okay, so instead of actually doing homework right now, it’s time to update the blog!! woohoo!!
it is now week 2 of winter quarter. still being at ucla is very strange. I feel so old compared to the freshies littering the campus, with their super-cheery attitudes and know-it-all-ness. i remember i used to be like that way back when! I wouldn’t say “i know better” now, but i guess i’ve just changed a little bit. or maybe i’m just getting old and bitter! oh no!!
anyway, it’s nice being back in school sorta. the california sunshine is nice, especially compared to spending 3 weeks in the frosty uk. what’s really crazy is that i can still remember being in 2 layers of thermals, a sweater, wool socks, and an arctic down jacket just two weeks ago, and now i’m running around in spaghetti straps and sandals! not that i mind being in the nice weather! I can feel myself slowly trading in my “oh, it’s not cold here AT ALL!” sentiment for, “brr! turn on the heater, it’s 60 degrees!” i’m just hoping i can at least make it through the winter without starting up with those complaints.
school is going okay. weirdest of fates, i’m taking a class with ben marschke, who TA’d for a class with professor sabean I took with thomas waaay back when. he’s actually a pretty cool guy when you’re talking with him rationally and like a normal person instead of about your grade. oi. i’m also retaking anthro 7 this quarter, which is forcing me to push away cobwebs from my memories from 10th grade biology (god bless ms. saunders!). of all the classes i could have screwed up in, this was the class that got me in trouble so long ago. and I think it had something to do with not doing homework or something and playing too much with aphio my junior year. luckily, the part of the book that completely infuriated me with its inaccuracies that year was also changed/revised, and it reads much better now! that’s one less barrier.
ran into gus and jason kwong on campus yesterday. it’s kind of nice to see gus around, even if it is in passing. I had a class with him two years ago, and I we did one study session together with his friends, and I came away from it having a lot of respect for the man. very funny, very smart. also very different from the kind of people I usually hang out with, so that made him interesting too. i think he’s the only latino friend i’ve really made here, and one of only two gay people i’ve befriended. And this isn’t so much about me being an asian girl who’s unwilling to meet other races, or one who’s not openminded to other sexual orientations, but it’s funny that diversity sort of takes effort to happen. like, if i follow my interests in asian music or entertainment or alt-indie music, then i just end up being more likely to meet asians and whites than latinos or blacks. I manage to find myself in asian-majority groups, like alpha phi omega (at ucla) or in the website department at electronic media. which makes me wonder… people are sort of inert and follow their interests. some people tend to find interests that lead them to meet different people; others do not. and with those people, you have to put a rock in their way or something for them to notice, you know? looking back, i see the subconscious decisions i made that led me to have the friends/know the people i know now…
eric pong is one helluva guy. i miss him, but i’m not really sure how to call him up and say hi. that’s definitely one thing i wish i were better at: getting back in touch with old friends. he sent me a few photos from when we were in college together — stuff from formal my sophomore year, wen’s birthday, and a couple of other things. they brought back a wonderful flood of memories from ‘back in the day.’ it sort of made me sad looking back, though. looking at old pictures just has a way of doing that…
maybe i should try to get back into things, eh? get back in touch with some people? maybe.