Sunday, August 30, 2009

El Fin De Semana! Ole!

     So, all things considered (you know, the whole being away from home and family bit), my first weekend as an officially moved-out individual was excellent! Yesterday, Saturday, I had a very nice lunch with Chris :). Our original destination, Three Cheeses and A Noodle, was closed (sad face!), so we went to another little place called IQ Fresh (happy face!) which serves myriad (thanks, Ms. Taylor!) salads,wraps, and smoothies. I had a strawberry/peach/banana smoothie, which was amazing, a Greek chicken wrap, and some fries. The wrap was good while I was eating it, but the dressing was really strong and by the time I got back to my room I had, along with my huge order of fries, a mad order of stomachache :(.
     After a lazy nap, around 4 I went over to Christen's place (where else would I find rascally shenanigans to get into around here! ;D) where we watched Brad Pitt run around in sexy Greek armor, Eric Bana kick butt (and then get his butt handed right back to him), and Orlando Bloom cower in fear like a sniveling...well, coward (honestly, I extremely dislike his character in Troy! Selfish royalty types.) Then, for lack of anything more exciting to do in what I'm continuing to discover is BORING Tucson, we headed down to University for dinner. After stopping at Paradise to see Garrick (who we got extremely upset with since he wouldn't come out with us [homework?? Working?? What foreign concepts are these???] and then promptly forgave [hey, what else would you do when a wonderful friend hands you a bag FULL of free cookies and muffins??], we decided on eating at No Anchovies.
    So, as a result of our laziness and desire to eat at a restaurant that would singularly replace all of the fat and calories we burn every day during the week at the gym, I had some of the most delicious pizza ever! Good deals, too! So Christen and I ate our pizza, watched football (it was not my night), and had some amazingly stimulating conversation about faith and religion :). I enjoyed myself immensely, especially when, after I declared that the Cowboys are in my top five teams, Christen exasperatedly slammed her hand down on the table-- flipping the cup of ranch up and over into her face and hair. SO MANY LAUGHS.... hahaha.
     Then, after Katrina and I had both settled into our pj's and decided we were in for the night, we both got bored. This started around midnight... so we decided to go do our laundry! (Of course-- what other logical decision would come up?!) Never have I ever had so much fun doing laundry! We talked, and giggled, and danced, and met a very cute guy! It was fabulous. This productiveness was followed by more talking and giggling in our room, until the very reasonable hour of four AM. :) Quite excellent, no?
     Today, my friend Zach from a few of my classes came over at 10 AM (HIS choice, not mine... OBVIOUSLY.) so we could finish a couple of assignments for Chemistry. We finished a little after 11, and then, a little after noon, I was presented with a fabulous surprise! My amazing mommy and sister drove all the way down from Mesa to take me out to lunch!! I was completely taken aback-- SO not expecting it! Anyways, we went to the Macaroni Grill. It was simply wonderful-- we had soooo many good laughs, and the food was phenominal. We had fried mozzarella for our appetizer, I had bowtie pasta with mushrooms and chicken in an asiago cheese sauce, and tiramisu (my favorite!!!) for dessert!
     After dropping me off back at my room, they left, and after a couple of hours chatting with Chel and Kailey (her roommate), I totally hunkered down! I got so much work done, and now I'm free to spend the rest of my evening relaxing :). I don't have class until noon tomorrow (I never thought I'd say this, but I love Mondays :] ), so it will be pretty laid back too. I might stop and get some coffee before class... I do believe I'm starting to warm up to college :).
     Buenas noches.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Hot chai lattes at 11:30 at night when it's 100 degrees outside... I'm a smart cookie!

     Today was a very nice, relaxed day. Didn't have my first class until 11, which was nice. I slept incredibly soundly last night... so wierd. When my alarm went off at 9:30 I couldn't believe it was already time to wake up... I didn't even realize I fell asleep! Katrina and I stay up so late talking and giggling to each other quite often... last night was one of multiples that we fell asleep talking about silly girl things. I really enjoy living with her... she's so nice, and we have so many similar qualities about us... all in all, I definitely got blessed with a really good roommate :).
     My first class today was Honor's Quest... this year it's going to be all about how we create ourselves through memory. All of my other classes this year are so basic (I mean, compared to the accelerated Honors and AP levels I've been used to all my life) that I get frustrated with the rudimentary quality of the things we do, but this Quest class is going to be a nice transportation back into the intellectual level that I'm so fondly used to. It's going to be quite a lot of work, but I welcome it... I'm very excited to see the course it takes.
     Nothing noteworthy about Chemistry or Calculus. After class I went to visit my buddy Zach who also lives in my hall. His room is very "chill-guy-pad"-esque. He has this HUGE bean bag-- I guess it's called a Love Sack?-- but honest to blog my right hand in the air, it was THE most comfortable thing I've ever laid on! He played me some really good music and it was so relaxing that I almost fell asleep! Haha. But after our nice little visit I went out to dinner with Christen. We had no idea where we wanted to eat initially, so we just walked down University and, after much wierdness (some odd fraternity shenanigans were going on, we walked right past a hookah bar, and some creepy kids tried to scare us into joining their church), we decided on this awesome little Mexican place called La Salsa. There was a salsa bar in there with 8 delicious different kinds of salsa (shocker!) and Christen had a fabulous taco salad, and my chicken quesadilla was phenominal! It was a very good dinner.
     Then, since we were silly hungry and had decided to eat before we went to work out, we took the long way back to my dorm to walk off the bloating. Christen tripped over the sidewalk and I dribbled tea down my chin, and after I got changed we headed to Christen's dorm. Whitney and Breanna came over, and after a bit of football (Cards and Redskins, you have let me down tonight. I am quite ashamed of you both.)-- and, might I add, a bit of yelling on mine and Christen's part-- we headed to the gym. Again, excellent workout :).
     When I got home, Katrina was going through all of her clothes, organizing them such, so we had a nice little roommate fashion show, trying on each others' clothes and shoes and giggling about how someday we're going to get all dolled up and go out on the town and pick up random fellas... it was good fun! Then we went to Highland Market, where Katrina got a delicious breakfast burrito (hooray for 24-hour food markets!) and I got a chai latte... I've never had to tell the barista how to make my drink before. It was unsettling, but after a bit of excellent direction on my part and one serious overflow on his, he finally got the darn latte right.
     Then of course, having the silly girl day that we've had, Katrina and I played MASH. I'm going to live in a mansion in Los Angeles with my gorgeous husband Taylor Lautner, and I will be driving an Aston Martin Vanquish. Life's good :).
     Tomorrow commences my first weekend spent here in Tucson alone... wish me luck! I'm going out to lunch at Three Cheese and a Noodle with Chris Petty. Good times and remember whens shall commence!
     Buona notte.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Ryanhood and ness.

     Once again, another lovely day :). Didn't have class until 9:30, so naturally I woke up at 9:10...lol. After that class, which was my Chem review class or whatever I suppose it's called (I should probably dub it something for clarification, yeah?) I went aaaaaaaall the way to the Gittings builing at the complete opposite end of campus... And I suppose this would be a bad thing, except I was riding my bike, the weather was lovely, I think that side of campus is beautiful, and it was only 10:30 so there was hardly anyone around! Once I got there I had to wait a bit to see my advisor because he had some silly girl in his office who kept changing her mind (literally while I was there) about whether she wanted to switch her Physiology major to Psychology or not. After about half an hour of supreme annoyance on my part (I could have made the bloody decision for her and it would have been just as well) I finally got in to see the advisor... and BOY did he help me out a lot! He gave me so much information that I didn't already have (thanks a lot, Honors College. Suck it.) about graduating with honors, and when I told him my concerns about a class I had been enrolled in and didn't want to take but was interested in the one (yeah... a class that required a T-Rex sized workload for one bloody Honors unit) credit... he took one look at my 18-unit schedule and told me I should drop the class right then and there. Which is what I wanted... yay for having personalized puzzle pieces in life!
     My other two classes were pretty much uneventful... although I do think I failed my first "review" math exam. Simple algebra, my ASS... "Five tee squared four to the infinity power ex why ninety seven kitty kitty lick lick solve for tee when there's a million other variables in the way" is NOT exactly what I would consider simple algebra. But of course, then it was over and I didn't care anymore. Ha.
    So after I got back to my dorm and Katrina left for her 5 o'clock class and I was doodling around on the internet with nothing to do, Christen calls with wonderful news! Apparently there was a welcome back barbeque on the Mall that I was completely unaware of... but Christen said "free concert" and I was out the door with my bag and keys. There was something about free Chick-a-filla, but I wasn't too interested in that... for some reason I wasn't hungry? Which hardly ever happens... anyways, I had some delicous sweet tea and Christen and I sat in the audience and watched this AMAZING band that I had never heard of before, called "Ryanhood"! They're a duo who sings and plays guitar-- Ryan Green and Cameron Hood. Get it? Get it? Heheheeee....
    The point is, they were phenomenal. Seriously.... new favorite band in the hiz-ouuuuuse! I got their CD and t-shirt and everything, and they gave me a pretty sweet poster, too. They have to records previous to the one I got, so I'm definitely considering iTunes-ing it up in here. I've never loved a band so much right from the get-go before... So I must be right and they must be simply fantastic :). You should check them out... Go. Right now.
    So after said amazing concert, Christen and I went to the gym (of course) but Bre had a bunch of homework. So Christen and I stationary-biked it for an hour, which felt incredible! And then when I got back, suddenly people in my hall decided to start being friendly and two people just had to have me over to their rooms! Which was fine, but it was already 9:30 and I was hungry and needed to shower... but nevertheless I went and had a jolly bit of fun :).
    Then, after I ate my delicious microwaved Ziti with Meat Sauce bowl, I went to take a shower, and when I finished there were two other girls in the bathroom and we just chatted a little bit while we were getting ready for bed... well, apparently the bathroom has super-ninja-echo-powers, because even though we were talking at our usual volumes, Rachel (our lovely RA) came into the bathroom and told us she could hear us all the way down the hall! Yipes! So after our bathroom scolding (we were definiely in violation of quiet hours...) I watched cute videos of kittens on YouTube and then became tired. So now I am going to read Christen's paper and then go sleeeeeep!
     Auf wiedersehen.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Trois.

     So, having a four-hour-long Chemistry lab at 8 o'clock in the morning is absolutely ungodly. Actually, having a four-hour-long Chemistry lab at any time of the day is ungodly, so I suppose that's enough about that. Thank goodness it was the first day, though... TA-From-Colombia-With-A-Very-Heavy-Accent-That-Is-VERY-Difficult-To-Understand-I-Teach-You-Nothing-You-Learn-Everything-My-Name-Is-Alejandro let us out an hour early :). Which left me ample time to head back home, make some delightfully strong Hawaiian coffee (because duh... where else would I get my coffee from?), eat some breakfast, and take a teeeeeeny nappy nap.
     La clase de espanol was breezy...again...I have a feeling that's what it's going to be like aaaaaall year. Which, right hand up, I have absolutely no qualms with. *insert cheesy, under-achiever smile here.* But seriously... the actual Spanish lesson is soooo simple to me, where it takes the other students quite longer to grasp, and our "project" today made me giggle. But of course, my other classes are going to require buckets of legwork, so I figured I might as well maintain the one no-brainer class I ended up with.
   This was my second day eating Panda this week for lunch... Makes me miss Hillary and all our crazy after-Pulse shenanigans :(. Anyways, I wasn't even planning on having it, but as soon as I walked into the Union and saw that Panda was the only place open with absolutely no one in their line (when does that EVER happen?!) I knew it was fate :). So, back in my dorm, half a carton of orange chicken and three cream cheese rangoons later, the drama of the day commenced. My laptop seriously WIGGED out... I've never been so scared for any of my precious technology before in my life! I won't go into the gritty details, but fixing the problem did entail one very scared phonecall to my wonderful Grandpa about my computer (since I am completely tech-no-go) and one less scared but more money-concious call to my mommy later, and an almost-two-hour-long phonecall with HP Tech Support (thanks for the number, Mama!! :D), my beloved laptop was cured. AND, may I add, I was on hold with stupid tech support for the majority of that darned call! On the up side, the guy who finally helped me fix el problema was working out of INDIA! How cool is that? "Hey Nalani, whadya do today?" "Oh, nothing. You know, freaked out about my broken computer, talked to a guy in India on the phone..." Haha.
     Gym tonight was excellent as well! Instead of those accursed stair-climber-devil's-toys we did yesterday, we spent almost an hour today riding the stationary bikes and doing reading for our classes (oh yes-- simultaneously!). It was quite an excellent arrangement! Rode 16 miles on a bike, read two chapters for class... can I get a woot woot? Needless to say, we felt amazing afterwards.
     Since I was on such a good-body-high after the gym, I decided to eat healthily for dinner tonight, so I ordered a sub and a pickle from Jimmy John's, which I have been dying to do since I got the flyer!! Now, the following includes absolutely no exaggeration-- I ordered my food, and litereally two minutes later, the guy showed up at my dorm with my order! It was amazing, and the food was simple delicious. It was fantastic :).
     Then there was a little family drama-rama about this awful class that I don't want to take, but I don't particularly want to divulge the nitty gritty because it makes me feel less exuberant. And I'm going to get it all worked out tomorrow... which means I need my beauty sleep!
    Au revoir.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

El Dia Numero Dos: Class, Coffee, Working Out, Paradise. Good :).

     Today was actually an extremely satisfying day... I didn't realize that the good times would come rolling in so soon! Of course, I've been miserable these past many days, but yesterday was alright, and today was even better. Class started off nicely at 9:30, and continued with extremely agreeable breaks in between the three. I'm very satisfied with the way my Calculus class has started off-- hopefully it will stay that way! After Spanish, which ended at one, I went to the bookstore to get new pens (because I'm sure some of you know how particular I am about my pens!), which was a success, but I also unexpectedly found a really pretty poster for my room! It's a picture of the beach, very serene, and at the bottom in a breathy font it says "breathe." I thought it was extremely appropriate (I'm sure some of you also recognize the consistency with which I STRESS myself the HECK out). I love it, and so does my roommate, which is always a plus. The poster strangely matches her side of the room... I offered to have her put it up on her side, since it matches so well, but she gracefully declined :).
     Anyways, after the bookstore, which took forever until I grew some brains and went to a different checkout (ha... I'm only smart sometimes, I guess...), I went outside to head back to my dorm when, lo and behold-- A POSTER FAIR!!!! It was magical, amazing, fanTASMIC! haha... There were SO many excellent posters, and I had a grand time flipping through them all-- with no intention of buying another, of course. *starts in ominous story book voice* But then, as I'm flipping through a section of music and movie posters, there, RIGHT before my eyes, appears RENT!!!! I was SO bloody excited, I pulled that poster out of it's sleeve so fast you'da thought I was Dash. (Incredibles, anyone?) So this simply amazing stroke of luck only cost five bucks, so of course I bought it :). Now it's cheerily reminding me that there really is "No day but today." Simply excellent :).
     To continue to add to the wonderful day I was already having (and it wasn't even three o'clock yet!) I decided to whip out my awesome hot pot, boil me some water (it boiled in seriously less than a minute! I was amazed), and have a Cup O' Noodles :). Welcome to college, eh? Anyways, it was delicious, and I got most of my Chemistry reading done (which is saying something, since I had a ton). I then decided to ride my new pretty pink bicycle to Calculus, which was grrrrreat! I seriously got there in two minutes. Even though a guy on a motorcycle almost ran me over... showoff. Calculus was good, and then I headed back to the dorms and did some work. Then, at about seven, I headed over the Pinal and met up with Christen and Breanna and we all went to the gym, which, by the way, I did not even know was right across the street from my dorm!! Duh... We had an awesome workout on the stair-stepper thing-ma-bobs, did some crunches, and reveled in our sweaty disgustingness. It was so fun, we decided to do it every night! Ha... ambitious, right? Then, Breanna headed back to their dorm to do some homework and Christen and I walked down to University Blvd. and stopped and Paradise Bakery for dinner! Good old Garrick works there, so we chatted with him for a little while, then took our salads to a bar table and enjoyed them and our riveting conversation until they kicked us out at 9:30 (half an hour past closing! ha!). I was really just incredible. It was so good to get to know her better, and we had so many things to relate us to each other and to talk about. I haven't talked that much since, I don't know when! We laughed and giggled like little teenage girls... it was simply fantastic.
     So that was pretty much my day... Katrina's gotten in bed now, so I should probably do the same... up bright and early for class tomorrow :(.
     Ciao.

Monday, August 24, 2009

My Life As A Freshman, Take Two.

So, today was the my first official day of COLLEGE! I had three classes... Espanol, Chem, and Calc. I suppose there isn't anything more interesting to say about those topics, since it's, well... school. The havoc of class-finding and heat-stroking continues tomorrow, but opposed to the nice noon o'clock start I had today, my first class begins instead at the crisper, but still very reasonable, hour of 9:30.
I've been having an incredibly hard time adjusting to what most just-graduated-ers think is just fabulous. I was uber excited to start this new phase of my life back when it was summer and I was sitting around at home and knew that I wasn't in high school any more, but then when I got here, and the fascination with my surroundings and the giddiness that accompanied all of my nice new college-life things faded away, I seriously freaked out. The "I want to go home RIGHT now" thought never left my mind, and my cry-baby inclinations probably met their zenith. I'm getting more and more used to it, but it's still extremely difficult to be this far (even thought it's really not that far) away from home. I miss my mom so much...
I suppose the difficulty I've been having has it's own guilty origins. Growing up under a Hawaiian discipline is such a different way of life than the social norm. I was taught that family is everything- without family, no matter how much money you have or how far you get in your education or how cool your iPod is, you have nothing. And being away from the warmth and comfort of my own wonderfully loving family scared the evalibanim out of me. (Dane Cook, anyone?) I've been so blessed with such an incredible family- I could have never asked for anything more. I know that as many hardships I will ever face in my life, I'll always have them... and I suppose that the "We're leaving you here by yourself" undertone of the whole move itself scrapped my previously bloated confidence. I do think that my family was just as nervous about leaving me as I was, and my mommy calls me just about as much as I call her... which I am not embarrassed to say is more than often. The fact that I hardly know anyone, which is a huge change from my high-school-social-butterfly status, has also been making it particularly lonely. I did get blessed with a very agreeable roommate, though- she and I get along very well and so far haven't had any qualms about anything. Hopefully it stays that way- which I'm sure it will :).
The flurry of starting school has kept me nicely distracted from my snifflies, but now I have to worry about a bigger stress than being away from home: going to SCHOOL! Haha.