Cavity

I can't believe I didn't blog at all in December! So, so sad.

Winter break is coming to an end. School resumes on Monday the 9th, and I cannot wait for summer break already. I'm glad we got four weeks this winter break, though. Otherwise, it would have ended last week, when I was still consistently sleeping at 3 in the morning.

This post will just be an update on everything, as opposed to an explication of one of my philosophies or ideas.

Last night, I finally signed up for this year's Shakespeare travel study program in England. The $300 non-refundable deposit basically guarantees that I will be attending unless some extenuating circumstance presents itself. Otherwise, this means I will have to start saving up like crazy, because there ain't no such thing as a free lunch, especially in good ol' England! Since freshman year (can't believe it was just last year), I have known that I wanted to participate in this program because I have heard so many great descriptions of it from past attendees. When registration first opened, though, I hesitated, looking left and right for an excuse to not sign up and to not go. While not knowing anybody else who will go might seem a valid "excuse", it also applies to everybody else, and not knowing anybody else is precisely one of the reasons for travel! Additionally, prices in England far exceed those here (relatively), and if I'm poor here, I'm going to be poor there! However, this can easily be fixed by accepting a student loan, which I did for China last summer. What else are these loans available for anyway, right?

What really pushed me to just register and pay to hold my spot was my conversation with V, during which he emphasized experience over anything else. Money matters less than experience, he said. Two nights later, I signed up, fully embracing the opportunity for experience. Really, how many more opportunities am I going to have to study Shakespeare in Stratford-upon-Avon and London, especially considering that I am graduating one year early?

So, assuming all goes right, I will be in England from August 9 to September 4. I am excited. :)

This morning, I went to the dentist for a check-up and cleaning, and found out that my toothache(s) from two weeks ago was no big deal, because apparently, it's normal for your teeth to hurt if you chew too hard on something. Or something along that line... On this note, I have no cavities! Boy, was I convinced I had cavities and concerned I was getting more. At the end, the dentist told me to not brush horizontally, but in circular and up-and-down motions. Idiotically enough, I didn't ask him why. But I will heed his advice anyway!

Later in the day, I finally succeeded at parallel parking by myself. I always had R do it for me whenever I knew I would have to parallel park, but today, I decided to try it myself, because a few days ago, I did admit that I probably could do it, but just always depend on someone else to do it for me. Talk about taking matters into my own hands (and doing well at it)! (Tooting my own horn here, guys.) It probably took me a short while longer than it should have, but hey, it was my first time, and I was so giddy upon getting off my vehicle! :)

Tonight, I spent time with P, whose birthday is tomorrow. We exchanged gifts and ate dinner at Phoenix in Chinatown and chatted for two hours there. It was a pleasant night.

I don't know why, but it isn't until the times I hang out with my friends during breaks when I realize how appreciative of and thankful for them I am. During school, I usually don't even give a second thought about making plans with them. I guess that's easy to do, though, putting schoolwork over a social life. But it's also easy to do the opposite. I suppose it depends on what type of person one is. But yes, I have hung out with everyone on my to-spend-time-with list, so all has been good this break. Now I just have to bake with D once or twice more!

S and I got Valentine's Day-ish sprinkles at Target today. We found it in the dollar section, but when we were at the register, it rang up as $2.50, so we were debating whether we should still get it. The cashier heard us and said, "I could change it to $1 if you want." So he did, and reminded us to bring to him whatever we end up making with those sprinkles, haha.

In the past four weeks, I have spent a considerable amount of time playing mahjong with the guys. It isn't a difficult game, but it's definitely strategic. And I'll tell you this much more--it is absolutely maddening to lose one game after another, even if it isn't for real money! I hope I don't accidentally reveal to my mother that I know how to play, because she hates mahjong and refuses to even learn!

Speaking of games, P gave me the game Taboo, which is the one game I had been wanting for months! I absolutely cannot wait to play. It is soooo fun!

Work has been quite nonexistent. Until I returned yesterday, after having taken a week off, anyway. The law office is as it usually is, with the typical yelling and hovering of one particular overseer. Today, I did the most tedious task thus far. My boss told me to fix the pagination in a document, and with all of the in-document comments and changes, I thought it would be easier to work with Word 2010. So there I sat at the computer right outside of his office (and right outside of my comfort zone) for an hour, trying to figure out how to retain a page number in a footer. Finally, I gave up and went back to my computer, with Word 2003, and fixed everything within two minutes. Turns out older technology isn't always inferior! After that, I had to make sure the index items were actually on the listed pages. And what did I learn from that? Absolutely nothing...

I really want to go to the gym tomorrow. Or soon. I've been going once or twice a week with R, who has been guiding me in the free-weights section of the gym, which I would never dare to enter alone. From squats and dead-lifts to benching and (more extreme) sit-ups, I have been working out and toning up, which I am very content with, since I was starting to flab up again...

In any case, I am falling asleep at my laptop. Time to tend to some much-needed sleep!

Until next time (which I very much hope will be soon), peace out!