2010

The year in review has been rather stressful. Although my best friend graduated law school, and while Patrick has been traveling the US for his residency program, I have been in San Jose trying to sort through my future.

But that isn't to say that 2009 wasn't an eventful year for me. This past summer I ended receiving some of the Recovery Act Stimulus money by getting hired by AmeriCorps. I also moved into my own apartment in Japantown in San Jose. It is quite strange to live by yourself versus having roommates. And it is funny how different living by yourself is as opposed to moving out and living with other people. For the first time I traveled out of the country and went to visit to visit Peru, site seeing and of course be able to to stand in awe at Machu Picchu. I was also able to maintain visiting places I had not been in the US; I flew into Detroit for a day to surprise Patrick's grandmother for her 80th birthday. And for the first time in more than ten years I went back to Canada to witness my younger cousin Richard marry his high school sweetheart in July.

I was the first person outside of my sister and Ray to meet and greet my nephew Zach into the world. And in November, Patrick proposed to me in the morning before we were to head out to go visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

2009 has been an eventful year. There are memories I will take with me to enjoy and cherish. There are also memories I rather forget, such as the Fall 2009 semester.

Who knows what 2010 has in store for me. No wedding plans yet, but definitely a trip to a place I haven't been to yet.

Back to the Grind

I have been back in the San Jose area for over two weeks now, after vacationing in Peru and Los Angeles. The trip to Peru was cut short for reasons I will not go into on Blogger. The time I did spend in Peru was very enjoyable, and I met some random Canadians as well as a fellow Bruin Alum, thanks to Jaclyn and Kathy.

I would post photos of my trip, but the majority of my readers have either flipped through them on facebook or Picasa.

School started a few weeks ago, and I've been working roughly 20 hours a week at my job with Our City Forest, trying to compensate for the vacation time I took.

In more exciting and serious news, my sister is ready to give birth in less than two weeks! I will soon have a nephew to dote on, however, I will not be spoiling him because I am a very, very poor Aunt. I am excited to welcome a whole new generation of our families (both Ray and my sister's) into the world. Life will change as we know it, and everything around it will too.

That's my life in a nutshell.

Oh yes, my work has been postponed for a semester. Personally, I don't care anymore because it's time that I start finishing things on my own pace.

Home

Being on a mini vacation has given me more time to write in my journal. My day typically consists of getting up around 8:45, washing my face, brushing my teeth and then having breakfast. I surf the internet, visiting my typical websites such as ONTD, NY Times, LA Times, and Bruinsnation. Since I will be heading back to school I also check out my student website, and of course, most importantly, my finances.

That's my life in a general nutshell as of now. I like the freedom of not driving and getting from point A to point B and not being dependent on a car. Yesterday I ventured to the Wednesday Farmer's Market in Santa Monica (or SaMo as residents have dubbed it). Some avocado's were purchased because I wanted to make guacamole for the summer before I leave. Biking out to Santa Monica is roughly five miles, so it takes me almost 30 minutes to get to the ocean. It isn't very long considering that it can take me twenty minutes by car via surface streets, and fifteen minutes if I go by freeway. Biking out to the Farmer's Market also limits my produce purchase since I can only fit so much into my messenger bag. Besides, 10 miles round trip is just under a half a gallon of gasoline, so I rather not see the two dollars go down the drain for something so minor. Plus my being jobless exacerbates my financial situation right now (I haven't received my financial aid pack yet... and who knows, I might not get one). I don't take public transit either because I have a bike. On top of that I get my small amount of exercise in.

Which reminds me, my friends keep telling me I have lost "even more weight" since I last saw them. Blatant and utter lies. I just try to keep a healthy and active lifestyle by walking to the grocery store, the Westside Pavilion, and biking to places which are rather close. It has been a small lifestyle change that has benefited me in many, many ways and a change that I intend on keeping. When I move to San Jose I am going to try to map out my bike route to school because I feel that paying for a parking permit is just too much money. School is roughly 8.5 miles from my sister's home, which isn't that bad considering that I have biked to work a few times (23 miles one way). It will be a different and more challenging environment to ride in probably. If it rains I will probably take public transit to campus. I simply can't afford to fill up my car and pay for parking permits.

Anyway, I'm going to return some of the videos we rented (which I didn't see) today and go to the Thursday Farmer's Market in at the V.A. It starts at noon. I haven't decided if I want to bike there or walk there. Ah the endless possibilities.