Happenings and Mishaps

"You've gone in too deep and now you don't know what to do. You can't back out anymore because you have invested so much in it." -LL

If things had gone as planned and if the world--my world--were perfect, I would be winding down at prom just about now. But things didn't go as planned or as desired, as my world is not perfect--nor is anybody else's. So here I am, sitting in MY room at MY desk, blogging with a disturbing stomachache, the kind that I get when I feel that something is wrong. This time, that "something wrong" is obvious--I'm not where I'm supposed to be, with my friends, at one of the few most anticipated events of not just senior year, but of all of high school.

Today, I woke up way too early, considering the time I slept (or didn't) last night and all the nights of this and last week. The C.A.C.A. awards ceremony was pretty informal, but its audience was considerably larger than I had anticipated, and there were so many parents, and subsequently, just as many cameras. Around half past noon, K and I walked to the bank for some business, then to a shop in Chinatown to buy her a bus pass, then to the library to meet D so we could all go buy a bouquet for his prom date. More on that later.

After that, I came home (yes, 3410 is officially "HOME", not "house") and loitered in my room for an hour or two until I finally wrote my thank you speech for the Chinatown Library awards dinner. I wrote for half an hour and then got ready to go...only to have forgotten my thank-you card. But anyway, the dinner was good, even though the food was not. The mistress of ceremonies was Ginger Chan, KTLA's morning traffic reporter. I was so excited that I actually

went to her table after the presentations and asked her for an autograph, haha. I should have asked her husband, too, who also reports for KTLA, but that didn't cross my mind then! Ahh. They're such a pretty married couple; I bet they're going to have beautiful children, if they don't already. I also got Senator Carol Liu's autograph, but she seemed pretty surprised that I even asked her. From the dinner, I received a house plant with a UCLA flag with my name as well as the name of my donor and all that good stuff. Picture below (I hope I remember to insert it at the end of this post).

Many people told me that I delivered a good speech, and I don't disagree with them, even though it would have been a lot better if I were more used to having a microphone in front of me, but oh well! One disappointment came about, though, when I found out that Mr. Paul Inafuku did not even attend the dinner tonight, because he never does because it brings back sad memories because he donates in memory of his wife. I was really looking forward to meeting the husband of my favorite and most influential teacher of all time, but I respect why he doesn't attend. Either way, I'm still grateful for his contribution to my future. Too bad I wrote that it was an honor to meet him in my thank-you card to him, haha.

Other than that, the dinner was extremely nice, because I got to see the volunteer grandmas I used to read with at the old Chinatown Library. They remembered my mother but not me, but that wasn't a surprise. But it was so nice to see them ten plus years later and so nice to know that they got to see how I have evolved from the little girl who pronounced "herb" with the "h" sound to a high school senior going onto college as an English major and all that good stuff. Also, have I mentioned that I met Ginger Chan?

Upon officially meeting her and after telling her that I'm going to major in English and hope to pursue a career in journalism, she told me that no matter what anybody says, the most important thing, especially in the field of journalism, is writing. It doesn't matter how well you speak or how well you communicate if you don't write well. I will always remember that, and I will always remember meeting both her and her husband. I hope that somebody, I will work with both of them. That would be incredibly wonderful.

In her introduction, she actually told us a little bit about her work life. She wakes up at 2:30 a.m. every day and goes to sleep at 7:30 p.m. All that to report traffic! She and her husband Mark met at KTLA. Mark is actually a pilot for KTLA, but they don't fly together. He worked at NBC for four and a half years before transferring to KTLA. I believe they've been married for about two years. And no, I am not a stalker, just an admirer who remembers one of my idol's words. I am not a stalker!

The DirecTV television people are finally coming tomorrow, between 9:30 and noon. Which means that I can actually watch the second game of the NBA finals! TOO BAD I HAVE THE ENVIROFAIR PROJECT TO DO at K's house. I hope I can watch the game there, though, if I do have to stay there so late. Darn AP class end of the year projects. I'd better watch the Lakers/ Celtics game tomorrow. I also have to go to the dentist at 12:30 for a check-up... Oh, darn, they might remind me about wisdom teeth removal again. :(

ROCK yesterday was interesting. I thought prayer night was going to be dully boring, but it ended up being pleasantly meaningful. It was simply...nice to pray for other people. Or, rather, for one person to pray for another person, even if anonymously. It encourages people to care about each other, and that's something that rarely happens nowadays. People who don't know each other simply don't care about each other and don't care what goes on in their lives. It sounds sad, and that's because it really is. So yesterday was good.

And V, being such a nice friend, gave a certain somebody money to buy a certain somebody else flowers for today. That was such a nice (gosh, I can't seem to find any other word today) gesture! I absolutely love how much ROCK counselors care about the kids and how much (almost) everybody cares about each other--or is learning to. Again, you don't see that much elsewhere.

I'm such a noob. Yesterday, I asked D when ROCK retreat is, and M said it's July 23-25. And then I wondered if that's the same week that I start work. I came home and looked it up on the job description, only to find out that the program starts on JUNE 21 and ends on August 27. And to think that this whole time, I thought it was JULY 21 to August 27. Talk about a mistake/ misread. That it's actually two months and not one has its share of upsides and downsides. The upside is that I have something to do for the entire summer and I get paid for it. The downside is that because I have something to do for the entire summer, I have little else I can do. In other words, I won't have much time to and for myself! But oh, well. I wanted and still want this, so I shall go about it. The California ScienCenter will be my home for a while.

Senior awards night is next Wednesday, and I am so excited for it. But before that is the EnviroFair, which is Monday, and I am NOT excited for it. I should have turned in a form for Grad Nite, darn it, so I could have something to do on Thursday/ Friday. Oh, well. Friday, I have committed to attending the Leadership Banquet. I figured I should be there for at least one of S's major events, and seeing as how these are my last days of high school, why not?

Graduation is coming up! Just so you know... I love flowers. :)

Ha, I just realized that there are plenty of fake flowers in my room in addition to the real flowers (plant) I got at the dinner earlier.

At C.A.C.A. today, one of the members approached me and asked me what made me decide to major in English. And then he went on about how unusual it is for an Asian American to major in English because most of them major in the sciences or in engineering--applicable to all but two (including me) of the scholarship recipients there. He found it fascinating that I enjoy English and that I plan to do something with it in my future, but that's a good thing. The same thing happened at the dinner, too... A friend of the Chinatown Library who was sitting at my table asked me toward the end, "Why English?" and said just about the same things, except to much more extent. I actually like that question because I like answering it. It's as simple as "I love to write, so why not do something I love instead of something other people say I should like?" And then I tell them my story that I will tell you if you ask me.

You know, before today, nobody had ever actually SAID how unusual it is for an Asian to major in English. I mean, I've always known they thought it, but nobody had ever actually ARTICULATED it to my face. But it's good that somebody(ies) finally did. Now I can stop feeling self-conscious about how weird I might seem to people who ask me what I plan to study in college, haha.

I don't remember when the last time I blogged was, but in case it was a while ago and I never mentioned it, Mrs. L is retiring from Chatsworth after this year. It's official. She's continuing her career elsewhere, going on to bigger things. Honestly, CHS is losing a good teacher. Admittedly, I haven't learned much from her this year, but last year, I learned so much from her and improved significantly in so many ways. Although what she says to her classes may sound like falsehoods, she genuinely cares about her students and wants to help everyone who comes to her achieve what they wish. I will miss her. And J, I will take a picture with her this year and frame it and put it on my dorm desk! She's one of my heroes, and I am not afraid to admit it. :)

Another person retiring from CHS is Ms. K. I will miss her, too! She's so cool. That's all that needs to be said about her. Okay, I will miss her commentary on the kids' weird conversations and her way of saying "sure" when somebody asks her for permission to go wherever as well as the way she says "yeees?" when I say "Ms. K?" and drag out the "K" sound. But she and I will have Facebook for communication! See, that's how cool she is.

And then there's Ms. Remo (yes, her full last name), who was never my teacher or anything. I've interviewed her a few times this year, my first time in December, I think. I LOVE going to interview her. She remembers my name and we say hi to each other when we see one another during passing periods and whatnot. She is so friendly and so patient. And so cute! I asked her what she will do during retirement, and she said that she wants to find out what she wants to be when she grows up. That is officially my favorite interview question answer of all time. That was the last time I interviewed her, which was yesterday (Friday, day five), and at the end, she gave me a hug and I told her I would visit her again before graduation.

Hmm, I am excited to start work. And to watch the Lakers/ Celtics battle tomorrow.

While I was moving stuff last week, I uncovered some of my old journals/ diaries/ notes to myself. And I flipped through them and read some entries and whatnot and realized how much I have changed in some ways and how little I have changed in others. I also realized that I probably wrote about some things that many kids my age wouldn't have then. I kept everything. I kept all my old journals, all my notebooks, even all my middle school essays and English folders. If that doesn't demonstrate the importance of writing (and English) to me to you, then I suppose I can find other ways to do so. After all, words are strong weapons, and words I am full of.

I thoroughly enjoy listening to "old" songs:

And life is a road and I want to going

Love is a river, I want to keep flowing

Life is a road, now and forever, wonderful journey

I'll be there when the world stops turning

I'll be there when the storm is through

In the end, I want to be standing at the beginning with you