Zachary's

For Christine's belated birthday lunch, our apartment went to Zachary's (the awesome deep dish pizza place). I am not a pizza fan, but Zachary's has really given pizza a second chance. Deep dish takes forever, but it was well worth the wait. We ordered the Zachary's Special and Barbecue Chicken. After two slices, I was completely satisfied. It's incredibly filling...and I think it's safe to say that it's better for dinner. It's really one of those places you have to try at least once if you live around this area. Afterward, we walked up College to window shop at Crossroads and we waited an hour to get Ici's. Yum!

To Christine, you're an amazing friend and roommate. Can't imagine life without you. Happy belated birthday!

Study break

A much needed study break was in order! D and I ate dinner at Taste of the Himalayas on Northside to relieve ourselves from the stress of summer school, which has finally caught up to us. Indian is definitely one of my favorite ethnic foods. We tried Samosas to start off our meal, and I'm so glad we did! It's so delicious...one day I'm going to attempt to make it. All Indian curries are so delicious, and there were so many amazing choices between chicken, lamb, tandoori, and biryani. The great thing about Taste of the Himalayas is rice and lentil soup comes with the dish. Many of the Indian restaurants near campus offer the curry dish alone.

Since we already were at Northside, we killed two birds with one stone by making a stop at Philz Coffee before heading back. It was on D's list and I really needed my coffee. The last time I had gone I ordered Dancing Water, but it was too bitter for me. The Mint Mojito hit the spot. I had my doubts before (I really don't like mint-anything), but it has definitely got my vote for the best coffee in town!

Indian Rock

Indian Rock has been on my "to-go" list since my high school MUN adviser suggested it back in my first semester here at Berkeley. He said the sunset from the Rock is incredible, but I have yet to see that. I had a picnic lunch with my church's media ministry team. For most of the time, unfortunately, the fog covered up the Golden Gate Bridge, but the view was still breathtakingly beautiful. It's not much of a hike - you can opt for the steps on one side of the rock. We had ham and cheese, cream cheese and cucumber, and peanut butter and banana sandwiches. But I definitely want to go back to watch the sunset. That would be a sight I do not want to miss! 

Northside is so much more beautiful than Southside. I would totally move there if it weren't for the long walk to campus. And if all my friends moved with me to Northside. 

Freshmen 15

My first year in college is almost over (I mean, pretty much. There's only dead week and finals week left, which are both nicely filled with studying and packing). I've had such a great time and I don't think at this point I regret not doing anything or doing anything. I've heard about the sophomore slump, but I'm really hoping it won't happen to me. Hopefully, moving into apartments and living with my favorite girls will postpone the slump. Anyway, as I'm wrapping up my first year, I've learned a couple things at Berkeley that may or may not apply to all college students. Just a bits and pieces of what I've picked up from my experiences thus far. 

15. Gaining weight is inevitable...thank you, Crossroads, late night, and ADX.
14. I learned so much in a year of college...so much more than I ever did in high school.
13. Everyone is doing everything, or at least it feels like that. Everyone's involved with something.
12. College student = a broken wallet.
11. College orgs take up so much time. Here, 2-3 is way sufficient. In high school, 5+ clubs were manageable.
10. I'm a "Berkeley story." Come in confident......and then, the grading system runs me over.
9. Do what you love. There is no "right" way. I got involved in different orgs I never thought I would ever do. It's about finding your niche and sticking with it.
8. So many unique people with unique talents and unique stories. Don't miss out on getting to know everyone.
7. Never enough sleep. I thought I was tired in high school, but now that I'm reflecting, I don't remember ever being completely, physically drained. Though it's only been a year, I can't pull all nighters as easily and sleep, no matter how much, is never ever enough.
6. Sometimes a little procrastination is good. Having never procrastinated in high school, I came in with the same mentality. But because there is so much to learn, I end up forgetting material for exams. But this is not to say, full blown procrastination is good either...
5. Time is precious.
4. Being away from campus is good when the stress level is high. Around midterm season (oh, and especially during dead week and finals week), I can tangibly feel everyone's stress.
3. Coffee is good. I never drank coffee until second semester, but it is so necessary when I'm getting 10 hours of sleep for an entire week. (Try Philz Coffee...or the Chai Latte at Peet's.)
2. Friendships get deep really fast in college.
1. God is good all the time. All the time, God is good.

Hunger games

Happy Hunger Games...may the odds be in your favor! The Hunger Games Premiere was incredibly adventurous with Joice, Celestine, Stephen, Douglas, Johnny, and Jonathan. First, confession: I never really read the trilogy, so I had no expectations and no clue what the plot was about. While people waited for the midnight showing, my friends and I were able to get in no problem for the 12:07 showing. It was great. For two hours, we relaxed in our seats (we claimed 7 seats in a row!) and ate pretzels with nutella. The movie was great, and I'm not about to write a spoiler so, all I can say is go watch it - it's worth your money! It was definitely worth my money and sleep. 

Afterward, we busted a mission to walk to the San Pablo and 40th busstop, a 20-minute walk away. On the way, Stephen pushed me in a shopping cart. I admit, it was really fun for lack of better words. After two transfers and two hours later, we finally got back to Berkeley. I think it was so worth it, last night before spring break commences! And as Celestine said, "These will be the times I remember when I'm old."

I love visits from my best friend!

This past weekend was one of the best...sans homework, papers, and any academic thoughts! One of my good college friends told me that this is the happiest she has ever seen me. So, thank you, best friend for that! Tiffany came on Friday and we went straight to Crossroads Trading Company, Buffalo Exchange and Sway before heading off to ADX's semi-formal. At semi-formal, we ate at Saturn Cafe (yes! checked off another place to go) and stargazed at an observatory in Oakland. Tiffany and I felt like ol' grandmothers - by 11, we were exhausted. On Saturday, we exercised at the underground gym, ate brunch at La Note (yet another place checked off places to go...totally worth the 2-hour wait in my opinion), and visited the MUN conference to see some of our high school kiddos. Afterward, we barted to San Francisco's Westfield mall and busted a mission to come back in time for dinner with some friends. It was grrrrreat - definitely an adventure-filled afternoon! We spent the night watching 27 Dresses with some of my friends (thanks, Choey and Grace!). Now, I definitely cannot wait to visit Tiffany during my spring break!

10 things I learned from college thus far

10. Don't judge anyone. Everyone has his/her own story.
9. There is no easy class. When people say "take this class, it's easy," they really mean it's easy RELATIVE to every other class in the school.
8. Even if your professor is one of the worst lecturers ever, he is very intelligent (aka he may very well be featured on Forbes).
7. Everyone does something. In high school, there were many people who "just did school." But I feel like every person I've encountered here does something besides just attending classes.
6. Co-ed floors/bathrooms are not as disgusting or awkward as you think. It's really not that bad.
5. Sleep is good. There has yet to come a time when I think, "I have slept enough."
4. You're going to remember the times you do stupid things with your friends rather than all those nights you stayed up to study...which is not to say, don't study, but...make time for friends!
3. College friends don't replace high school friends. They are all gold.
2. There is not enough time for everything you want to do. In high school, spread yourself thin; in college, go deep. Make the best of college!
1. "Don't study and use your spare time for God. Be with God and use your spare time to study."

To every lazy Sunday afternoon!

When I first came to Berkeley, I wasn't so sure who would become my closest friends. Because Berkeley's undergraduate population is so vast, I didn't know where to start: my floor, my classes, or my extracurricular organizations? Needless to say, church was the farthest thing on my mind. But these girls have been an incredible support system. Although we're still growing in our friendships with one another, I can already see the start of a beautiful, beautiful five-way friendship. They've taught me a lot and it's been quite a journey - though it has only been a semester and a half. (You do a lot of growing in college!) Some of them experienced my traumatic hair experience with me. Every day, they listened to me complain about the short length, but simultaneously, reassured me that it looked good. My heart melts at the things they do for me and the things we plan to do in the future.

But for now, I'm just looking forward to every upcoming Sunday afternoon.

A great start to a long weekend

On Saturday, some of my friends decided to go to Emeryville to study. "Study." It's not exactly a study environment with department stores everywhere and people hustling and bustling. But it was really, really nice to get away from the Berkeley campus. We attempted to study in Barnes and Nobles, but as you can see from the pictures, we have obviously different definitions of studying. Regardless, the day was filled with laughter and bonding. We ate at Fuddruckers for dinner and although my burger was miniature sized, it was pretty filling! The F bus was supposed to come at 6:25pm for us, but we didn't see any busses...the next F bus was scheduled to come 45 minutes later. Because it was extremely cold outside, Johnny, Stephen, and I went back into Barnes and Nobles, and Choey and Kevin went to West Elm. The others stayed at the busstop. 5 minutes later, I get a frantic phone call from Grace: "The bus is here!!!! Hurry, the bus is here!" Johnny, Stephen, and I took off - but one problem: my flats were too big for my feet, which made it extremely difficult to run. Stephen and Johnny crossed the intersection, leaving me in the middle when a car honked at me (it was totally my right of way...). When I finally got across, the bus left and we were screaming for it to stop...until we realized that particular F bus was headed toward Oakland, not Berkeley. What an adventure... It will be moments like these that I remember, not all the days and nights studying.

{Choe, the girl I plan to study French with and hopefully study abroad in France with}

{a beautiful array of our Starbucks tea drinks}

{Chang's definition of studying}

{J.Lee's definition of studying}

{My definition of studying}

{Dinner at Fuddruckers, first time for everything!}

{Delicious burgers! hello, Stephen and Johnny!}

{dollar scoops of ice cream...so everyone gets mint!}

{J.Lee and Taryn's cupcakes from Tea Bake Shop}

{Choe, Taryn, me, and Johnny - finally on the bus back to Berkeley}

Bigs, littles, and sleepovers

One of the most exciting parts of a sorority is having a big sister. At the sleepover, our bigs were revealed to us :) No words can describe how excited I was (and am) when I found out my big sis. I'm looking forward to an incredible semester (and more) of bonding and sisterhood. I'm already loving my time at ADX and it hasn't yet been two weeks. Any previous worries of not fitting in or not enjoying my experience has been thankfully cast away. The sleepover at the house was awesome, for lack of better words. It was a great time for bonding with my pledge sisters as we each nervously awaited our turn for the revealing of our bigs. I also got to know more about the rest of the sisters as we laughed and shared embarrassing/funny/exhilarating stories. I'm so glad I decided to come out to spring rush, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the semester in the purple house with an amazing group of sisters.

{from my big, whom I love love love!}

{bonding and laughing in the pledge room w/bigs and littles}

{praline's big and my big + air mattress for the night}

Friends change. 

Lovers leave. 

But sisters are eternal.