Halfway Through it All
Finished with first summer session! Hurray. I'm pretty proud of myself... I worked extremely hard in these two classes and the short time I had to do the work, and I can honestly say I'm somewhat optimistic about how I did in both classes. We shall see however... grades won't be out for a few weeks I think.
So yeah, relieved to be done with that. I absolutely loved the Community class (shame I had to miss a week when in Vegas... not that I didn't love Vegas!), and it was probably one of the toughest classes I've taken at UCR simply because of the professor's teaching style--very laid back, but really intense on the critical thinking and reading load. So it was tough, but it was a nice challenge and I enjoy having to use my brain to figure things out and connect things rather than memorize bullshit.
Annnnd Monday, I start another session. Monday through Thursday 9:40-12:30pm. Not too bad of a schedule I suppose. This session should be a little easier, but that'll really depend on my English class and the TA in there. Looking forward to the anthro class on the Mayans! ha.
In the meantime, I've had a crazy-busy, but fun-filled weekend thus far!
Friday night (tired as I was from an early final and not getting much sleep) I went with Nicole to meet up with Adrienn, who was meeting up with her friend Aubre (*ahem* Aubre as in www.aubredance.com, FitTV, and BDSS) and Aubre's friend (so.. five ladies, lol) at The Edison in downtown LA. Oh, my goodness. I'm going to try to keep it brief, but basically The Edison is the most beautiful, drool-worthy bar I've ever been to... it's like my wet dream, is the best way to explain it. My wet dream being all things vintage (and I mean turn-of-the-century vintage, not 80s), art nouveau, art deco, 1920s/1930s, steampunky glamour. Essentially, it's a swanky bar/lounge (with a slightly older crowd, not that I minded) recapturing historical downtown LA/old hollywood elegance. I can't even begin to go into the awesome details--ok, I have to throw in two: the "green" fairy girl that goes around the lounge towing cute potion-sized bottles of vintage liquor and absinthe (!), and the silent films projected on different walls--but yeah. So it was fantastic just to check the place out and get dressed up, but it was even more fantastic getting to meet Aubre and her friend Eden, who were both really fun and down-to-earth, and we all really just had a great time chatting, dancing a bit, exploring, and enjoying a drink or two. We also left around 1am and went over to a cute eatery in Little Tokyo because Aubre was hungry, where we enjoyed some delicious Japanese food and hilarious conversation. Great way to end the ladies' night. :D
As for today, I accompanied Matthew, his grandmother, and brother to his aunt's wedding reception! It was the Japanese side of the family (Matt's 1/4 Japanese; his father and aunts/uncles are all 1/2 Japanese), which I've never actually met before aside from his grandmother, so I was really excited to meet his aunt and all his family there. The reception was at his aunt's house in Belmont Heights of Long Beach, which is a really nice area (and his aunt lives in a really nice house as a result!). It was a bit awkward at first because Matthew's grandmother insisted that he give me, a stranger, a tour of her house haha, because the place is so beautifully decorated and modeled with how they've changed it up. But Matt's aunt is really sweet and laid back, so it was fine and she didn't think it weird (I hope). It's an older house, so they kept a lot of the old feel to it like old-school locks and knobs on the doors, and freaking gorgeous bathrooms, one with a clawfooted porcelain tub (I swooned), but the place was generally beautiful simply because it's the style I'd go for had I the means and the money to do that.
His aunt, her husband, and Matt's cousin were all really nice, down-to-earth people... too bad they were the only family of his I got to meet really as his other relatives couldn't make it, so it was just friends of the bride and groom. But the food was amazing and there was an open bar, so that was put to use lol. Walked down to the beach (10 minute walk), chatted and hung out with the young 'uns (Matt's brother, 16-year-old cousin and her friend and boyfriend), drank good wine and good food. So yeah, we had a great time. ;)
Oh! And because his aunt is a scuba diver (for a living, well, more or less), Matthew and I want to get diving certified and she's going to help us do that for, uh.. free. :D So that's pretty awesome I think; scuba diving would be rad. I'm also going to look into volunteering for the non-profit connected with his aunt's work, which does ocean conservation and public education on reefs, the oceans, and all that great stuff. I need to start volunteering somewhere, and I'd love to do something while helping the environment. :)
Anyhoodle.. yeah, so, great weekend so far! Tiring, but lovely. It feels good to be done with half of my classes for the summer, and not be too worried about how I did in them. It's great to let loose not because I'm trying to forget about how royally I messed things up, but because I deserve a break after putting in hard work. But I am still checking online constantly to see if grades are posted. Can't help it! :P
Alas, I'm exhausted and still need to catch up on sleep. My mom is still not home from where ever she went tonight. Hmm, better call her. Anyway, night!
So yeah, relieved to be done with that. I absolutely loved the Community class (shame I had to miss a week when in Vegas... not that I didn't love Vegas!), and it was probably one of the toughest classes I've taken at UCR simply because of the professor's teaching style--very laid back, but really intense on the critical thinking and reading load. So it was tough, but it was a nice challenge and I enjoy having to use my brain to figure things out and connect things rather than memorize bullshit.
Annnnd Monday, I start another session. Monday through Thursday 9:40-12:30pm. Not too bad of a schedule I suppose. This session should be a little easier, but that'll really depend on my English class and the TA in there. Looking forward to the anthro class on the Mayans! ha.
In the meantime, I've had a crazy-busy, but fun-filled weekend thus far!
Friday night (tired as I was from an early final and not getting much sleep) I went with Nicole to meet up with Adrienn, who was meeting up with her friend Aubre (*ahem* Aubre as in www.aubredance.com, FitTV, and BDSS) and Aubre's friend (so.. five ladies, lol) at The Edison in downtown LA. Oh, my goodness. I'm going to try to keep it brief, but basically The Edison is the most beautiful, drool-worthy bar I've ever been to... it's like my wet dream, is the best way to explain it. My wet dream being all things vintage (and I mean turn-of-the-century vintage, not 80s), art nouveau, art deco, 1920s/1930s, steampunky glamour. Essentially, it's a swanky bar/lounge (with a slightly older crowd, not that I minded) recapturing historical downtown LA/old hollywood elegance. I can't even begin to go into the awesome details--ok, I have to throw in two: the "green" fairy girl that goes around the lounge towing cute potion-sized bottles of vintage liquor and absinthe (!), and the silent films projected on different walls--but yeah. So it was fantastic just to check the place out and get dressed up, but it was even more fantastic getting to meet Aubre and her friend Eden, who were both really fun and down-to-earth, and we all really just had a great time chatting, dancing a bit, exploring, and enjoying a drink or two. We also left around 1am and went over to a cute eatery in Little Tokyo because Aubre was hungry, where we enjoyed some delicious Japanese food and hilarious conversation. Great way to end the ladies' night. :D
As for today, I accompanied Matthew, his grandmother, and brother to his aunt's wedding reception! It was the Japanese side of the family (Matt's 1/4 Japanese; his father and aunts/uncles are all 1/2 Japanese), which I've never actually met before aside from his grandmother, so I was really excited to meet his aunt and all his family there. The reception was at his aunt's house in Belmont Heights of Long Beach, which is a really nice area (and his aunt lives in a really nice house as a result!). It was a bit awkward at first because Matthew's grandmother insisted that he give me, a stranger, a tour of her house haha, because the place is so beautifully decorated and modeled with how they've changed it up. But Matt's aunt is really sweet and laid back, so it was fine and she didn't think it weird (I hope). It's an older house, so they kept a lot of the old feel to it like old-school locks and knobs on the doors, and freaking gorgeous bathrooms, one with a clawfooted porcelain tub (I swooned), but the place was generally beautiful simply because it's the style I'd go for had I the means and the money to do that.
His aunt, her husband, and Matt's cousin were all really nice, down-to-earth people... too bad they were the only family of his I got to meet really as his other relatives couldn't make it, so it was just friends of the bride and groom. But the food was amazing and there was an open bar, so that was put to use lol. Walked down to the beach (10 minute walk), chatted and hung out with the young 'uns (Matt's brother, 16-year-old cousin and her friend and boyfriend), drank good wine and good food. So yeah, we had a great time. ;)
Oh! And because his aunt is a scuba diver (for a living, well, more or less), Matthew and I want to get diving certified and she's going to help us do that for, uh.. free. :D So that's pretty awesome I think; scuba diving would be rad. I'm also going to look into volunteering for the non-profit connected with his aunt's work, which does ocean conservation and public education on reefs, the oceans, and all that great stuff. I need to start volunteering somewhere, and I'd love to do something while helping the environment. :)
Anyhoodle.. yeah, so, great weekend so far! Tiring, but lovely. It feels good to be done with half of my classes for the summer, and not be too worried about how I did in them. It's great to let loose not because I'm trying to forget about how royally I messed things up, but because I deserve a break after putting in hard work. But I am still checking online constantly to see if grades are posted. Can't help it! :P
Alas, I'm exhausted and still need to catch up on sleep. My mom is still not home from where ever she went tonight. Hmm, better call her. Anyway, night!