Ross finally got his acceptence letter today!! He called me and was so excited that the big letter finally came in. We both kind of freaked out. We shouldn't have, because I mean come on, he of course was going to get in, but still it was cool. Good timing too because we are supposed to sign our lease on the 23rd, and it would have been a little weird having his sign and lease and not knowing if he was really coming here next year.

Also in good news, I got an A on my first physics midterm. That was stunning because I failed the first test last semester. The average was a 33 out of 48, and I got a 45, so I literally screamed when I saw my score. It's just such an dramatic change from last semester, I didn't really think it was real at first until I actually got my test back and saw that I did that good. Now I'm really hoping that I can get an A in physics this semester. How crazy is that? From having to withdraw to getting an A. I just hope that come true.

TV news, Heroes has me going in circles. The end of the last volume was so good, this volume started off shaky, Jason said he would stop watching because he was so disappointed in the episode 2 weeks ago, and then last weeks ep was good again. I just hope that is stays strong because the love-hate relationship is getting annoying. I have found House though to be really good. I could do with less 13 and Foreman, but I've never really cared about any of Houses team anyways. I know a lot of people don't like how Cuddy has acted since she got her baby, but I thought the look on her face when she has to leave her baby and go to work was spot on. I've seen that face so many times at work, and have seen mothers in tears because they hate leaving their child to go to work. Also, the House on methadone episode was such a great episode. So is House actually nice, just the pain makes him angry? Or is just the relief of pain that makes his happy?

Ok, so today is the nation Day of Remembarance to remeber the Japanese internment during WWII. One of the campus groups got George Takei to come and talk about his experience. Of course I wanted to go because its George Takei. His story though was so interesting and moving. I was glad that I got to go and hear what it was like from a first-hand source. He also was able to tie in multiple movements throughout US history to emphasis his position that we have to active members of our democracy. It was a very good talk. I got to stay for the whole talk, but I had to leave half way through the Q&A session. There was going to be a chance to take pictures with him afterwards, so I'm really sad that I didn't get to because I had a mandatory building meeting.

After the building meeting, there is this crazy guy that live across from the RA. He practices with his band on his balcony at like 12:30 at night, and got into a fight with the RA when she told him he couldn't practice that late at night. It got so bad, DPS came and had to talk to him. He also got everyones email from the mass emails the RA sends out, and sent out this crazy, acid trip type email on Tuesday about flowers blooming and dying and the philosophy of life. I guess over the weekend someone wrote on the walls inside the building with black marker. We got an email from the SC housing coordinator saying that everyone had to come to the meeting tonight or face disciplinary action. Since then, even more graffiti has been drawn on the building. Where the meeting was supposed to be, someone earlier today wrote "Art is a" in black markers, and "Crime" in red spray paint. At the meeting, the coordinator and DPS officer told us that the person has to confess and pay for the damages. If no one comes forward, then everyone will be interviewed by DPS, and if they find out who did it, the person will be prosecuted. If no one comes forward, and they can't find out who did not, everyone will be charged $200 per graffiti. So far there have been 7, so that would be $1,400 per person. And if you are graduating this semester, you must pay that so you can even graduate. In the housing contract, there is something about all residents paying for damages if no one is found to caused them Yeah, that pretty much pissed everyone off. Everyone thinks it was the crazy guy, and we sure a heck do not want to pay $1,400 because someone wanted to write with black marker on the walls. Thankfully, after the meeting, the girl who was standing next to me went up to the officer and said she saw who painted the spray paint. Hopefully that means we won't be getting charged.

TV wise, I hope this week's Heroes was good. Last week's was just a little lacking for me. I don't know, it just felt like a slow pace, and wasn't all that exciting. I'm just hoping this week's was a little better. The Office has been really good. The post-Super Bowl episode, wow, was the best ever. The fire opening was the funniest opening I have ever seen. Also, the road trip with Pam and Michael was pretty good. Him falling on the ground, that was so Michael. I can't believe he cut Holly's sweater! I haven't read any spoilers, so I'm still wondering if she will be making a come back. I hope so since she really fit into the show well.

Song of the Day

99 Problems by the Jay-Z

Selected because: I have a midterm and lab report due next week, have to find an apartment tomorrow, and have to worry about having to pay for vandalism. Maybe it's not 99 problems, but it feels like it to me right now

Ok, so today I pretty much did one of the dumbest things of my life. First off, I got into that lab that I needed two weeks ago. That meant that I got to get my perfect schedule, and I am repeating physics-a right now, so I don't have to do it during the summer. I went to class on Monday, spent forever on Tuesday doing the homework (which I actually got this time), and turned it in and talked to the professor on Wednesday. I addressed him as Dr. Bergmann, asked him about the syllabus, and he told me that we weren't using clickers, but were using a physics website for immediate feedback. He also told me to send him an email so that he wouldn't count the 1st assignment on my grade because I missed the first two weeks. I did that, and Dr. B sent me an email that he wouldn't do that because we only had to get a 90% on the homework to get full credit. I was really confused and thought he was crazy. Also, I told everyone that my physics class seemed really different because we were doing lens and mirrors, and we never did that last semester. I went back to the class again today, and got this really weird feeling that I was in the wrong class somehow. We kept doing mirrors, even though the homework was over vectors and forces. Well, the professor switched powerpoints and it says on the first slide that the class is 153. I'm supposed to be in 135!! So I text Jason and Jishiel, who both laugh at me. I text Jishiel the title of this blog, which she says is the funniest thing she heard all day (yes, we really do use flip). She looked it up for me, and found out that I was on the wrong floor. Physics-a last semester, physics-b which was I supposed to take this semester, and the physics 100 class I was enrolled in for the first two weeks of this semester were all in room 100. I guess when I switched physics classes, I just assumed that it was supposed to be in that room, and didn't even check the room number. So then I had to go into the right room after physics-a got out and ask the professor about the class and explain why I missed the last week and a half. Oh man, that was so embarrassing! I felt like such an idiot!! I mean, who goes to the wrong class for almost 2 weeks??? Anyways, the crazy thing was that Dr. B told me the exact same thing as that other professor (we don't use clickers, but use the physics site). I think he thinks I'm really weird. I mean I sent him an email reminder after I thought he told me to, but that wasn't really him! Why didn't that other professor tell me he wasn't Dr. Bergmann?!? So now I've missed almost a full month of lecture for the class that I totally didn't understand last time, even when I went to class. And I know that I got 100% on the homework I did, but since I turned it in to the wrong class, and the answers are already posted online, I can't make it up!! AHH!!! This is such a bad start to the class. Exactly the opposite of what I wanted to happen. Yes, I am officially, really really stupid!

Besides that, the game last night was awesome! I wasn't really going for either team since I don't really watch the NFL unless it is Bush playing. Usually I just go for who has the USC players I like (so last year I went for NY), but both teams had USC players, so I was neutral. The last like 5 mins though were so exciting. That made for two good Super Bowls in a row. Ad wise, I liked the "Mean Troy" Coke ad the best, but I guess I'm biased on that one. Of all the trailers, I was most excited for the Transformers one. I can't wait until that movie comes out.

Heroes came back tonight!!! I can't wait until to get home Thursday night so I can watch it. I really hope its good. The trailers made it seem like it this would be a great volume. Also, The Office that was on after the Super Bowl. I wasn't able to watch it because I had to drive back right after the Super Bowl, so that's another thing I'm really looking forward to. The commercials looked hilarious. I hope it is better than the Hillary Swank ep. That was just a little weird, even by Office standards.

Song of the Day

Torture Me by the Red Hot Chili Peppers

Selected because: Eric Holder got confirmed today, and the title seemed fitting since he will end that era.

Hello all. I hope everyone's 2009 is off to a good start. Or, as my micro professor said, hopefully it will be better after the 20th. My New Year was pretty good. Ross and Joe came over and we watched a mixture of Dick Clark's, Carson Daily's, and MTV's New Year's Eve specials. Just a question, what do the backup girls in the Pussycat Dolls actually do? I guess I had never seen them preform before, but they didn't even sing. The boys only made it to 1:30, so I called them duds. At work on Monday though I found out that no one from work even made it to midnight, so maybe they weren't such duds after all. The Rose Bowl was god of course. I actually thought that the game this year would actually be good. I mean, the final score was close, but it was really over by the first half. Which leads me to the title of this blog. Mays, Gable, and Pinkard have already stated that they are coming back next year, which is great. But I just read an msnbc report that Sanchez will announce tomorrow that he isn't. I just sat there and thought, "Really?!?" I called my mom and she had the same reaction. Next year the Rose Bowl will be for the championship. Is he really going to give up the chance not only for the Heisman, but for the home town boy to lead the home town team to the championship game. To have his number retired and possibly do something that Leinart wasn't able to do. I hope the report is wrong because the same commentators thought Maualuga and Cushing would forgo their senior years. There's no way he could really give that chance up. All he has is a Rose Bowl win under his belt. There is just so much more he could do next year, I really do hope that he does come back. Also, now both our offensive cordinator and defensive cordinator are going to Washington. I mean, Nick Holt is going to be the highest paid assistant coach in the country, but does everything have to be about money? Jason and I were both saying that we would rather stay at a team with great players and a great record than go to an 0-12 team just to double our paychecks. Man, I next year might be rough since we are already loosing all of the linebackers, both the cordinators, and now maybe even a quarterback.

School ok, it's been ok being back. My favorite was when my mom dropped me off on Sunday and there was this group of guys carrying all this luggage. They were wandering around the parking lot looking completely lost. My mom was like, "Too much New Year's partying?" We just sat there and like 5 mins later they finally found their car and drove off. It was like a real life "dude, where's my car?" moment. Classes ok, but both my micro and physio professors have warned that they teach very "intense" courses. The micro lab is 6 hours a week, and we still have to come in during TA office hours because the 6 hours isn't enough time. But, I did get to buy a lab coat for my micro lab. It was exciting because it's my first lab coat, and I'm getting closer to actually having one for my career. My back tire on my bike blew out today, so I was late to my micro lab because I only gave myself enough time to get there by bike, not by walking. Man, walking is so hard. My feet are so sore right now because I had class from 9 to 5:30, and I was running around all day to different ends of the campus. I did get an hour break though because my physio professor had a family medical crisis and cancelled class for today and Friday. But he still recorded the two lectures and posted the video online so we have to watch them for our quiz on Monday. All I could think was, "That's so Dr. H." I had him for intro to physio, and now I have him for advanced physio, and that is just his style. Never wanting to get off schedule, even if his mother has a health crisis.

TV wise, I can't wait for the 20th. I'm actually lucky because I don't have class on Tuesday, so I'm not coming back here until Tuesday night. That means I can stay home and watch the big speech. I'm so jealous because my boss is actually going to Washington for it. I guess she decided to go with the Torrence high school band when they got booked back in Sept. of 07. I would pretty much give anything to be there because it is going to be such a historic day. Besides that, I'm just waiting for the weekends so I can watch my favorite shows. I was disappointed with the Biggest Loser. Why did they have like half of the people leave in the first week? That was a really dumb twist. Anyways, still waiting for Heroes! The preview for this chapter looked so good! Also, can't wait for The Office! OMG, Andy finds out! Oh, so much good TV to look forward too.

Song of the Day

El Matador by The Spirit of Troy (Trojan Marching Band)

Selected because: It's the song they play for Sanchez and I better hear it next year

Well, I wrote before that I had to pass my physics midterm in order to pass the class. Yeah, that didn't happen. So I did all of the homework twice and thought I studied really hard, but I still somehow paniced when I got the test. I knew how to do the first two, so I got those, but I didn't know how to do the last three. Looking back at the answer key, the problems were so easy, but at the time I thought that they were impossible. Everyone else seemed to do just fine, which made me feel even more terrible. I emailed my pharmacy advisor about my grade, and she said that if I failed to get a C or better in physics, I would forfeit my guaranteed admission into pharm school. Friday I just cried and cried, and my best friend and I kept saying how unhappy we were with our lives that week (she had a way worse week than I did though). I calculated that I just had to get at B- on the final to secure a C in the class, but I really didn't want all of my future career resting on one physics final. And with the way I've performed on physics exams, a B- actually seemed almost impossible. So, for the first time ever, I dropped a class. Hopefully I'll repeat it next semester, although at the moment I'm not registered for it. I have to take Microbiology next semester, and my lab is at the same time as the physics lecture. I have to switch labs in order to take physics, and at the moment all of the labs are full. Now I'm just hoping that someone drops over winter break, or wants to switch labs, so I can take physics in the spring. Otherwise, I'll be stuck taking physics a and physics b in the summer. That would really suck because that would be only give me two weeks off this whole summer. Ugh! What really gets me mad is that I'll never use physics in pharm school like I would use biology or chemistry. And I aced biology (was in the top 2% of the freshman bio class), made Dean's list my freshman year, made numerous honors societies, but I can't for the life of me pass physics. I just hate that it's this stupid class that can blow my whole career. If I had failed physiology or something, then I would understand how that would be a sign that health sciences was not for me. But it's physics! I can't figure out how to calculate the mass of a star and how far a skier will travel if the coefficent of friction is 0.75, and that is what is going to ruin my future. Well, hopefully I will ace it the next time I take it, and will go into pharm school with flying colors

In other news, I have a 12 page paper due tomorrow in my writing class and I am avoiding it at all costs. I already have 8 pages written, but I'm so tired of writing, that I really don't want to finish. It's not even for a grade. We have to turn in our drafts for our final paper so everyone can read everyone else's and comment on them. I guess the idea of getting roasted by the class on my writing isn't very appealing to me. Trust me, some people have really gotten destroyed by the class' anonymous comments, so I just don't want to sit through a session of my professor reading negative comments to me. He says that it helps us as a writer to get all of this feedback, but it just seems uncomfortable to me. Also, I got an A on my STATs midterm. I was joking over the weekend that I have two A's and one D. Lol, oh physics.

I'm thankful that I don't have anything to do this weekend. I have nothing due next week, so this weekend will be like my weekend off. I just get to gorge on all my favorite shows which returned after taking last week off. Actually, I have to proof read Ross's application essays by Friday, but that shouldn't be bad. I'll gladly help his application to SC because we both really want him to come here next year. Not like SC is his only option though. He has already been automatically accepted to UC Riverside, UC Irvine, and UC Davis because he is one of the top seniors in California. When I graduated, I had only been automatically accepted to UCR. I swear, that little smarty pants always has to top me in everything!

Song of the Day

It's a New Day by Will.i.am

Selected because: I love this music video

I've never cried before when the winner of a presidential election was announced. I haven't lived through too many, but even when Bush won both times, the election seemed far away. The election never felt personal to me, until last night. I had played with msnbc.com's electoral map enough to know when Pennsylvania and Ohio went to Obama, the next president had already been elected. I knew an hour before the West polls closed who would win. Jason called me 5 minutes before the west coast polls closed so we could countdown together and be on the phone together when the winner was announced. And yet when Keith Olbermann actually announced it, when the electoral count jumped to 286, I was stunned. I just stood there, in front of my tv, just processing for a second that it actually happened. Then when Jason yelled "Whoa, it just jumped! It's over 270!" I just crumpled and my eyes watered up. I stumbled back to my chair, tears going down my face. I wasn't prepared for that. I wasn't prepared for how powerful that moment would be. I had an hour to process it before it was announced, but it was still overwhelming. Last night was a wonderful night for America, but it was a surprisingly personal night for me. I have 18 cousins and 7 second cousins on my mom's side of my family. All of us are either biracial or multiracial. None of us look alike, but all of us are minorities. Jason's biracial and we are in an inter-racial relationship. Last night a ceiling was broken for all of us. Yes, someone from my family, maybe even my future children, can actually aspire to be president. My mom called me after Obama's speech and said that she couldn't believe how emotional she was watching it. I told her the same thing happened to me. We both agreed we hadn't fully realized the gravity of the moment until it arrived. We were both glad we were alive to witness the moment with our own eyes. Last night is a night I'll never forget. Last night is something that I'll tell my children and grandchildren about. Last night, history was made.

Song of the Day

The Times They are A-Changin' by Bob Dylan

Selected because: It just seems to fit the mood of last night and this morning.

Ok, so the first time in my life I voted for president!! Jason and I went to early vote on Friday. It was so exciting! The line wasn't bad at all; it took about 20 mins to receive the ballot and vote. Our registrar let us choose to vote electronically or by paper ballot, and there were a ton of poll booths. Literally what was holding up the line was waiting to receive the ballot and having everything explained. A lot of the booths were empty, so there were more than enough available. While I was waiting I texted by best friend and told her to come and vote. When Jason and I were leaving I saw her and her mom waiting in line. Trust me, it was like pulling teeth to get her to vote. I made her register on the last day available, showed her election resources on msnbc.com and cnn.com so she could become an informed voter, and then made her actually come out to vote. Sorry, but being uninformed or not voting in so not an option in my world. I think Jason can't wait until the election is over because at least then I won't be watching MSNBC 24/7. Anyways, now I'm holding my breath until tomorrow night. I can't believe Election Day is already here. I'm so nervous right now that something, anything will happen to just prove all the polls wrong and cause the upset to occur. Every time I think about it, I get nervous. Not only we will know who the new President is, we'll see what happens in congress and locally what happens on the measures. The absolute craziest thing occurred last week. Part of my church asked voters to vote No on Prop 8. My church has always been crazy conservative, which may be why I haven't gone in about 3 years, so no one could really believe that Adventist teachers were being asked to vote No. Everyone at work kept quasi-joking that "Jesus is coming soon". It stems from the church's belief that we are in the end times and the 2nd coming is near. Yep, that's a Seventh-Day Adventist joke for ya (yes, I'm part of the Mrs. Kim religion).

In other news, Ross did way better on his SAT. He got 2100, which is within the SC acceptance range. Since he's a guy, he'll have lower standards, so I'm sure that he'll get in. Also, Wednesday I have my second physics midterm. That's another thing I'm freaking out about. I got the absolute lowest C- possible on the last test, so I'm freaking out about not passing. I know I at least have a B in lab, and since the 1st midterm and lab are weighted the same, I think I have about a C+. As long as I can get the class average, I should be ok for the final. If I bomb again...no I don't want to think about that because that is one dark, scary place. Just have your fingers crossed for me please! Also, my computer got taken over by spyware last weekend. I only had USC's site open to check the time of game, and all of a sudden I got a pop-up that I had a Trojan and then my computer restarted. When it turned on, my wallpaper and home-page changed. I kept getting more and more pop-ups. The thing was though that Jason and I had just bought a security system from Best Buy after asking a worker which one was best. I run a full-scan with the program, which took an hour to complete, and it said that there were no threats on my computer. Yeah, a waste of $70 there. So I had to bring my computer in, and hopefully it will be fixed in two weeks. Oh well, nothing else will matter if tomorrow goes well. I can't wait!!

Song of the Day

The Final Countdown by Europe

Selected because: Nothing like 80's cheesiness to countdown to the election

While last week/weekend was Parent Weekend here at SC. My mom came out on Wednesday night because I didn't have any school on Thursday and Friday. I was so happy about that because every year on Parent Weekend they let the parents watch the football team practice on Thursday. Well of course the one year that I don't have class or work on Thursday is the year that they cancel all of the events on Thursday because of Yom Kippur. It was fine though because we just ended up spending the day with my Grandpa. He's 85 and he seriously cracks me up. The whole time I was laughing because he's just such a strange little old man. He is always talking to himself and singing as he slowly makes his way around the house.

Friday my mom and I went to a bunch of events. Two extremely interesting ones were about politics and the economy. The first event had a panel of journalist from other countries, the former and current dean of the school of journalism, and former governor Grey Davis. The panel was discussing the changing role of the media in covering politics and the economic crisis. The second was a lecture by a school of business professor about the crisis and comparing it to a similar crisis that occurred in Japan, and how we can learn from their mistakes. That was really helpful becaue my mom and I both came out feeling like we were better informed about the situation. Both events had standing room only because they covered the two topics everyone is interested in at the moment. After that we went to the football pep rally. After the rally, the only players who stayed were Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing. Rey took pictures with a bunch of parents and little kids. It was so sweet, and it just made him my favorite player even more. I took his picture, but didn't have my pic taken with him (don't even ask me why). I also didn't have my purse, so I didn't get his autograph. At least I saw him though, so that made my day - heck even my year. All the dads were excited and kept saying, "He's a star." One lady had no clue why everyone was gathering around him, and asked him, "Who are you?" He responded, "Me? I'm a nobody." She then asked what his number was, and he said, "Oh, fifty-something." She seemed really preplexed, so he smiled and said that his number was 58. He left right after, and the lady turned to me and my mom and asked who he was. We told her and said how great of a player he was. I don't think she really got it, but she said, "I'll tell my son that I touched him."

Friday night we went to visit my Aunt Cece's. That was full of craziness, but at least I got to hang out with Ross and Joe. I helped Ross with his SC application, and helped him set-up everything he needed to file for financial aid. I always thought it was a given that he would get into SC and come here next year, but he bombed his SATs, so I'm nervous. I don't think we are going to go shopping for an apartment this winter break after all. He said though that the test was just really hard. All of his friends who took it with him re-took it later, and all of them got better scores. One girl went from a 640 to an 800 in math alone. He re-took it and is just waiting for his scores. He thinks that he did way better, so I'm just hoping so.

Saturday Jason came and we went to the game. It was good, had it's highlights. The defense - and of course Maualuga - was amazing, and didn't give up anything. The offense did ok, but 3rd quarter was aweful with all the turn-overs. The guy sitting next to us sumed it up great when he said, "They're up by 21 and I'm pissed. 21 to 0, and I'm pissed!" That's the thing about us Trojan fans, we sure are spoiled. The Rose Bowl and 21 point leads are just not enough to keep us happy. Poor Sanchez had three turn-overs in a row, and his receivers didn't seem to help him much. Anyways, boy did I hear a story about Sanchez today in lab. This one sorority girl sits across from me in lab. She was saying that she went to the 901 last night and saw Mark Sanchez completely wasted. She said that some girl was pulling him to take her home, and Sanchez started to go, but then turned to go back inside. The guy that was with the girl in my physics class patted Sanchez on the back and asked him if he was ok, and Sanchez was so gone that he couldn't even speak. The girl just ended up pulling him out of the bar. He should be careful with that. As mentioned, he's already been accused before, so getting so drunk and going home with a random chick might not be the best idea. He probably doesn't want to pull a Leinart before he even gets signed.

Anyways...

Song of the Day

September by Earth, Wind & Fire

Selected because: I was on the tram today and the driver was totally rocking out to this song.

Thursday was not a good day.

Jason's aunt is dying. His mom came back from Vegas yesterday and said that the cancer is not only in her breasts and lungs, but in her bones, stomach, and kidneys. With it spreading that much, there is just nothing that can be done for her, and they aren't sure how much longer she has. Strangely, she has had follow-ups every 6 months, and it wasn't until this last one that they found anything. Strange how cancer could spread that fast. She decided to enroll herself in a clinical study. Her statement was, "If I'm going to die, I might as well help someone else". That's the attitude I would want to have if I was in that position.

USC lost. Badly. The last 3 meetings in Corvallis, strange things have happened to the mighty Trojans. 4 years ago it was the "fog game", where you couldn't even see the players on the field because the fog was so dense. 2 years ago, we lost 33-31 after a failed last minute 2 point conversion attempt by Booty. That loss almost ruined our chances of the National Title, but it was the loss to UCLA in the last game that sealed the deal. Now, the #1 team in the nation fell to an unranked team. Sanchez was off, the offensive line didn't give him anytime, and the receivers didn't help. The offensive of course didn't even get an amazing drive until there was 1:30 left in the game, and it was too late by then. So the question is, does this take the championship game off the table? Is the Heisman trophy nod gone? I think the latter is yes, not sure yet about the first question. If this season is full of upsets like last year, I think we still have a chance. Somehow, I don't think that will happen though, probably it will be back to the Rose Bowl. Again. Yes the Rose Bowl is great, but it's not what the faithful had been hoping for. Short of the goal, short of what seemed like a guarantee, short of what should have happened yet again for the 3rd year in a row. It's just frustrating that every season the best team in the nation falls hard to an unworthy opponent and blows their chance at a title game. Worse, Maualuga limped off the field. I really hope that he isn't hurt. That would be another blow to the team, and put another cloud over the rest of the season.

The Heroes priemer was lackluster. Maybe it was my bad mood, the promos that claimed that Heroes was back, and my expectation of this to brighten my gloomy day, but it disappointed. I don't know, it just wasn't as good as I was expecting. It didn't have that "Heroes" feel of season 1, but at the same time, felt like seaon 1. I mean, Linderman coming back, Niki with another personality, again with the saving of the world, Claire whining, her mother coming back, Sylar coming back, a guy painting the future... it just seemed so tired and rehashed. Jason just kept saying that the show got stupid. I was bored. And what was with Maya's hood rat clothes and all of a sudden becoming a loose woman? Wasn't she a devot Catholic? It probably wasn't supposed to be a stereotype, but I wasn't impressed with that. There were some interesting things though that I can't wait for. Sylar and mama Petrelli, wow! That was crazy, and I can't wait to see how that plays out. Tracey with the ice power. How is she alive, and how did her power change? Matt in Africa and Peter in a criminals body. Oh future Peter, for all of your good intentions, you just screwed things up. Hiro and Ando's changing friendship. Hiro was so jarred by that, and kept treating Ando different. I wonder if Ando will still get powers and square off with Hiro. And Claire being "special", different from everyone else. I really want to know what Sylar did to her, and why she is so different. Also, Sylar and HRG working together, and what's happening to Mohinder. Can't wait for all the answers during the season.

Thankfully, The Office was perfect. I don't have to time to write alot about it, but it was so good. Jim and Pam!!! I was so happy when he proposed!!

Today the debate was good. Obama and McCain really started to engage and get into policy fights. I think Obama did well considering this was supposed to be the debate that McCain had the advantage in. What with McCain not even looking at Obama though? Did anyone else get this weird racial overtone vibe? I'm sorry, I don't usually talk about race this much. But I mean, it was in Mississippi, the old grumpy white man wouldn't even acknowledge the younger black man as his equal, kept calling him naive and saying "didn't get it". It was just weird. I think that didn't come off very well, and maybe why Obama seems to have won in the immediate viewers polls, even though the commentators were giving it to McCain.

Song of the Day

1973 by James Blunt

Selected because: It has always had this sad feel to me, and I'm sad.

Well yesterday was my birthday. I didn't do too much, my aunt, uncle, Ross, and Joe came down to visit. Pretty much just hung out with my two favorite cousins ever and then went to dinner with them and Jason. Ross has this weird dynamic with Jason. I think he looks up to Jason in a way, but I think he's also fascinated that Jason is Asian but doesn't look like it. I don't really understand it, but every time Ross comes over he has to see Jason. This time he had me drive over to Jason's house to make sure he was coming to dinner. After dinner, we had birthday cake and ice cream for me and my mom's birthday's, and watched some of the Emmys. Didn't really get too many presents, just a lot of money. My mom did buy me a box of strawberry mochi, which is my favorite ice cream dessert. Jason's parents forgot it was my birthday, but I don't blame them. They were busy getting ready to go visit Jason's aunt last night. His aunt had breast cancer before, and now the cancer has reemerged in her lungs. She had her oncology visit today, so his parents went to stay with her last night and today.

My mom's birthday today marked the official first day of fall. Summer is officially gone, and boy did it feel like it. This morning was really cold and overcast, and the temperature didn't get up to 80. I didn't pack a jacket for this week, but I'll have to next week because the weather is changing.

Thankfully, there is no new reports of any violent crimes around SC. Hopefully it will remain that way and the recent crime wave has ended.

Song of the Day

August is Over by We the Kings

Selected because: It has that end of summer feel that fits this time of the year.

Ok, another frightening incident occured two blocks north of campus early yesterday morning. Around 2 am a male student was walking with a friend when he got into an argument with another man. It soon became a fight and the USC student was stabbed to death. The suspect field the scene. DPS sent out a notice via text message to students who had signed up for Trojan Alert. Well, I am signed up for with the alert system, and I didn't get the text. I did get the email a few hours later though. DPS and the LAPD once again stated that they will try to increase security, but that's what they said last time. The student affairs VP, Michael L. Jackson, sent out an email saying that there wasn't a security problem off campus, that this is a rare event, and that he's never seen a school year start out like this. I don't know, maybe two rapes and a murder in two weeks isn't really a security problem, but it sure feels like one. Again, I don't think I'll be in that kind of situation because I won't be out late a night, but it's still scary. My prayers are with the student's friends and family. This has been a bad two weeks.

Ok, so pretty much the best two weeks have the year have finally arrived. The Biggest Loser and House premiered tonight, but I don't think I'll be able to watch House. I don't have a tv here, so Jason has to Tivo all the shows for me at home. Well Biggest Loser and House are both at 8, which wouldn't be a problem because we can record two shows at once, but Wipeout has its season finale tonight. Yes, Wipeout, that's the show Jason decided to record instead of House. I'm so not joking, but I guess it's fine because we haven't finished season 4 yet. Jason and I only really discovered House after the Super Bowl this year, and immediately bought seaons 1-3. We've seen most of season 4 on USA, but haven't finished yet. Anyways, continuing on the events of the coming weeks, my birthday is on the Sunday the 21st. My mom's birthday is on Monday the 22nd, so this weekend will mostly consist of birthday dinners and shopping. Also, my favorite show also comes back on the 22nd. I'm talking Heroes of course! The Office premier's the 25th, and Chuck airs on the 29th. Also on the 29th, Jason and my 4 year anniversary. Yup, it's a awesome two weeks. Everythings kind of just packed on in there.

Saturday was pretty awesome with that AMAZING game. Wow, it was perfect, it was a blow-out, and it proved at least for this week who should be #1 in the nation. For the first time in 3 years, the offense is really looking like it has it's swagger back. Try as Booty might, he just never could give the offense the confidence that Leinhart was able to. I think that Sanchez has done a good job of bringing that backa gain. The best part of the game was Rey Maualuga's touch-down! That was awesome. I'm glad that Rey's hair is going out again. I mean, it's just not Mauluga without the hair. I kind of feel bad for Ohio State because they just seem to crumble everytime they are put on a National stage. At the same time though, I think it's partly because they are consistently over-rated. After that was SNL. Omg, Tina Fey as Palin was HILARIOUS! I was laughing so hard all throughout the skit. I really hope they have her come back because that was the best skit I've seen in awhile. I think Phelps did ok. He fumbled over a few lines, but he did decent. I liked alot of skits, especially the ones where Kristen Wiig played crazy people. My favorite was the "Peppa" skit, but Jason found that one to be stupid. Then again, he loved the Space Olympics digital short, and I thought that was a little lame. I really wish they had done more with Bela Koryli because he is just so funny in real life. Jason was laughing so hard at the cheese pizza part of that skit that I had to pause the tv for about 5 mins. Would have been great if they did more with that.

In final news, I'm officially a starving student. Since I didn't start my 5-7 page paper, pharm essay, and physics & stats homework until Sunday afternoon, I became engrossed once I did start. So much so that I completely forgot to buy food for this week. I actually haven't gone food shopping since the first Sunday I was here. That was Aug. 24! When I got here I realized that I had Romen, pasta, mini bags of chips, cereal and 1 Gatorade. What I didn't have was any fruit, vegetables, bread, vegie meat, or milk. So I've pretty much lived off of noddles and chips for the last 2 days. There is only so much of it that you can eat before you would rather just stay hungry. I reached that point last night. My stomach was growling, but I just went to sleep like that. My dinner so far has been a 1 oz bag of Cheetohs. I'm hungry, but I'm not sure if I can stomach another bowl of pasta, so I'm just drinking half of the Gatorade. Thankfully I get to go home tomorrow night. I already told Jason that he's going to have to buy me a billion things from In-N-Out tomorrow nite since he got that for dinner last nite. He kept teasing me about how full he was while I was starving. Oh well, just 24 more hours until I get to seriously pig out. Cannot wait for that either!

The big news on campus today is about the two sexual assaults that occured on campus this weekend. According to the DPS emails I've received, and the Daily Trojan, the first attack happened on Friday night around 1:30 am infront of the Cardinal Gardens Apartments. A female student was walking alone when she was struck from behind, dragged on the grass and sexual assaulted. Shortly after the assault began, a male bystandered yelled at the guy and he fled. On Saturday night at 3 am another female was walking alone when 3 men offered to walk her home. When she got to her apartment at the Century Apartment building, two of the men stole her car while the third raped her.

Ok, so this is pretty unnerving! One, Cardinal Gardens and Century are both USC owned housing complexes, just off campus. To get a perspective, they are the closest off-campus USC housing units to the main campus. Cardinal is literally right across the street from campus. All you have to do to get onto campus from Cardinal is cross Jefferson Blvd, which takes all of 12 seconds (I've timed myself). Two, I lived in Cardinal Gardens last year! This morning I was walking past Cardinal when I saw the LAPD holding a news conference on the same path that I walked every day last year. Watching a news report on it from KNBC, the reporter said the woman was dragged onto the grass that was right next to the gate I used every day last year! Hopefully though, I don't think this will happen to me. I've never been to a party here at SC, and I never go out late at night. The lastest I come home is 6, when I get off work, and there are a ton of people out at that time. I also would never go walking around by myself after dark. I mean, who the heck does that in downtown LA where people are known to get robbed at all hours of the day and the Starbucks half a block away was robbed at gunpoint last year at 7:30 in the morning. Come on, think! I don't want it to sound like I think the girls deserved that, they obviously didn't, but I just hope that other people here think about where they are and realize that it's not a good idea to walk around by themselves in the wee-hours of the morning. We have Campus Cruiser, which will pick you up and take you to your apartment, for a reason! I really just hope doesn't happen to anyone else and that people use the resources we have so that we can prevent this from every happening again.

Cardinal Gardens was in the news in 2006 for a similar incident. That spring, back when he was still sitting behind Booty, Mark Sanchez was arrested after a student charged him with sexually assaulting her. He was cleared of the charges by the summer, and now you can see him as the starting quarterback for the Trojans every game day.

Ok, so I started back at SC last week. My classes are ok. Physics professor mumbles, writing professor kinda seems like a hard-behind, and my stats professor is hilarious, so I have a pretty good mix. I have my first homework in physics due tomorrow, and I can't figure out 2 of the problems. In class it seemed so easy, probably because the examples were really straight forward, but the homework is alot harder. We have our first conferences with our writing professor tomorrow. We have to meet with him and discuss our first paper that is due in about a week and a half (yikes!). Kind of nervous about meeting with him one-on-one because I don't know how to answer his questions. He asks like self-explanatory questions alot, so it makes the class really awkward. Also, he's the kind of person who can be all out laughing one second and then go to dead serious the next, which is kind of creepy. My first stats homework is also due tomorrow, but it's only two problems, and it's probably really easy. My stats professor said she failed stats 3 times as an undergrad, so it's pretty funny that she's even teaching it. She also said that one semester everyone in her class except 2 people got A's, so I think I'm really going to like that class.

Well I went home Wednesday nite and had a 5 day weekend this weekend. It was soo nice!! Worked a little on Thursday and Friday, and then got to enjoy the totally awesome game on Saturday! SC jumped to No. 1 in the AP, which is great. I just hope we can stay strong against Ohio in two weeks. Saturday nite is where I got my quote from. So it was around 11, and I decided to go downstairs. The stairs change direction half way up, so there is like a bigger stair in the middle where it changes direction. There were no lights on downstairs, so I thought I was stepping on the big area, when actually I was supposed to be stepping on the stair above it. Well, needless to say, I fell down on to the big area and landed on the side of right side of my foot and ankle. Jason was behind me, and he and I both started laughing. Then I realized that it actually really hurt, and started crying and laughing at the same time. Well Jason got me ice and his mom looked at my ankle. It was already swollen at midnight, and by the time I woke up on Sunday I had one fat ankle and one normal ankle. Jason had so much fun making fun of me for being so clumsy. I really do have really bad spacial awareness, but I think it runs in the family. My mom is ALWAYS falling down, she fell twice in one day at Disneyland, and dropping things, like me. It's like I don't know where my body is in relation to other things, because I always walk into doorways or hit my arm on a wall or something like that.

My mom and I went clothes shopping at Gottschalks on Sunday, and I had to gimp around the store because I couldn't step down all the way with my right ankle. Back to school shopping was fun though. It was the first time we've done that in a while be my high school got uniforms my junior year, so I really haven't shopped like I used to since then. The only problem was that it was the first time I actually had to pay for my own clothes. I spent $320 on Sunday then another $170 on Monday, so I spent quite a bit. But I really needed the clothes because I only had 4 pairs of pants that didn't have holes in them, and hardly any good shirts left. Also, I got a "$50 dollar off on your next purchase or $100 or more" coupon for every $100 I spent, so I have 4 of those now. There were a lot of Fox and O'Neil shirts that I wanted, but didn't get because they weren't on sale. Now this weekend I can go back and buy them and still get $50 off, so I'm really happy.

So now I'm back at SC. I had my first physics lab today, which wasn't too bad. It just took me about 20 mins to walk back to my apartment because of my limp. Now I'm going to work some more homework and hopefully figure out physics. Fun

Wow, I am so happy that I was not spoiled last night. Michael Phelps tied Mark Spitz's record in nerve racking, dramatic fashion. Jason and I were watching in the upstairs tv room because there was a huge party downstairs, so there was no room around the big tv. Before the race I was kind of hungry, but decided to watch the race before I went down to get food. Phelps started his race and I was nervous from the very beginning, but especially after the first turn, where he was 7th. The last 50 meters, I kept creeping closer and closer to the tv. At the 15 meter mark my stomach dropped because I didn't think he could win. Jason and I both started screaming, and then the magical touch happens. My .01 seconds, Phelp's half-stroke leads to him win his 7th gold. Amazing pull-off by the greatest Olympian of all time!! Jason and I both went crazy, and I literally could not believe that he had pulled it off. I was also really glad that I didn't eat before the race because my stomach was so upset from that race. The downstairs tv was surprising slower than the upstairs because about a full minute latter we heard cheering and then a roar from everyone watching downstairs. That win I think became the newest highlight of the games. Mark Spitz said it perfectly when he called it epic. It really couldn't get any closer or more dramatic than that.

In other news, I just realized that my move in day is Wednesday, like in four days Wednesday. For some reason I didn't realize how late into August it already is, or maybe I didn't want to because I really don't want to go back. So I guess I'll be packing all of my things over the next few days and getting ready to check out my new apartment. At least this year I don't have a roommate, so I don't have to get there super early. Still, summer is shockingly close to ending.

Ok so I've been glued to my tv since Friday night. The opening cermony was amazing this time! Watching it I realized why China spent so much money on it. I absolutely loved the artistry part. My favorite by far was the printing press cubes. All of us who were watching were saying during the performance that it had to be a machine, then all the people inside came out, and I almost dropped out of my chair. That just seemed impossible. The drummers and light up dancers were also really good. The only part I didn't like was when I found out about the switching of the singing girls. How sad would that be to be told that you weren't cute enough so someone else would be mouthing the words on tv? That just didn't seem fair. Besides that though, I was very impressed. The lighting of the torch was ok, but I still think that the Barcelona on was the best.

The games have been really fun to watch as well, especially Michael Phelps and his quest. I've been going to bed late, last night Primetime didn't end until 2, and waking up early so I can catch all of my favorite events. The only bad part about living on the West coast is that I have to remember not to open any new windows after about 5 since my homepage is set to msnbc.com. I forgot about that tonight, and opened a new window around 8:30 and saw that Phelps had made it 6 for 6. That kind of took the sprize out of watching, so I hope I don't do that tomorrow night. I'm so glad that I wasn't spoiled on night of the 4 x 100 relay because that was the most exciting relay I've ever seen! I was screaming my head off on Lezak's last leg, and Jason and I rewatched it like 3 times that night. It was just amazing! Now I just can't wait until tomorrow night when track & field starts and Phelps goes to tie Spitz's record.

One final note about the games, that Spanish basketball team photo that's causing so much controversy. I proud as I am of my Spanish roots, that was offensive to my Asian roots. I read an article on Yahoo Sports where Jason Kidd said that if it was the US team, they would have gotten spensions from the NBA. Really sad that there is that double standard considering those still were NBA players in that photo. Sad also that most on the Spanish team don't even understand why people are offended by it. Just seems that people can't be that ignorant in this day and age.

Ok, so the US National Team's softball game was on Saturday night in Irvine. My mom, Jason, and I all went early, like around 3, so we could get good seats. We just had general admission, so we out behind centerish-right field, but we got there early enough to see the batting practice. OMG, scariest thing ever! At least in the beginning it was, because they had the top of the line up bat first. Seriously, ever ball was being hit into the stands, so it felt like bombs were flying to the right and the left of us. They were coming so quickly, Jason kept saying that he was going to get hit in the face because he couldn't keep up with them all. Then Crystl Bustos came up to the plate and things really got scary. For some reason I zoned out for like 2 seconds, no idea why because I know who was up at bat, and the next thing I know people are yelling "heads!" and Jason is moving away from me. I look up and see this ball really close to me. I didn't have time to move, so it just goes bam! right on my knee. Yes, my knee got taken out by the ultimate he-she, Crystl Bustos. Well, not really because it just left a bruise, but it still makes a good story. After she was done batting things calmed down because the last hitters couldn't really make it out into the outfield. There was an elderly man sitting next to me, and he asked me if I went to the games often. I told him that I always watched the Softball World Series, so I knew all of the players. I asked him if he watches it a lot of the games, and he replied, "Well I'm Jennie's uncle, so I'm here to support her. Do you know Jennie's dad?" I kind of didn't know what he was talking about, so I said no, and he said, "Oh, well he's sitting 2 seats down." I then realized that we were surrounded by the whole Jennie Finch family. Her aunts and cousins were behind us, her parents and husband were next to us, and her son Ace was playing at our feet during the game. That was pretty cool because I wasn't expecting it. Kind of funny to because they kept trying to get Ace to watch the game going, "look Mommy's pitching" and he would just shrug and look away.

The game went ok. US National Team won of course, but it was only 6-2. We did see a Bustos home run, which was exciting. Nothing like her Athens bomb, but it was still cool. Afterwards though was when it really got crazy. The team was going to give out autographs, so people really got anxious and into that. They started putting the player's names on the fence and having people form a line behind it. Thankfully they started at right field and, again thankfully, put Finch's name right where we were. My mom and Jason went into that line and I went down to get Cat Osterman's autograph. The signs were being put out in alphabetical order, so I stopped at one point just to figure out where I was and they put Cat's name right infront of me. In like 2 secs I was surrounded by people and got pushed back quite a bit, but I was still happy that I was so close to the front. I felt bad for the people in left field because they didn't find out about the system until the very end and then had to run to their favorite player's line. The lines were crazy, people kept pushing and I was literally on the woman infront of me. It was the most awkward moment I've had. The team gave interviews before signing, so we were waiting uncomfortably for about 30 mins. It was all worth it though when I got to the front of the line. I had her sign a jersey I had with her name and number. I said thank you and she looked up and said "You're welcome". I was so nervous because she is my favorite softball player of all time, and when she said that I freaked out inside. I couldn't believe that I actually met Cat Osterman! Not very exciting to some, but it was the most exciting moment of my life! I was by myself, so I didn't have my picture taken with her. After she signed I took a picture of her, so I guess that's good enough.

I got Lovie-Ann Jung's autograph and then met my mom and Jason in the Finch line. I guess they had gotten pushed around too, but somehow ended up together in line at the end. My mom said the girl infront of her was smashed against some man's backpack and said she couldn't breathe. The man wouldn't move, so my mom pushed him and turned the girl so she was facing to the side inside to the front (and into his backpack). By the time I got to the Finch line it was crazy long. It went past the stands and around out past center field. The people who were in the back probably only got her autograph, if that. I was so happy that we got near the front. My mom went and got Alicia Hollowell's autograph while Jason and I got Jennie's. That was pretty cool too. Next we ran over to Monica Abbott's line while my mom when to Bustos'. That was pretty long, and while we were waiting they announced that they would only be signing for 10 more minutes. It was kind of sad because Lauren Berg's line was between Abbott's and Bustos' and it was less then half as long. I got her autograph while Jason stood in the Abbott line. We both got autographs from Monica. Jason took a picture of me with her with my cellphone, but he forgot to save it, so that kinda sucked, but at least I got the autograph. I went over to switch places with my mom in the Bustos line. Right then the mom infront of my mom was saying how badly her daughter wanted Bustos' autograph. Of course when the little girl is next in line Bustos says she's done and walks away. I felt so bad because the little girl started crying! I wish I could have gotten hers because she almost killed me during practice, and because she's a shim. I wish I aslo could have gotten Caitlyn Lowe and Jessica Mendoza's, but I'm still so thrilled that I got my two favorite players of all time, Cat and Monica, as well as the other 2 pitchers and Jung, who plays my position, 2nd base. Definitely the best night of my life. I was so happy I could go, but now I wish I had gone to the Palm Springs game as well. This was the US team's last game before the Olympics, and possibly their last ever US game because softball got voted out of the Olympics. The IOC is voting in 2009 to see if we will be in the 2016 Olympics. Here's to hoping that they will because it was a great experience and I would really want to go it again if there ever was another National team. Also, here's to hoping that we bring home the gold and finish the sweep of all four games!

Well, sorry for the long blog. I guess I had a lot to say because I loved every minute I was there and literally met my softball idols. Now I'm off to study for my Calculus final. I'm so happy that the 6 weeks are almost already over. Just one more day and then I'm done with Calculus forever!

Oh man, what a great day! This morning, Spain won Euro Cup 2008, which was amazing. The game was ok, but it was just great that we won. I though it was great that Torres scored the goal. After pretty much the worst tournament he could, he came back big in the last game. We scored so early, I really thought Germany would come back before the game ended. Thankfully Spain held on and won the cup. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of underachievement, it was our year. It's been 4 decades since Spain actually won a major touranment, so it was nice just to break through. I hope this will help Spain to actually perform as they should. After that, it seemed as though nothing could bring my day down. I think actually I was a little too happy because I haven't really done any work since. I have my first calculas exam on Thursday, and I was going to study today, but I haven't even looked at my book. I haven't felt much like studying, but I probably should. I'm not sure when though because I recorded the Olympic Trials, so I'm going to watch those later. Jason and I are going to dinner now too, because it's our month aniversary. Maybe I'm just start studing tomorrow