Easter California Style

Easter California style means 75 + degree weather and the first time I wore a real sun dress to Easter Mass. It means spending the entire afternoon on the beach (and getting a little sunburn which I don't even mind) then sitting on my porch in a tank top and shorts until 6:30, and then catching a movie by myself and a bag of Reeses Pieces. The movie was Juno and I looooved it and also (for the first time) enjoyed going to a movie by myself. Okay, I only went one other time and the movie was bad, but still. I will take it as an accomplishment.

All these years being away from home, okay like two other years :), I tried to re-create an Easter dinner. In Ohio, I went to Jordan's and had a Polish Easter which was fun but not home. Last year, I tried to have an Easter dinner here which just made me homesick. This year I let go keeping only Mass (the most important part) and tried to enjoy what California had to offer. It was wonderful. And it definitely helped to talk to my parents and one of my aunts, but it also helps knowing I will be home in just a few short California days.

And now?
All along, I was just trying to get through Friday. Friday was the take-Anne-to-the-airport-movers-come-turn-in-final-paper-Finals-day. I made it through Friday-woo hoo! and now am realizing some important next steps. But before I do, getting to Friday was also half the fun.
1. I successfully wrote a 21 page paper in three days. I am kind of proud of it, to be honest, and proud that I could write so much under pressure. These three days were not even all dayers I had tried to pull in the past, just a very concentrated number of hours.

2. Big Sur Camping. By far it was one of the best things I have done in California. I was nervous and the first night I was freezing, but I am hooked now. With the right equipment or right alternatives (all the contents of my bag strewn under my sleeping bag instead of a foam mat), camping rocks. Check out some of the pictures below.

3. Going to Crush Cakes, a bakery that only sells cupcakes. After telling Anne about it like five times, she finally persuaded me to go. :) Cupcake shops and chocolate suckers exist in the world I want to live in, I don't know about you.

4. The flurry of packing. At first, I folded everything neatly and really cared about what went in each box. By the end, I was so frantic that I was literally throwing things into boxes and ended the night by taping the same empty box shut twice in a row. The first time I told Anne and we laughed. The second time all she heard was an oh sh#$, I did it again. Then we both knew it was time for me to stop. So I did.

I was actually too successful in packing so much that I had to buy a few new shirts, because all I had really salvaged was workout clothes. I also packed one of my pieces of luggage, perhaps I will do some more shopping this weekend. Those are my yay me's for the week or weeks leading up to this. Now I guess I concentrate on cleaning up the apartment before tomorrow and enjoying as much California sun as possible.

And (knock on wood), I am finally healthy. It only take a little over four weeks to kick that flu. Note to self: Next year, get a flu shot.

Here are the pics:

I had Banana Foster, Ashley got a crushcake (which was red velvet cake with a creamy frosting), and Anne got a Drunken Leprechaun. We divied them into thirds and tried them all. Yummmmm.

Let's Qualify That

My haircut does not make me look like Punky Brewster. I do not have bangs or pigtails.

I got my hair done today and was told by my hairdresser and her assistant that I look JUST like Punky Brewster. All I need me are some mismatched high tops and colorful socks.

West Coast Reality

After our workout during tri-class, I joined the group for stretching. Without at first realizing it, I looked up and saw I was leaning on a palm tree during my hamstring stretch. I looked over the track and to the ocean and thought, wow. My reality is going to change very abruptly and very quickly.
Palm trees and the ocean will soon be replaced by pine trees and snow. Which pairing will seem the most exotic? And how will that change in a year or two?

Ready Steady Go was Down to the Wire

I went to a dinner tonight and I actually felt invisible. I felt like I didn't exist, like I somehow was not present. It was very strange. As I sat there unnoticed, I began to think of how far a year can take you.
My friends have changed, the path of life has changed (uncertainty being the light at the end of the tunnel), and my goals have changed.
Who knows what will happen in another year? Or another...

One funny moment (only to me apparently) was when graduate student A said to the group, so and so professor wants to get feedback on the department. S/he thinks that morale may not be very high.
That's the understatement of the year. Just because 4 out of the 5 2006 class are leaving the program?! No, I am sure all the graduate students are really happy.

On a lighter note, I have recently rented movies. I haven't done this in awhile and it was strangely liberating and fun. I picked out the movies I wanted to see without having to check with anyone else. Here they are with the appropriate grade.

The Namesake- A-
I loved it actually and thought it was incredibly beautiful. I also never knew what to expect with the shots and length of shots. I definitely want to read the book, there were so many really good stories intertwined. The minus is only because I reached a point of wondering when it was going to end. It seemed the story ended but the movie persisted. Maybe the grade will improve after I read the book.

Elizabeth I Golden Age- B
It seemed they crammed a whole lot of history into one movie and didn't develop some of the really interesting parts. For example, they didn't do justice with the Mary Stuart's execution- history is so much cooler than the film! Also, though I consider myself knowledgeable about this time period and Queen Elizabeth, even I was lost at times.

The Simpsons- A
It met my expectations which were a great dealer lower than those of the Elizabeth film. It was what it was. An extended television show.

Once- C
I didn't finish it. I saw my Oscar award winning song and then I just didn't care about the characters. I might get attacked for this, but I realized I would rather be working on my Caribbean paper (or ehm, writing a blog entry) and turned it off.