Pandora

I recently began to use Pandora Radio (mostly at work), and I find it curiously funny--and probably meaningful--that of all the stations I have created and the songs I have liked, Pandora has been feeding to me worship songs by Chris Tomlin, Tenth Avenue North, and the like. The following is the last one that it played for me, and I really like it.

Today, I was quite stressed out. Although I had turned in my paper yesterday and had already begun my next paper (due Friday) at work in the morning, I kept thinking of all the small things I had to remember to do: pick up lunch, go to pay for next quarter's parking permit, go to the bank to deposit a check, and finally get to work by 2:30.

Well, I picked up a shrimp caesar salad (which was pretty good!) at Cafe 1919, and then even got a vanilla ice-blended (ice-blended vanilla?) because getting the former didn't take as long as I had anticipated. I proceeded to the parking and transportation office: I parked my car in lot 8 like I always do when I go to that office because they are not only adjacent, but are connected, to one another. As I was going down the stairway, I saw a citation-person put a ticket on somebody's windshield. Because he was walking in the opposite direction from my car, I thought nothing of him. Twenty minutes later, I came back to my car, thinking how ironic it would have been if I had gotten a parking ticket for parking to go pay for a new parking permit.

I GOT A PARKING TICKET FOR PARKING TO GO PAY FOR A NEW PARKING PERMIT. It used to be a funny AND ironic thought. Now it's just ironic. And not at all funny! I had just paid $258 for next quarter's permit when I could easily have just cheated the system in some way. And now I have to pay $60 more for trying to do the right thing?! So, for the umpteenth time, I got very angry at UCLA for charging for absolutely every thing possible and being so ruthless about it.

Holding the hideous ticket in my hand, I was debating whether to go back to the office to dispute it (since I was in that office at the time that the citation was created). I guess this is a good point to point out that my current parking permit doesn't permit me to park in that lot until after 4:30 p.m. But still! Where was I supposed to park to go into the office when I had nobody with me and there's no street parking?! Absolutely ridiculous.

By the way, I just went on to work because I decided that I could go dispute the citation tomorrow. Surprisingly, the Citibank near work was not hard to find. The banker was very helpful, but in the midst of trying to convince me to sign up for another Citibank credit card, he told me I had only 26 points from my debit card usage, as opposed to the 5,000+ I thought I had from the last time I checked. So that stressed me out a bit more.

Afterward, I got to work and decided to check, and whew! I was right, but the banker was probably referring to the points on my other card... So he was right, too, in that sense (cents?).

The rest of my day was blah blah blah.

So tomorrow, instead of going to the gym, I have to go to the parking and transportation office--WITHOUT my car--to appeal. Sigh. :(

At least I ended my night well: After dinner, I went to the Kaleidoscope Festival down in Northwest Campus Auditorium. Although I initially felt a bit self-conscious because I was alone, I got to really enjoy the performances and even stayed for the entire time! Many of the singing acts made me smile, while the other more physical performances made me gape in awe. And at a few points during the show, I tried to imagine myself up there on the stage, performing something, too. And I realized, not for the first time, that I miss performing music. I miss middle school orchestra, where I played not only viola with 70 other people, but also played piano solos in between groups. I miss the piano-lesson days, when I had to play at my teacher's recital every December. I think that in an undeniable way, I miss the spotlight. I used to love to be in the middle of it, and now I shy from it as much as possible. Or maybe it has shied from me? I just really miss the old days.

You know, when I practiced piano, I used to imagine that the boy I liked was watching/ listening to me play, and tried to make myself play better at those moments. It never worked, haha. Now, on the rare occasion I sit down at the same piano, I don't think anything other than how poorly I am playing and how much better I could be had I not stopped practicing after 10th grade (when I passed the last piano exam).

Anyway... Here's another song that I like (thanks to Pandora, again):