areas of the belt worn down by wear. The printed design on the fabric is flaking off, but somehow… I like it this way. It looks like it’s taken on more personality from it’s owner– like it’s gained a bit of a rugged edge despite it’s rather sensitive graphics.

It makes me happy to see his belt worn out, or to see his bracelet scuffed up. It means that he’s using it. He even wore the ring I gave him even though it didn’t fit and was a bit of a pain, and eventually tied it onto a keychain. In fact, I gave Lou so much stuff that he started to look a little over accessorized as he tried to keep everything on him, such as a Gloomy keychain on his wallet chain. I think at one point we had a discussion where he asked me to stop giving him accessories, so I gave him something useful– a Samsung P3.

Lou’s belt is now perched on top of his other belt, along with two bottles of facial powders, two t-shirts, and his South Park pajama bottoms. Even though all these things don’t amount to one Lou, I like having his scent around my room.

His belt may be scruffy and faded, but it just means that it’s well loved from frequent use… and that makes me glad.

A Day in My Life - November 19, 2009

My name is Colleen, and I’m a sophomore working on a Biological Science major along with a Single Subject Teaching credential at California State University, Fullerton. Here are 46 photos illustrating my November 19th– a day full of Biology, pancakes, hamsters, and WoW. (Previous ADIML: Oct 19.)

10:16AM

It’s moooorning. My cellphone is a bit fast, but that’s okay. It wakes me up earlier. The bedhead is pretty bad today.

10:18AM

Time to study! I have a Comprehension Quiz for Biology 172. I was studying for it the night before while going through my chemistry notes and fashion magazines. I fell asleep with all of it on my bed.

10:24AM

Incomprehensible notes and diagrams about the cell cycle, PAR, PARG, and so on. It was easy to study for, though.

10:58AM

My class is at 11:30AM, so I should really get going…!

11:04AM

The cat smacks my contact lens case off the counter because she wants attention.

11:15AM

All ready! I’m late at this point but I don’t mind it too much, because we’re allotted forty-five minutes to take the quiz and I usually finish in about… ten minutes. So I’ve got time. It’s about a thirty minute commute to school.

11:18AM

I notice that my sister’s car is home, which is weird because she has class today.

11:18AM

My car! While taking these photos I have a bit of an epiphany about my camera and got distracted finicking with it.

11:42AM

Parking was easy to find. Yesterday, I missed Chemistry lecture because of parking.

12:29PM

When I get there, Professor Casem sees my camera and tells me not to snap photos of the test. We then have a lecture about fertilization that draws information from the entire semester– such as what parts of fertilization utilizes passive transport, active transport, cell signaling, and so on. It was pretty interesting. The diagram in the back shows the sperm joining the egg and what it triggers.

1:00PM

I tell Kevin that I’ll pay for his lunch because he bought me lunch on Tuesday. We go look for our other labmates. Kevin gives me some cookies and we find that Ivy is at the cafeteria waiting for her boyfriend.

1:05PM

There’s something going on at the school but I wasn’t really paying attention. The live DJ was good, though.

1:09PM

We couldn’t find Diana and her boyfriend, so we left without them. Later she called and told us that she had a meeting to go to.

1:27PM

As a treat, I drove to Original Pancake House for lunch.

1:27PM

Some nice person waving while I took pictures.

1:28PM

While waiting for our food, I asked Ivy how she met her boyfriend. She started hitting him a lot.

1:51PM

Chocolate chip pancakges! Kevin and Ivy’s boyfriend, Steven, had western omelettes. Kevin also had a strawberry and cherry crepe. Ivy had a dutch baby, which is a mini german pancake. We ate for a long time, and the place closed at 2:00PM but let us stay there (along with tables of other patrons). Kevin said that he’ll pay for his because he ordered a lot, but his card got denied. I appreciate his concern, though.

2:44PM

Back at the parking structure, Ivy went to take care of some business, so we went with Steven to get her backpack and meet up with her later. Kevin had the leftover omelette in his clutches.

2:57PM

Then we walked to Kevin’s dorm. Steven went to the gym.

3:07PM

This is Cashew, Kevin’s hamster that he secretly keeps in the dorms. She is very sweet. Ivy was very excited and called it a “ball,” then took many videos of Cashew.

3:55PM

We got pretty distracted with Cashew, but eventually started studying. Ivy is a Chemistry major, so she was helping Kevin and I with our Chemistry. I finished eating the omelette while we studied. I didn’t finish my pancakes earlier so I was getting a bit snacky again.

4:21PM

Then we got distracted with Youtube videos. Ivy left to go to a research meeting, and Lou called me. Kevin did some of his other homework while I chatted with Lou, because I hadn’t spoken to him in two days. He told me that he accidentally messed up his Sims again. Nooo! I was really happy to hear his voice though, because I was missing him. All we did was talk about relationships during lunch, which was a heavy contributor to that.

4:47PM

Kevin and I get bored of studying and he makes me a WoW character. I randomed her name and got Gylii, then chose that because my dog’s name is Ghilli– which means good luck in Chinese. It was pretty fun, though I wish I could fight more actively. I asked Kevin how to dodge roll and block, and he said, “Oh it does it for you.” Awwww. Not what I’m used to, I guess! Still nice, though. Very pretty. I told him about how Blizzard is hiring night time game testers and he got upset that he didn’t have a car since he’s dorming, or else he would totally do it.

4:54PM

Lecture was at 5:00PM, but Kevin wanted a snack.

4:58PM

Jellybeans are really the best. He used his card again and it wasn’t denied. Strange!

5:04PM

We met up with Diana, who was studying Organic Chemistry in the hall. Our TA was a bit late. Ivy’s boyfriend came by too because he left his textbook in her backpack.

5:36PM

My super scientific labeling. It’s not a difficult experiment, but it takes a bit of manpower to make it go smoothly. We had a new member added to our group named Nancy. Her labmates dropped out, so she needed to join a group– but we actually didn’t have any jobs left for her. I did all the measuring and set up of the experiment, so I ran around the room a lot as we redid trials over and over. Ivy measured how much gas was produced, while Kevin took down all the information and did the calculations. Diana and I would start the experiment by combining the yeast and substrate, and she would keep it going by swirling it while I went to set up the next trial again.

5:37PM

We did many, many redos. Sometimes things just don’t go right. Here’s Ivy measuring the gas produced.

6:59PM

We got out early, which was nice. Usually, we stay till 7:45PM.

7:06PM

Done with school1 I am pleased.

7:40PM

Buuuut then there was an accident and I was stuck in traffic for a long, long time. I exited and took local roads to get home.

8:03PM

Sorry for the blurry picture! Just another snapshot as soon as I got home. I was very pleased to be home.

8:48PM

I had dinner with my mom, who I hadn’t seen since last Saturday. She went on a trip to Vegas.

8:49PM

She showed me the stuff she bought. Nice.

9:01PM

Gym time! I suit up and drive to Daniel’s house.

9:03PM

We switched to Daniel’s Tacoma because Justin didn’t want to drive and my car was having problems.

9:04PM

Justin was very upset that the shift was between his legs. Daniel was driving aggressively because he wanted to relax, so my camera strap swung in front of the lens.

9:21PM

We stopped by Chick-fil-A so that Justin could have something to eat. We were hoping our friend was there that night, but she wasn’t. Then we discussed the different sauces.

9:30PM

Gym! I dropped my Zune onto the treadmill and hopped off to get it. When I got back on, I forgot that I was sprinting so I fell off. My foot also got stuck in the striders because the strides are longer than the ones I can actually take. Then we did some weights.

10:54PM

Daniel wanted something to drink.

10:55PM

We stop by Lollicup, but didn’t get anything. Justin was going to treat us, too.

11:00PM

Daniel decides on Yogurtland. Justin and I drink water because we’re not in the mood for sweets.

12:47AM

I go home and shower. Then later I got into a disagreement with my sister. Then my mom shows us some other things she got in Vegas that I hadn’t seen yet, and then I watch TV with her and chat after my sister goes upstairs to do homework or something.

2:22AM

Oh shoots, it’s late. I have class the next morning at 11:00AM too, which means I need to get up at 10:00 to get ready.

2:28AM

I do all my bathroom things (take out contacts, wash face, exfoliate…) and check some stuff on the internet before I go to bed. I’m not that tired, but I should reeeeally get to sleep or else I’ll miss Chemistry lecture again. Yikes. Good night!

I have a tricky relationship with the moon. When I was a child, my mother told me that if you pointed at the moon then bad things will happen to you, and also told me superstitions such as if I whistle at night I’ll attract ghosts. Actually, I think I just have a problem with the night. There is no question that I am a morning person. The cold, fresh air of dawn would enliven me more than the most potent smelling salts. I love the look of the world when it’s bathed in the gentle morning mist. There are so many things I love about the day that night can not give me. I love seeing the long fingers of light slipping through holes in the cloud to touch the earth. I love the toasty heat of the sun on my back when I’m sketching in the park.

For a long time, I felt that night had very little to offer me. When the sun goes away, the world is draped in an impenetrable darkness, and with that darkness came cold, fear, and many other horrible feelings. As children, we are warned to not go out at night. Nighttime gets a bad reputation in comparison to daytime. I was never given a reason to enjoy the night, and became to loathe it. The time of day where I get depressed the easiest is during the sunset. Though it’s beautiful, it reminds me that another day has passed and that soon the eerie, uncomfortable time of night was coming. The emptiness of the air when the world is the moon’s kingdom reminded me of nothingness. It snuffed the life out of the world to me.

I did not believe Lou when he told me that when the full moon is out, you can see everything. In fact, I was a little surprised to hear that he likes the evening more than the day– though at the same time it’s suiting for this personality. The problem with what he told me was that I had also never taken a good look at the sky at night– which is why I could not truly understand what he was talking about– because I avoided being outside at night out of general disdain.

There was this one time that I did, though. When I was in sixth grade, I went on a weekend camping trip to the mountains with my class where we were introduced to the wilderness. This included hiking to look at stars on a moonless night. Scared, my classmates and I huddled together, unable to see anything because we were not allowed to bring flashlights. We had just finished an activity where we were blindfolded then tied together for a half mile trek and were greatly unnerved by the uneasy experience. But when our guide lifted our heads to the sky, we saw the ocean of stars that we had never witnessed before during our brief eleven years of life, and suddenly felt fine. I find comfort in stars, not the moon. There was no moon that night, and it was cloudy the next day when we woke up with frost on the cabin windows. There was no way for me to develop trust in the moon from that. I’ve never had the opportunity, but to be fair I also hadn’t given the moon an opportunity to prove me wrong either.

I live in the city, which means the moon does not stand a chance. If I am standing next to a streetlamp, that streetlamp is going to feel a heck of a lot brighter than the moon– even though I know that the moon is brighter– and I would never feel the light of the moon because of the streetlamp and other stubborn, obtrusive city lights. I did not understand what “bathed in moonlight” truly meant because I had never experienced it. I was not prepared for what happened when I went on a mandatory field trip for Biology 172 to Zzyzx, which is part of the Mojave Desert. The closest city was Baker California but the closest major city was Las Vegas, Nevada. The desert studies center was detached from the world. When the sun was low and the sky was bruised with darker color, I glanced away from my work to outside and saw a thin bead of colorful lights on the horizon. That was civilization. I had a thought that it would make a nice bokeh photo later, so I quickly finished my work and did my last field assignment (hunting scorpions with lights) so that I could retrieve my camera from my room.

Hours later, deep into the night, I realized that the only light was that of the recreation center that was always open for students to finish writing their reports. I looked down to flick my camera on, but the brightness of the screen instantly attracted the monstrously huge and ugly desert bugs, so I turned it off– but that was when I noticed something while staring at the ground.

I had a shadow.

This did not make sense to me for many seconds. I had walked out of the desert studies center for a quarter of a mile, and there was no light around me. The recreation center was blocked by many buildings between it and myself, so what little light it gave was negligible. How could I possibly have a shadow? Then it hit me that I was not walking blindly through the night. The vast, rocky landscape around me had such clarity– almost as if it was softly illuminated. I was still conscious that it was dark, but there was little ambiguity to what I was seeing. For the first time in my life, I experienced moonlight.

My company that stark, barren night in the warm desert was the full moon. Curious and excited, I contemplated walking miles towards the horizon to separate myself with whatever light was left from the studies center and the city of Baker. It would’ve been disastrous if I did, but I still had the desire to do so because I realized that it would be a long time before I would have the pleasure of enjoying the true nature of the moon again. But to even have that thought– to want to explore the night unfettered by darkness because the light of the moon gave me confidence, to miss the night and the moon instead of wishing it’ll pass sooner so that the new day would come– was completely new. What happened to my fear of the nocturnal? It was replaced by a sense of adventure and wonder. That by itself is quite powerful.

A lot of things suddenly made sense to me. Before, it was completely unfathomable that Lou could drive without lights on during the full moon. Before, I never understood epic castle escape scenes under full moons where the heroes were able to navigate and fend off enemies despite the shroud of black they were in. (The only kind of scenes that made sense to me, before Zzyzx, was escaping under the cover of darkness! I had personally experienced what it was like to be out in pitch black with nothing but the stars to guide you, thanks to sixth grade.) I, myself, could see everything for long distances just because of the subtle yet more than adequate illumination of the desert just from the moon.

I couldn’t help but think that it was a shame that this experience was something hidden from me for all these years, and I wished that there was some way I could share it with the rest of my city-dwelling familiars. I spent a lot of time out there by myself– well, not quite. I spent a lot of time out there with the moon. It was a good date.

Eventually, I ran into a classmate of myself who asked me what I was doing. All I could say was, “I know this may sound stupid, but I never realized how much light the moon gave off.” He laughed and said, “Yeah, she’s quite a beauty.”

These days, I find myself observing the sky more, and of course I eagerly look forward to every full moon. It may not be the same as wandering in the vast desert at 3AM, but the feelings of awe come back every time. Though I may not be over my fear of the night, I still walk just a bit taller because the moon takes away a just a bit of darkness as it reveals more of its face. With that, the night is less daunting.

Next Wednesday, there will be another full moon. I’ll be waiting.

A Day in My Life - October 19, 2009

My name is Colleen, and I’m a sophomore working on a Biological Science major along with a Single Subject Teaching credential at California State University, Fullerton. Here are 66 photos illustrating my October 19th–  just a cozy, little Monday to start off a busy, frantic week.

11:29AM

I wake up to the sound of my mother smacking my door. We were meant to meet up with my aunt for lunch at 12:30PM, and I had overslept. (I swear I’m wearing shorts!)

11:33AM

I wanted to stay in bed longer, but somehow Jay had sensed that I was awake and IMed me right at that moment. It got me out of bed, and I chatted with him in pieces while I tripped around my room trying to get my act together for the day.

11:33AM

I also couldn’t remember if I actually finished my homework the night before, but apparently I did. Go me!

11:35AM

I quickly get ready in the bathroom, because as soon as I’m finished…

11:37AM

It’s my sister’s turn. I give a few good raps upon her door and then go to my room to pick out some clothes.

11:37AM

Speaking of which, I really need to fold my clean laundry. It’s sitting a neglected pile. Ugh. I grab a few things and head out for a speedy shower.

11:39AM

But run into my partner in crime in the hallway. I figured I could take a few minutes to say good morning to the animals.

11:39AM

I follow my ten-year-old shih-tzu to my dad’s room to give her a few belly rubs.

11:40AM

I was pretty surprised to run into the cat, though. She didn’t seem to care much for me and my good morning head noogies.

11:42AM

For someone who’s supposed to be in a rush, I think I might have spent too much time spoiling my pets.

11:44AM

I was alarmed to see that a branch had fallen off the tree overnight.

11:45AM

Still appeared to be a fair day otherwise, though.

11:48AM

I go take a shower, but this was the last shot I was able to take before I was rushed out of the house to make the thirty minute drive to Rowland Heights.

1:00PM

We get there around 12:45PM, and it takes us a few minutes to get seated and pick our tea. Dim sum is my favorite.

1:00PM

Our lunch guests were my nephew Timothy… (that’s my mother on the left)!

1:01PM

… Along with my Aunt Mary, who is the grandmother of Timothy and the eldest sister of my mother.

1:08PM

The tea gets here, so we start to order. Never start before you get the tea!

1:13PM

Phoenix talons and shumai. Yum yum yum.

1:13PM

My older sister and my mom posing for the camera while we wait for the carts to squeakily wheel by with more steamed goods.

1:20PM

The filled table. We ended up ordering some fried noodles and chicken after this, and spend the afternoon chatting. At one point, Timothy disappeared and everything was chaos. He was found deliberately hiding from us, thinking it was a game.

2:07PM

I rushed a bit with my dessert, because it was going to be a twenty minute drive to school. I had class at three in the afternoon, and it’s always difficult to find parking.

2:43PM

Luckily, I get there and find parking right away. Phew! I snap a quick photo of myself since I had not taken one of my outfit yet, but I had to get going. I still have a bit of a trek before I get to my class.

2:46PM

The clouds looked a bit heavy… but still nice weather. It was a bit chilly, though.

2:49PM

McCarthy Hall! Time to go up…

2:50PM

… and up and up and up. The escalator only goes up four stories.

2:50PM

I still had two stories to climb by dragging myself up four flights of stairs. I was a bit tuckered out because I had briskly walked to McCarthy Hall, ran up the escalators, and now needed to scale the last two floors without any mechanical help. The food in my belly was making me sleepy, too!

2:56PM

I get to Chemistry 115 on time though, and get through about half an hour of lecture after I turn in my homework before I fell asleep on my desk. I didn’t miss anything because we were reviewing for the upcoming test that Friday, and I had done my homework in advanced so I was confident with the material.

4:04PM

I then had Chemistry Activity Lab, where we took a quiz and did some practice problems. I leave a message on my friend Marc’s wall to tell him that I forgot my cell phone during the morning rush, so if he needs me I’ll be in the McCarthy Hall computer lab.

4:40PM

An email was sent out to all Biology majors to go schedule mandatory advising. I had emailed my advisor weeks ago and she told me that she would be out of town, but to check the door for sign-ups when I can. When I get to her office, there’s no sign-up sheet. Guess she’s still out.

4:43PM

I climb two floors again to get to the computer lab, and stay there to study Calculus, Chemistry, and Biology. Marc comes in but falls asleep at a computer behind me, so I did not notice him until I was getting up to leave for Calculus at 5:30PM a floor down.

5:28PM

Marc gives me an apple flavored donut to help him finish.

5:29PM

He also shows me the blank icons and video background he put onto his iPhone. Marc was very proud because he cut the video himself.

5:30PM

It looks gorgeous, and he finally took off some applications too so he iPhone doesn’t lag anymore. We tinker around with it while talking about Tekken 6 until our professor arrives a smidge later than scheduled.

5:42PM

Time for a world of hurt. Our professor is brilliant, but I am having a rough time with the material. I’ll succeed eventually, though. It’ll just take some time.

6:46PM

During our break, I notice that the clouds looked amazing– especially when contrasting against the artificial light of the buildings. I make my way out onto the balcony and take photos, and the man standing next to me turns out to be into photography too. We talk about lenses until I have to get going.

6:49PM

I never found out his name, but class had resumed when I got back.

6:51PM

Marc and I tried to finish a bit more of the donut, but we were getting full.

7:25PM

He abandoned the rest to me and we went our separate ways after class.

7:27PM

It was so dark out. I didn’t take the time to focus because I was shivering and wanted to get to my car fast.

7:36PM

Done with my school day! Even though it’s only two classes, it runs five hours. I did not bother hiding the fatigue in my face. There was a lot of work waiting for me at home, even though I got a headstart on it at the computer lab.

8:01PM

When home, I realize that we suddenly have two Xbox 360′s. And one of them an Elite one too. What the heck?

8:01PM

Oh, it’s Sebastian. Sebastian is my sister’s boyfriend, and he had brought his system over for some reason. My mom was overseeing him doing the dishes. Dinner was already over.

8:03PM

My sister was putting on her contacts when I got upstairs. She and her boyfriend left to watch Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

8:08PM

A dear friend texts me while I clean my room, and we have a short conversation while I fix up my room.

8:20PM

In no time at all, my room is nice and clean.

8:22PM

A quick snap of what I was wearing underneath my coat.

8:29PM

My sister and her boyfriend get lost on their way to the theater, so she calls me to confirm the directions.

8:30PM

My mom makes me a bit of egg for dinner.

8:30PM

I fix up a quick salad.

8:33PM

Dinner is a bit quiet for me because my mom goes on the phone with her friends. No matter, though, I was sorting through what I had to do for homework and studying that night while I ate.

8:53PM

I jam a bit of toast for dessert.

8:56PM

Then take it to my room to finish while I study.

9:04PM

I go on cam to chat in Tinychat.

9:15PM

Then I finally feel like I’m starting to relax when Lou IMs me about my day. I always feel better after I go through my thoughts a little. It’s why I keep a journal.

9:21PM

My dad gets home and my mom insists that we eat a bit with him, so I have a bite of fish and some greens.

9:23PM

I added a little more green for flavor. Mmm, wasabi.

10:03PM

I get back to Calculus as soon as I’m finished with my food, though.

11:02PM

When it starts to get late, I take out my contacts, wash my face, and brush my teeth.

11:23PM

More Calculus must be done, though. I need to make sure I do well in the class.

11:37PM

I burn out as it gets closer to midnight though, and start writing an entry about how tired I was. Meanwhile, I gave some advice to Jasper on personal things.

12:11AM

I become a bit thoughtful and start pondering quotes with Lou. He’s playful about it, and it brightens me up considerably. I’m not a negative person, but I was pretty exhausted because I didn’t have a good night’s sleep the night before.

1:15AM

I do a bit of job hunting to stay on top of the listings now that I had an extra surge of energy.

1:16AM

Lou went to sleep soon after, so he wasn’t there to keep me energetic. I did a little tinkering with my Livejournal entries, and then I imported some entries I forgot to crosspost into Dreamwidth.

1:18AM

It’s getting pretty late, though… I notice that my phone’s clock is off by a few minutes before I go to bed. Calculus can be resumed tomorrow.

1:20AM

So I finally clock out with some cuddly buddies at 1:20AM. I had things I needed to do, but they could be finished tomorrow. It was time to let it all go for a few hours.

I slept well.

95mph…

100mph…

I should stop; but that seems impossible now that blood is rushing through my veins. As cliché as it would sound, I wanted to go even further. To once again relive those moments when blood courses through my veins as each mile goes by me in a few seconds. It may seem to appear as if I am romanticizing my driving experience too much to some but this is my gateway towards my sanity, a catharsis if you may. How long has it been since I last had a taste of that feeling? Long enough, I sometimes forget that I am in her car whenever I hold my hand against the steering wheel whenever I am to drive. I live a pretty simple life now and I am quite contented about that. Driving a mediocre vehicle is something to be thankful about especially in these times—not to mention after I have lost one of my dearest possessions because of my neglect.

Alas I am just human and would always want more than the ordinary.

I knew deep inside of me that I wanted to take the opportunity to go back to my old ways and get my interests  drive me with my everyday life—but I’m a changed man now even if regret is a bitter mistress.

I never wanted to be branded as anything else than just a driver. I was never fond when people come up to me and tell me “Oh Lou, you drift right?”, “So I’ve heard you like driving fast on the freeway”, “I’ve heard that you’ve a got a ticket for street racing (which is completely erroneous)” and get branded as a drifter, racer, etc Because I simply am not and I certainly do not count myself as one. I just drive for the experience of seeing places in a different speed and of course to have a bit of thrill in the process. Believe it or not, I am one of the safest drivers within one of my group of friends. While my other friends get into accidents and tickets, I for one have no moving violations and have not encountered one accident; I believe that would say a lot for a person who others deem to be nothing else but another reckless driver.

110mph..

120mph…

130mph…

Traffic wasn’t as heavy as usual back in the 91 as I expected since it was rather early when we headed home so I thought to myself to go for more because I believed in Colleen’s car. I knew that it may be a bit outdated but it still has potential and I had a feeling that it would be its first time to be driven this way in a long time. I may not have driven this long enough but I was confident that it was possible. As I further heavy my foot to the pedal we accelerated. At that moment I felt that strange feeling of control and freedom when we near 140mph. I told Colleen to get the camera ready to take a picture when it hits 140mph because we would lose a bit of speed when we approach a small curve on the freeway. It was misfortunate that she wasn’t quick enough to set it up so we ended up with this….

It's like my foot was stuck to the pedal

As we approached the end of the freeway I was trembling. Not from fear but from disbelief. How could I have done that? It was not as fast as my old car Impulse but it came somewhat near to the median speed of it and I had a feeling that with a few more tweaks it could come even closer. I was happy that I get the feel of that once more but I fear that it might consume me once again. I’ve spent most of my time and money with Impulse before and it all went away because of my neglect—how am I sure it won’t happen again when right after hitting 140mph the only thought I had was to plan and buy a new car by next year and tweaking it once more.

Right now, all I could think about is that if I am condemning myself once again to another set of disappointment.