Yes, I would LOVE to get fat, thanks for asking.

I had an epiphany this morning. I realized that I am such a pleasant and happy individual when I have been properly caffeinated. No seriously, if I seem super bitchy [excuse my language] on certain days or at certain times, it's probably because I didn't have enough time to grab coffee. Or I did and the caffeine wore off.

I was walking to class after going to Peet's this morning, thinking about how wonderful it would be to drink 4 or 5 cups of coffee just to get a caffeine high, just for fun. And then I realized:

a) I'm addicted to caffeine. Oh wait, I realized this a few months back when I got a caffeine-withdrawal-induced-migrane two days in a row when I was too busy in the morning to get coffee before class.

b) Caffeine high = happiness. Wait...isn't that what people tell themselves when they get addicted to drugs? That it's perfectly harmless and it makes them happy. Except I also tell myself it's perfectly legal. I find it alarming that I am impulsively tempted to down caffeine just for funsies.

I also realized that I'm starting to use sarcasm a bit too much to get through my day. Sometimes I wonder if my friends get sick of it. And I worry that I'm starting to be too sarcastic around people I've either just met or don't know well enough. I should start being more careful...

A friend just asked me who I was going to the garlic festival with. I replied, "My pet garlic."

'nuff said.

Crafty

I love being crafty. Sometimes I wish I grew up in some family that celebrated the arts and I somehow grew up into some artsy girl who is some starving artist, or designs the interior of Anthropology stores, or knew how to make some amazing bookshelf using popsicle sticks and a hot glue gun. Damn the expectation to have a six figure salary...

Sometimes I think domesticity allows for creativity and just time to be artistic. Man, if I'm busy working, who's going to put together scrapbooks of my kids? Sigh, having kids means having to be superwoman. Anyway...

It's been awhile since I've had the excuse to take pictures and glue them to pretty card stock, or totally spray paint something shiny gold and make my own stencils, rummaging through random boxes for pipe cleaners and squiggly eyes. I miss doing all that stuff.

It was my goal this summer to be crafty and have a little fun with it. Well, photography has been fun but a little stressful. Before I leave the Bay Area next month, I think I'll put together a collage or poster of some sorts. Just for funsies and to decorate my room in LA.

I also made it a goal to sew something this summer...something I would wear. I still need to get around to doing that.

As much as I want the school year to start, I just realized there's a lot I want to do before summer ends. But that's okay, I miss LA too much.

"Missing LA is like missing an abusive, wealthy step father." Haha sooo true. Less then a month before move in! I'm stoked :)

Trash Cans

I realize I have disappeared for awhile now. There's just so much that has happened in the last few months! I guess I fell behind and never caught up. From Seattle to Singapore to New Orleans to Texas to starting classes, this summer has been a whirl. It's now a goal to write once a day. Just little tidbits if I don't have time. And if I'm not blogging, I want to be writing on paper. We'll see how this goes.

So when I first decided to blog, I was debating whether or not I wanted a tumblr or this. I guess i erred blogspot because my brother had one. Haha, I have a tumblr account...but I don't what to suddenly switch and become a traitor. Hm.

Today has been quite interesting. Well, lets start with last night when a bug flew into my room and made this horrendous buzzing noise and grossed me out. Well, to my horror it landed on my bed *puke in my mouth*. At 12:30 AM, all I wanted to do was kill it and sleep. So I killed it. On my bed. Then picked up my pillows, went to my brother's room [he's in Japan] and slept there instead because I wasn't going to be cleaning sheets at that hour!

This morning I woke up to a phone call from my dad asking me where I was. Apparently my mother walked into my room and saw that while my stuff was still there and I didn't leave yet, I was not in my bed. So she freaked and thought I had been kidnapped and panicked...yeah, that was interesting.

So last semester, my lovely roommate showed me the following clip from Modern Family:

I walked out to my car this morning to leave, started the engine, shifted to reverse, and backed up only to hear a thud and dragging noise. Lo and behold, I had reversed into my neighbor's trash can and knocked it over. Haha, I had to run out of my car, put all their trash back into the bin, and placed it upright again. I think the neighbors saw. Story of my life.

To Felix

Dear Felix,

I still remember the day we met...Montague brought friends over just to hang out. You went straight for the kitchen and raided our pantry. True signs of being part of the Hung family: never ending stomachs :). Throughout all these years, you have been a friend, an older brother (one who is more overprotective than Montague!), and (how can I leave this out) a lover ;). I will keep my promises and always be faithful :P.

Felix, you have always been an inspiration to me. I don't know anyone on this earth with a bigger heart or a bigger smile. Even through struggles that I cannot fathom facing myself, you endured and always kept your head up. You have taught me to always have hope when times are tough. So let me make another promise to you: I promise to live life to the fullest, to keep a smile on my face, to appreciate the little things that I may take for granted, and to spread love to everyone around me.

Rest in peace, my dear friend. I miss you. Thanks for everything.

Love always,
Chanel

P.S. I joined gospel choir for fun last semester...it's probably one of the best parts of my week when I'm at school. Just thought you would be excited to know that I really enjoy it.

8:00 AM

Los Angeles, CA

Saturday May 1, 2010

8:00 AM

The Last Stretch of Freshman Year...

It's crazy. At 2:00 pm, I walked out of my last class of the semester. Of the school year. Of my first year of college. Did it really fly by that quickly? It still really hasn't hit me that I'm not waking up at 8:50 and running to class this Monday. No detour to Annenberg coffee cart. No sudoku when we enter the second hour of lecture and my mind begins to wander...I'm not ready to leave!

It's pretty surreal. I walked out of my last class holding this:

In one week, I will be taking finals.

In two weeks, I will be at LAX and leaving this country. What? Really? I thought I just got here. I thought our trip was months away...

More later. Today was full of adventure :) But I'm tired and it's time for bed.

xoxo [hehe]

Music

In light of Andrew's blog post on music, I've decided to write a little bit too. Actually, I was planning on writing this post, but I'm just so darn busy and lazy...I need to get myself to blog consistently.

*note to self: if you're going to procrastinate [like I am doing at the moment], you might as well blog and be productive*

Anyway, Andrew talked about how college kids are key consumers in the music industry. College kids are the ones who search and find unknown songs. Slowly but surely, these songs are passed on from one person to another, heard across the courtyard, and at small gigs in the campus cafe.

At the beginning of the year, I heard a band named yOya...they were playing at some point on campus at USC and I just happened to stick around. [They're also playing this Wednesday at Ground Zero here at USC. Unfortunately I can't go due to other obligations. Sad days...] They were simply amazing...back in the fall, they were in the middle of changing their sound. A two man band, with one guy on the keys/percussion and the other on the guitar. Both sing. Somehow something stirred in my soul as I watch them live. Real, raw talent. I'm not musically savvy, but the guy on the keys/percussion was maintaining all of this through some kind of machine that lets you add sounds and such [or at least I think that's what it was!]. Anyway, he was adding various percussion and wow...I watched him intently listening to the timing and snapping out the rhythm so fast in order to put in the next sound at the perfect time. I love their focus on the various elements of percussion.

Since hearing them, I've been really into indie rock. While Top 40 is great when going out, it makes me laugh and die a little inside to think that this is our generations "music". Okay maybe that was harsh, but in a time of auto-tune and whatnot, I am in love with the sounds of raw music. I'm pretty sure I'm just going to shell out my non-existent money to buy their cd.

Anyway, if indie rock is anything up your ally, or want to check out something new, yOya is releasing their album and has a free preview right now for the next week. All you have to do is put in your email, so if you get a chance to listen I'd love to hear what you think. If you don't want to listen to the whole thing, my favorite tracks are Fireworks, Looking in the Window, Lovers On, and New Years Morning.

Click here to listen to their album!

Time for bed. It's going to be a busy week!