Tuesday, March 25, 2003

What I wanted to write about in the last week but didn't have the time:

Wednesday afternoon I went home after eating lunch and decided to cut my hair because even though I was pressed for time, I hate it when the hair on the sides and back of my head gets too long. It only took 15 minutes, even though I usually spend 45 minutes or so doing it. Then I took a much needed shower. I think that first shower right after a haircut is great... you feel cleaner for some reason. I went back to campus to study at the Cross with Vin-Penny, and I realized I had little over 12 hours to learn all the cycles for biochem... which seemed damn near impossible. I don't know why, but even though it seemed like I was never going to finish, I never felt like stopping the whole time I was studying. Gerald showed up later to study with us, which made the thought of another all nighter not so bad, knowing there weren't just two of us. By 2:00 am we started taking longer and longer breaks, and delirium started to set in as we played with Geoff's noise cancelling headphones and pretended to sabotage Charlene's studying. Ed fell asleep on the couch and we tried to get random people who dropped by the Cross to write on his face. We figured we could lift the whole couch and move it outside, but there weren't enough people to move it smoothly. Aww boo. I think finals week is a good time to meet people, just as long as they're chill enough to talk to you as you interrupt their studying. It seemed like everyone brought their laptop, which put thoughts in my head of how cool it would be to have one. Theyr'e just too expensive for me though, with the specs I want for a comp. I'd probably end up spending 2 grand.

Back to studying. The sun started rising, so we tried to get some sleep so we wouldn't be wiggin out during the final. I walked into the final feeling pretty good, but as a went through the whole test the first time, I only answered 10 of 47 questions. Not good. I spent the next hour and forty minutes flipping pages. I didn't have time to take a mid-exam nap because the questions were so random. I walked out and felt relieved, then ate breakfast with Gerald, Jen, Geoff, and one of their engineering friends. We caught Carl's Jr right before they stopped selling breakfast. You can't really eat a regular burger before 11am. That's just wrong, because usually you eat your morning breakfast in the morning (inside joke.. hehe). They talked about how engineering majors are the most sociable majors because they rely on each other for help and support all the time. Bio majors on the other hand... I'm kind of ashamed to be a bio major sometimes. There's a definite stigma about their cut-throat nature. Jen told a disgusting your momma joke (warning: don't read it if you don't feel like being grossed out): Your momma's so old, she doesn't give breast milk... it's cheese. The imagery is, quite frankly, disgusting. We were busting up for a good five minutes though.

After breakfast I called Cristina because we were going to run errands around Santa Ana, but I went home and found myself on the couch, telling myself to get up so I wouldn't pass out. Next thing I knew, it was 7:30. Oops. My roommate wanted my to go clubbing with her and some frineds to celebrate the end of her academic career at UCI. I didn't really feel like partying, even though I was finally done with finals, so I went to help Fran with prep work for the Days With The Lord retreat that started Friday. I was supposed to go back, but I think the cardboard scoring and circle cutting wore me out and I crashed on the couch until 7:00 am. We continued working on stuff, watching the news. Like what Lil Jay said in his blog, the weather reports from Iraq seemed pretty pointless, considering Iraq's tourism revenues are suffering slightly. I wonder what the barometric pressure in Bahgdad is right now... I went on a Rubios run and figured out the tres fish tacos and a coke for 4 dollars deal wasn't such a deal because fish tacos were only 99 cents anyway. They didn't have that 99 cent fish taco sign inside the place... I stole some drinks from Cristina's car with the help of Fran's copied key. We kept working until 3, when I went home, showered, packed, and got ready for the retreat.

Last supper for Ryan, David, and Leo was at Olive Garden, where I worked for a year. Almost everyone there was new... I've never heard of such a turnover rate for employees... the five managers I worked with are all gone and replaced. It's funny how people act when it's time to ante up for the bill at a restaurant. There have been times when people conveniently forget to pay and somebody ends up forking out an extra twenty bucks. It happens way too often too. I think if people understood that a $15 plate ends up being almost $21 after drink, tax, and tip, there wouldn't be so much of a problem. People get pretty stingy when it comes to tips too. Working to-go orders at Olive Garden and valet for tips, I know how much an extra buck or two keeps you from feeling like the world is a cold, evil place. I think generosity can be communicable, at least for those who on the receiving end. For that reason I think everyone should work at least for a couple of months at a job that pays by tips. It feels good just to splurge on a tip, even when your server thinks you're going to stiff them. I went to the bathroom four times before we left. I think my body is really sensitive to being overhydrated and my kidneys go crazy once I drink anything.

Some random things I realized/remember about the retreat: it is a very small world... everyone loves a good ghost story... "it's 1:30... in the morning"... Lil Jay walking into a door... Lil Jay's bird story... watermelon tai-chi... untimely burps... some people just can't score (haha)... you can't escape drama, despite who you're with... I really want to learn Tagalog now, even though I don't feel like taking the 9am class everyday...

We went to eat at Denny's after the retreat and actually got a table really quickly. Not bad, for 20+ people. The middle of the table is a bad place to be, because you tend to have conversations on either side. Leaving Denny's we have to made a right then a U-turn and a left to get to the freeway, but I followed Sonny after the U-turn and ended up back in the Denny's parking lot. I laughed at myself, then Sonny as we made the right, U-turn, and left again. On the freeway, I was starting to get to 80, but just then three cops passed me at 80 on my left. I think if they wanted to ticket anybody, I was the fastest car on that section of freeway... I've always been lucky around cops though. I've been pulled over three times without a ticket, but twice, I wasn't at fault. The third time... I was having too much fun at valet.

I made it back to Irvine, but not before going the wrong way on the 405... I was trying to pass this one car, but I forgot to check what lane I was in. Doh... On the offramp, I saw Jimmy (who left from Denny's earlier than I) pull up on the street perpendicular to me... Small world. Feeling too good to just go home and sleep I decided to chill at Fran and Shelby's place, except I arrived there early and I had to use the bathroom really soon... I saw what I thought was Shelby's car pass by, but I tried to call them and nobody picked up. I waited for 10 more minutes, only to find out they were already there... Aww boo. David, Nim, Fran, Shelby, Brian, and I talked and laughed about our retreat experiences until 7:00 am while GP crashed on the couch. Nimz left around 5 because she had work at 10 am, but ended up sleeping the whole day anyway. I went to sleep still in my slacks and button down shirt, which were surprisingly comfortable to sleep in, and didn't get too wrinkled when I woke up. David told me that my arm was stretched out and he moved his head and it ended up on top of my hand. GP said David and I were so tired that we didn't move from when we fell asleep to when we woke up at 3:00 pm. The hair on the left side of my head was flattened but the right side hair was normal, so it looked like I was standing in the wind too long and it pushed all my hair to the right. I left a huge drool puddle on Fran's pillow. Sorry Fran! David left to go home after we talked some more. Indecisive as we are, we didn't decided on a place to eat until the sun was setting. Gp called shotgun in Shelby's car, and we hit up the bank so Mom could get some money, and she offered to treat if she could get shotgun on the way to Fatburger. It ended up being a $40 shotgun fee. Thanks Mom! We played Let's Stay Together on the jukebox and talked until 8:00. When we got back to 25A, Fran and I crashed... I woke up at 10:00 and left, while Mom had the scariest asleep face I've seen in a while... like a face from the Ring, but with her eyes closed.

I was supposed to go home, but I had to do some laundry and I realized I hadn't done the dishes in almost 10 days. I walked in the house and it reeked of something nasty. Damn lazy roommates. Didn't clean a dish all of finals week or after. I hardly contributed more than some silverware to the mess, but the whole kitchen was molding and rotting... not a pretty sight. I wanted to take a picture of it just to show them what slobs they are. I didn't mind too much cleaning though, because I felt very relaxed after sleeping so much. The sun came up and my roommate woke up to watch her nephew, so I decided to stay up and write all this before I forgot it. It's 9:45 now, and the weather is great. I feel a little spontaneous today... I hope I don't just pass out on the couch...

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