I've been abusing my free time...

Kinda. I said I shouldn't, but I can't help it. Sometimes, I just want to watch YouTube videos or sleep or just sit somewhere and do nothing.


School has been all right. I go to campus early usually and sit somewhere to read or complete crossword puzzles. My classes feel overwhelming, but I'm getting my work done. This weekend was dedicated to getting work done early. Though I haven't finished everything I wanted to do this weekend, I've gotten quite a few things done early, so that's good. I still need to get started on two or three papers; one of which is due on my birthday XP I still also have to start volunteering, but the place I told my prof I was going to volunteer at has not responded to me at all. So I need to find some time this week to go there and see what's going on.

Can't go to QTIP this semester because it starts at the same time as my Capstone class -.- I'm probably only going to Q&A every other week or so. I need to focus on getting my homework done. So slooowwww D8 I feel like my brain slowed down so much. I usually pick up speed in school pretty quickly after it starts, like a few days into the semester. But I'm already going into week 4 or 5, and I still don't feel like I'm keeping up ):


So today, the family went to T-Mobile to switch plans since our Verizon contract is done. Brother got a Samsung Galaxy. D, Mother, and I got touchscreen phones. D and Brother are using temporary phones while the store orders their phones.

I went on Facebook to state that people should text me or call me so that I have their phone numbers in my new phone, since I don't feel like transferring everything over and I don't talk to most of my contacts anyway. People who care shall let me know they want me to have their numbers XP Well, if they get the message haha.


In other news, I will no longer be using my Bose headphones O: It's been four amazing years with them. But I no longer have a strong fondness for them. They still work well, but I would rather have something cheaper and much more low-key. And smaller. I'm gonna use Mother's phone ear-headset that came with her new phone. She won't need it, and I don't care too much about sound quality as long as it doesn't sound like I'm listening to static. But the quality of the headset is actually pretty good. Family wants me to get actual headphones, but meh, we'll see. They said I should at least take Brother's headset when his phone comes in. We'll see.

But yes, you will probably no longer see me sporting those Bose headphones. Now, I will be sporting earbuds/phone headset hahaha. It's cool. I like "downgrading." I don't need hella expensive things to enjoy my life. I like small and simple :) I wish my family would let me make my life small and simple, but nooo, I have to keep up with the rest of society. And sure, I want to keep up with some things. But that's just some things, not everything.

Also, this way, I'm not wasting AAA batteries for the headphones. Nor will Brother, since he doesn't have as much time as I do to listen to music. I wonder when he would have time to use those headphones. Hmm...


Oh, so have you been checking out the news lately? Makes me sad. Though, I guess the news usually makes me sad anyway with all the violent deaths and stuff. Reno and West Virginia recently had one plane crash each during an airshow. Vintage WWII airplanes. A firefight between police and insurgents in Kabul. Michelle Le's body has been found near Sunol and Pleasanton. Cindy Nguyen was murdered in San Jose by a parolee who is still at large.
It seems I have at least one friend who knew Cindy, and Mother met her at least once about nine years ago.

September 11 was a week ago. Nothing majorly bad happened. Just people being extra cautious.


Not sure how much of a social life I am maintaining this semester. I want to, and I don't want to. I want to keep on top of my schoolwork, but I also want to hang out. Ahh, I suck at balancing my life ;-;

Harrison is gonna celebrate his birthday in October at a hotel. I would like to go to that, but I must figure out how I will go and come home without making Mother suspicious that I will be up to no good. Which I won't. I don't plan to do anything stupid. I don't plan to drink. I probably won't even stay for too long. I just wanna go and hang out for a bit. But I wouldn't be able to go home if everyone there gets drunk -_- Must figure out soon.

Queer Prom is gonna be the weekend after Harrison's party. I plan to go to that. But I must figure out where I'm spending the night or how I'll get home. Hmm... But I would like to dance with friends. It's been a while -nods-

Brother's birthday is the day after the dance. Must be home to celebrate with him. Well, unless he's celebrating with his friends instead.


Ok, time to get back to homework. Done with everything that's due the next two days. But I'd like to get more stuff done early.

Must get back to my nerdy, school-oriented self, if ever there was a self like that XD

Yay for new shoes and underwear!

Haha....

Today, I went to Oakridge with Shiva. Around 12, Mother drove me to the Ohlone-Chynoweth light rail stop to pick up Shiva. Walked around the mall a lil bit. Looked in Target for stuff, but they didn't have much of a selection for anything. Or sizes were too big -__- Eventually, Shiva dragged me into Payless Shoes, and I bought a pair of black Cross Trekkers for about $25 + tax. Bought underwear at Nordstrom Rack :D $2.97 for one. Not too expensive, not too cheap.

Shopping mission accomplished. Time for foodstuff. Bought tiramisu gelato for nearly $5 from some place near Orange Julius and stuff. Totally didn't notice the name of the place though haha. Wouldn't have stopped there either if Shiva hadn't noticed it. Anyway, onward to Cheesecake Factory. Shiva bought strawberry cheesecake. While we were waiting for her turn, my gelato was quickly melting in my hand D: !! Sticky -_-

Sat outside the restaurant to eat our desserts. Tasty!

We were supposed to get a ride back to my house from Mother, but Mother was afraid she would be late to visit Brother. So I said we would take the light rail home. Except when we got back to the Santa Teresa stop, I realized that I hadn't brought my keys with me because I had thought Mother would drive us home, thus relieving me of the need to bring my keys. Alas, Shiva and I had a slight dilemma. At first, I decided we would go to Ross and just hang out there until my mom came home. But I thought she would get angry at me for leaving the house empty for too long. So Shiva and I turned around and headed to my place.

Skateboarding in my neighborhood is dangerous. Too many hidden bumps in the sidewalks. Shiva nearly fell a few times D:

Trees were pretty. Well, some of them were. Shiva took pictures. When we got to my house, we sat underneath the tree in front and talked. Ate snacks (Danish cookies, Skyflake crackers). Windy ): I felt bad that Shiva was in the cold because I was too stupid to bring my keys. And it seems that ants in my front yard got into her bag T-T

To stave off the chill, we listened to her iPod and danced haha. In the light in front of my garage. Mother came home and let us into the house. So warm haha.

Shiva ate more spring rolls (two) and took (four) more home. I ate a Viet sandwich :P Mother ate a sandwich too. Had conversation about food and graduation stuff. Mother and Shiva talked through me mostly; sometimes they talked to each other directly haha. Oh, language barriers.

After food, Shiva and I went to bed for a little bit. Then D called, asking for the list of movies that I wanted to watch. I gave him the list (thirty-five movies haha). Back to bed. Until 19h30.

Off to picking up D and dropping Shiva off at campus. Fun.


I'm sure I forgot stuff. I'm sure Shiva will fill in some details haha.

Oh, almost forgot... When we were heading back to my house, there was some guy at the Ohlone-Chynoweth station who kept watching us. I didn't look at him, but I could feel his stare/glare. Shiva said he gave her/us a dirty(?) look. I dunno. But yeah. Anyway...


This weekend is gonna be fun. Gender Bender Dance Lesson tomorrow night at 18h00. Studying for Social Theory. Possibly helping Shiva study for other finals. Watching a movie or two. Food breaks and other breaks hopefully.


Anyway, yeah, that's all. How fun, eh?

Been a long while since I last shopped in Oakridge

So today, I went to Oakridge with Shiva. We met up at the Ohlone-Chynoweth light rail station and walked to the mall.

We watched the first showing of "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time." I saw Jovany working the register :P Anyway, I didn't really know anything about the storyline. But the movie was all right, somewhat interesting. Really, I liked the music the most haha. And Garsiv was my favorite character, even if his part wasn't really all that crucial to the plot :P Oh yea, Shiva pointed out that the Persians all had European accents XD Oh, British actors and their accents haha.

Anyway, after the movie, Shiva and I went shopping >_> Kinda. More like she picked out stuff and I tried them on haha. She tried to get my opinion in on the choices, but, like I say over and over again, I do not like shopping, am not fun to shop with, and would never wish to shop. First time in a really long time that anyone outside of my family has tried to help me buy clothes XD In the end, I bought two pairs of shorts from Target for about $36. Shiva bought stuff too haha.

Food from Sbarro. Pizza and bread sticks. First time eating from there for me. Apparently not as good as the other times Shiva has gotten food from Sbarro.

Ooh, I saw Trieu twice with his family. Once in the food court and the other time at the theater. He and I need to hang out more often haha. Been way too long.

Haha when Shiva and I walked around the mall, a girl working at one of those makeup island thingies tried to stop us to try some lip gloss or something. I was gonna keep going. But Shiva had to reply and stop XP As she was being pulled in, I slowly walked away and ignored the chick. I waited in front of a store window looking at skateboard sets. I want the Pacman board :D It was pretty awesome. 90 bucks too.

Anyway, Shiva and I decided to head to campus around 17h30. Light rail from Oakridge to Ohlone, from Ohlone to San Antonio. Haha while we were waiting for the light rail at Oakridge, there was a mom there with her son, who was climbing on a fence. All I can remember about her was that she kept scolding her son for climbing the fence and saying stuff about the police and Internal Affairs or something O_o

Haha a while after we got on the light rail to campus, some dude, who might have been drunk, asked Shiva for her phone number XP Denied. And ignored haha. When we got off the light rail, he said "Good bye, ladies." When we were outside the light rail, he tapped on the window and waved at us. I would call this a mild interaction... Whew haha.

Mm, on campus, I spent like three hours in Shiva's room before I had to go home. She was doing her reading, while I was napping from time to time. Fun stuff XP Mm... Wish I could have stayed instead of going home. I was getting sooo comfy too haha -_- Didn't wanna get up -grumblegrumble- Why did I get up? ):

Mm, fun day. Lots of awesome, fun times... :)


Going home was terrible.. I was gonna complain about it, but whatever. Fuck it.


Tomorrow, I'm gonna be on campus to talk to Financial Aid people. Will probably take Stats and Social Problems this summer. 9h00 classes four days a week -_- It's like semester all over again. Except longer class times. Mm, fun stuff.

Ooh, get to sign up for Fall classes next Tuesday at 10h40, yay. Kinda got my schedule planned for Fall. Hope I get all morning classes again like my first two semesters of college. I miss that kinda schedule. Could get out early in the day.

Oh, I just did some math haha. I have 77 units right now. Junior status, woot. Add in two summer courses. I'll have 83 at the end of summer. That means after Fall semester, I'll have at least 95 units. Up to Senior status. Does that mean I'd have to start thinking about/applying for graduation? Hmm.

Back to the 77 units... That consists of 42 units for my Core GE, 2 units for PE courses, 27 units earned from testing (APs), and 6 units for just-for-fun classes. One of those just-for-fun classes was Intro to Sociology. Because of that class, of the 42 units I need for my major, I got 3 out of the way (Going to get 6 more out of the way this summer). So I still need 39 (or 33 after summer) for my major. 77 + (6 + 33) = 116. That's like another two semesters and a summer's worth of classes. And then I'd only need like two more electives to get the minimum 120 units for graduation.

And then I've got my Philosophy minor, which would be another 18 units. But I've taken Moral Philosophy. So that takes out 3 units. So 15 needed for my minor (a whole semester's worth of classes). So 116 + 15 = 131. If I did my math right and I stick to this plan, I could possibly graduate with 131 units in Fall 2011. Latest would probably be Spring 2012.

All this just means I've been on track for a timely graduation without realizing it XD hahaha. And here I thought I'd be graduating after five or six years of college. Though, of course, I could decide to change my major or something. That could get in the way of a timely graduation.


Blah. Life better work out somewhat well for all this crap and stuff I'm putting myself through -_- haha...

Salespeople are people too

Hence, the "people" part.


So today, I had to pick Tony up and drive him around. Again, I didn't get to do homework, but that's ok. I don't have much.

We went to the Zumiez at Oakridge to exchange the jacket and shirts. The cashier was the girl who helped us out on Saturday. What were the chances? Anyway, apparently, when Tony returned the beanie that he had initially bought for LovEvolution, the girl gave him a dirty look or something. I don't know, I didn't see, but that's what he said after we left. He called her a bitch because of a perceived glare.

That pissed me off and threw me off my good mood. I hate it when people call others bitches or something after one meeting. I mean, what if they were just having an off day? We all have our bad days and our shitty moods. Can't always control it, you know. So the rest of the way home, I was despondent, I guess. Extreme reaction to his action, yeah, but that's how I am.

Just because someone acts rude the one time they meet you doesn't mean they're always like that. Reserve your animosity for people you actually know and who actually deserve it. Strangers don't really deserve much from you. Not after one meeting. Can't judge people like that.

And I know I've been judged like that, so I don't want to do that to others. Not cool. You might think because I'm always nice or whatever, that people won't say shit about me. It's true on one level. People who know me apparently would never seriously call me a bitch. But strangers have (I've heard them). Because I made an honest mistake or they misinterpreted something I said or did.

So yeah, I was ticked. I don't know the girl, but I don't feel like she deserves the anger that Tony has toward her. Besides, she's cute haha. You can't be mad at cute people XP

Anyway, when we got home, Tony pointed out that she forgot to pull off the ink tag or whatever it's called. He was pissed about that, of course. I just said whatever. So I went back to the mall without Tony because I know he would have had a bad attitude and shit. Same girl at Zumiez. Told her that she forgot to take off the tag. She apologized a few times. I said it was cool, no problem. You know, the usual calm and cool stuff I say when I'm really not bothered. "Have a good day." "You too :)" "Thanks." And I left.

You know, I think when salespeople tell you "Have a good day," whether they mean it or it's just an obligatory phrase, we should reciprocate. Could give hope to those who think humanity is hopeless. I'd like to think so anyway.

Haha I wanted to apologize to her for my brother, but I wasn't sure if my brother had actually been rude to her. So I just smiled my shy smile and thought "I hope he didn't do anything rude."

But yeah, that was my late afternoon fun -_- Tomorrow, I'm wearing my new clothes, yay. Long day, but hope it will be fun. I know lab won't be, but everything else should cancel out the non-fun.

I've been driving a lot today

Didn't do any homework like I had hoped I would. Had to go do stuff for Mother.

Drove Brother to Oakridge so he could buy stuff for LovEvolution. He bought me clothes from Zumies. About $150 worth. I don't know how to describe clothes, but the shirts, jacket, and jeans are kinda different from my usual styles, I guess. Maybe I'll take a picture so you can see. But first, I need to go exchange for bigger shirts and jacket because Brother wouldn't listen to me when I said mediums never fit me well. And of course, he didn't acknowledge this until we got home because I don't like fitting rooms XP Have never been comfortable trying on clothes in stores. I'm just weird like that.

Anyway, at home, Brother got ready for the party. We talked a lot about different things. Things we never really talked much about before. It was nice. I think he's trying. He's really trying to be my big brother. It's weird but nice.

Hm, so I had to drive him (in the Murano) to CVS and then Jeans Plus so he could buy hand sanitizer, chewing gum, and a bandanna. Then we picked up his friend Casper. Then off to GJ so Brother could get his forgotten phone charger. Then to the Caltrain station on Lick Ave. Missed the train by like two minutes. Security guard told Brother to go to the station on Santa Clara.

Made it on time. Though, Brother was freaking out a lot haha. Don't really know why. The party doesn't really get started till 2300 apparently. But he's on his way now, so it's all good. Hope he has fun and stays safe. Hope Casper hooks up with some chick, make it his lucky night haha. That guy was funny :P

Anyway, yeah, that was pretty much the main focus of my day. Fun stuff. Hopefully, I'll get stuff done tomorrow. Exchanging clothes at the mall shouldn't take too long. Though, it's the finding parking that is gonna suck. We had to park on the roof today because of the used car sale that was happening in the parking lot near Sears.

Hm, Mother should be in a better mood tomorrow. She yelled at me when I got home because I drove Tony. Even though, she knew I had to drive him to the Caltrain station. She wasn't even mad at me. She was mad at him. But of course, I'm an easy, available target. Can I not help Tony out without being the scapegoat? Mm, guess not. But it's the least I can do since he used to drive me around all the time.

Don't know how to end this entry. Don't want to end it like this :P

Tony wants me to graduate. Get a BS/BA at the least. Have a comfortable life. So I'm going to try harder (not to give up). I don't want to disappoint him. How ironic, yeah? He's disappointed me, but I don't want to disappoint him. We'll see how this all works out.

Nice is never out of style

The black limited edition of ^that shirt is sold out :( So this morning, I ordered the original Nice Girl shirt and the Fierce-Nice hat (Finally!). I'm so happy. Finally buying my Wong Fu stuff (You knew I was talking about WF Productions, yeah? Yeaah). I'm just sad I couldn't get the Nice is Never Out of Style shirt. There's another one, but it's gray and I don't like the design as much. Oh well, I got the original NG shirt (in medium because large is sold out, grr) and the hat, so it's all good.

Can't wait for them to arrive :D I can switch between hats, yay.


Hmm, so how would you feel if your family told you that you're not beautiful/handsome? My family told me that I'm not beautiful or attractive, but I am cute/adorable. If I hadn't come to that conclusion myself years ago, I think I would have been insulted and disappointed.

Of course, you as a friend would say that I am beautiful. But if you were to be objective about my looks (oh, the irony of that, objectivity about aesthetics), you too would say that I am not beautiful or pretty or even attractive. I've got the geeky look going for me. Not the hot geek look though haha. But you know that's cool with me.

I've known since I was little that I wasn't the kinda pretty that others would fall for. At first, that realization made me want to cry. I thought that meant I would never be in love or something because only pretty people fall in love :P Ugly people don't get to find love.

However, I don't see myself as ugly. I know I'm just ok-looking. I mean, I guess I could wow people if I put on some makeup, as evidenced in my senior portrait :P But other than that, I know I'm all right. I don't repel people. So that's good.

There was a point to this topic. I guess what I was thinking was I know that my looks aren't what's affecting my non-existent love life haha. I feel like sometimes that's what I focus on, even though I know it's not true. I've kinda come to the conclusion that people aren't attracted to me mostly because I'm too nice (or so I've been told).


So anyway, I think you already know (or have just figured out) why I love the "Just a Nice Guy" videos. Just because I can really relate. Haha I just gotta be patient now and wait for the right one to come along. No need for loneliness anyway. I got you guys :)

Verizon Upgrades

How exciting.

Basics:
Brother got a BlackBerry Tour - $149.99.
Mother got an LG enV3 - $129.99. Free after rebate.
D got my LG Dare.
I got a Verizon Wireless Blitz - $29.99.

Three cool phones for the three oldest. One adorable phone for the adorablest ^_^ haha

I was originally going to get the enV2, but then Mother wanted it. So I chose the Blitz. Still good and very cheap. At the store, we found out that they don't sell the enV2 anymore. So Mother then wanted the BlackBerry Storm but without the Internet. Obviously, you can't get the phone without the Internet. So then she chose the enV3. I told her to get the LG Versa. Same as the Dare but thinner. And way cheaper too. But no, she wanted us to pay more for functions that she won't use.

In the end, we found out her phone would be "free." So we just let her get that phone.

But yeah, fun stuff. Right now, my number is still on the Dare. D's number is in the Blitz. Tony has to call customer service to switch them and unblock my number :D Yay, soon, everyone will know when I call ^_^ No more ignoring my calls haha.


Ok, now I'm starving. So I'm gonna go eat In N Out. Then homework.

Yes, I'm going to eat my homework.

Fallen shoes, yay

So today, I went to Eastridge with Kristen Pham because we both had nothing else to do and it's the last weekend before school starts. Sorry, Kat, I was gonna go with you, but you never responded to my text XP unless you never got it. In that case, my bad.

Anyway, I picked Kristen up, drove to the mall, and walked around for two hours, talking about school, friends, and relationships. She was with David Z (now unsure what they are), and I am still loveless haha. I bought a pair of Fallen shoes (Finally!) from Zumiez, and Kristen bought some shirts from Forever 21. Man, you know, two hours passes by hella fast. But it's all good. We caught up and all. Fun fun.


Tomorrow, I go back to my school life. How fun and exciting. Hopefully, I'll do more this semester. But who knows what will happen? My laziness always surprises me :P

Autumn's new house...

It's been two weeks since I had last seen any friends. Today, I finally hung out with Autumn and Maggie.

Chilled at Maggie's for a while, waiting for her stepdad to come home. Then I drove Maggie and Autumn to the mall.

My mission: get a new baseball cap.

Checked out Journey. I didn't really like any of their hats, though Maggie and Autumn liked the fedora look on me. Apparently fits my style haha. Mm, maybe some other time. I didn't buy anything there. Instead, they each bought a pair of shoes. Maggie bought a pair of Harajukus, I think. Autumn bought a pair of Rocket Dogs. After she said she wouldn't haha.

Went to Tilly's. Checked out the baseball caps. Nice stuff. I eventually bought a Fox cap. Actually looks pretty sweet.

I think this was one of the very few times any of my friends have ever seen me purchase any kind of apparel/accessory/etc.

Afterward, we walked around a little bit more. Ended up at the T-Mobile booth because Maggie is gonna get a phone upgrade. Ended up in Victoria's Secret just minutes later. Then Charlotte Russe.

Then finally, we were on our way out of the mall haha. Drove to CD Aquarium to see if there were any turtles for sale. Nope. No more. Not legal haha. Gotta find some other vendor.

Went to Autumn's new house downtown. Pretty frickin' nice place for a downtown space. Got a short tour of her house. Ate some of Autumn's homemade foods :P Tasty stuff. We, plus Roman, played a few of those small group games, like The Right Party, Artist, and The Stick Game. I think that's what they were called. I figured out the first one. The last two, I was completely clueless haha. I'm more likely to figure out the word games than the visual ones XP

Anyway, they finished watching Step Brothers. I had already watched it. For a comedy, its gag reel sucked. Very disappointing.

Looked at some of Autumn and Roman's family album. Fun stuff.

Went downstairs to Autumn's room to look at the SCV chair listing. Not updated. Watched YouTube videos.

Then Maggie's parents came to pick her up, and I drove Autumn back to Maggie's so that she could get her van.

And yeah, that was my fun day ^_^

Next time, we should have a sleepover haha. The last sleepover I went to was Autumn's 16th or 17th birthday party, I don't remember exactly haha.


Hmm, so lately I've been dreaming a lot. I think it might be because I keep waking up. REM sleep apparently happening more often. I can't recall my dreams anymore, but I remember thinking some of them were too violent, too freaky, or just damn strange in an emotional way. I'm gonna try to remember my dreams and update about them. I haven't been able to keep a dream in my memory for more than an hour for a long while now.


Resolutions. Hmm. Haha. My ability to fulfill resolutions gradually diminishes as the year goes on. I only have six left that I may or may not attempt. If I could remember which ones they were, I'd put them here for you to see :P But I don't and they're in my wallet. Next year, I'll keep my list short and more practical/probable haha.


And I wish textbooks weren't so expensive. I only need textbooks for three classes next semester, and the total cost is still in the hundreds. Ordered my Asian American Studies and Physics books from the school bookstore because they happen to be cheapest compared to local bookstores and even Amazon. The book I need for my Philosophy class, I found on Craigslist. Amazon sells used copies for about $45 (plus tax and shipping/handling), while the guy on Craigslist is selling his for $30.50. Good deal, yeah? Hopefully so.

Man, I spent like half an hour this morning posting all my textbooks on Craigslist. I hope I can sell them on there. If I don't sell them by the first of August, I'm just gonna drive them all to Robert's Bookstore and see if I get a good deal there for them. I need to sell my books earlier next time haha. This is pretty late. Not sure I'll get any good prices, but we'll see. Need to get back some money. Tuition going up by about $600-700 for CSU undergrads, financial aid not going up that much. But eh, I feel worse for people who don't receive FA :/


Mm, I think that's all I want to say for now. Just wanted to put something up since it's been more than two weeks since my last entry.