Bumming

So it's been quite a while since my last post (over 2 years, I believe), but I'm back! Before I start and update you on my current life, I have to credit a childhood friend for inspiring me to blog again. As coincidence would have it, before my MCAT class a couple of months ago, I went to pick my mom up from work. One of her customers just happened to be the mom of a friend from elementary school! Courtney and I lost touch after Alamo, but with Facebook, we made contact again! Anyhow, Courtney has this AMAZING blog, filled with pictures and wonderful stories, so I decided that I should start up again. Thanks, Courtney!

For those of you who don't know, I moved back to San Francisco from Houston at the beginning of August. I need to thank Hiu and Kent once again for making the road trip with me, but I will NEVER again travel halfway across the country in a U-Haul. I'm not even sure if I will ever road trip that distance again...but we had some fun times, especially on all of our eating adventures. Mario Batali's Pizzeria Mozza is my favorite pizzeria now. I heart their speck, bufala mozzarella, olive tampanade, and oregano pizza! Enough on my road trip...

Currently, I'm simply just bumming around and hanging out with friends whenever they're free. I know TNT's day-time schedule by heart (sad, I know), but I'm also trying to stay busy. I can't wait to work again, but in the meantime, I'm spending time with my aunt who has cancer, working on a new crochet project (more on that later), baking occasionally, and planning my trip to Europe! Yes, I'm finally going! YAY! So excited! Cax and I are hitting Paris and London, so if you have any good restaurant suggestions, please let us know. Will keep you guys updated as I get closer to the departure date!

Now, I can't end my first blog in 2+ years without mentioning anything about my stay in Houston. Let's start with the things that I miss:
1. My friends and office-mates in the PI department. Truly, you guys were the hardest part of my leaving Houston. Loud music in the afternoons with square dancing demos (Sue C., what's that John Denver song about grandma's something?), potlucks, bitching sessions, random conversations, etc. I could go on forever.
2. Texts, emails, phone calls from Jen M., Bobbiejean, and other IPMA peeps.
3. EOC Rounds with the "Team" on Tuesdays at 1pm!!! Bedboard every morning!
4. Being on-call 24/7.
5. Weekends at Viv and Quanelle's house. I'm going to miss their fried turkey this year at Thanksgiving! And all of their crawfish boils!!
6. All the kids - Sarah, Trip, Hailey, Sydney, Marissa, Hannah, Olivia, Riley, Hunter, Carson
7. Ampy showing me how to make a crochet stitch that I've never done before (I rely on YouTube now).
8. Whataburger Ketchup. I still have 9 packs left!!
9. Goode Co BBQ, Chuy's, Nico Nico's

This list is to be continued because as I said, I can go on forever if possible! =) I miss you guys, Houstonians!

Road Trip!!

On Friday evening, after a couple of very disappointing experiences at Bed, Bath and Beyond, Amy and I ventured on our road trip to Austin. It was pretty funny cause along the way, we stopped at a BBB and a Lowe's to try and get my Kitchenaid Artisan Mixer, but to no avail, I didn't end up getting one. Then, we also stopped for dinner at Chili's where I found out the queso they serve with their tortilla chips actually has BEEF in it. Yes, that's right, queso has MEAT in it...who knew, heh. I tasted a cow for the first time in 6 years, I think. But I spit everything out, absolutely no swallowing at all.

Upon arrival to Austin after 4 hours of driving, Amy so graciously dropped by 6th Street so that I could see Austin's party scene. I was a bit too tired to venture on out to the bars though (yes, I know, I'm lame) so we just checked into our hotel and went to bed.

On Saturday morning, Amy showed me around town, first starting off at the CO-OP, the official UT store. It was amazing there! I think think their store is bigger than Berkeley's by at least a 1/3 if not a 1/2. So much school pride, dudes. I don't think I've ever seen that much longhorn merchandise before. It really only makes sense that the UT mascot is a longhorn though. I will say that Cooper, the longhorn, is adorable! J9ners, you'll really love the store! Even cooler, two doors down is the CO-OP outlet store, dudes! Like seriously, they have an outlet!

After all that shopping, Amy and I had to plunker down for lunch since we worked up such an appetite! The Mellow Mushroom had some really great pizza, I gotta say. Their crust was crispy and cheesy...hmm...yummy! To burn off our calories after such a fulfilling lunch, we headed across the street to the UT campus, and I have to say that it is extremely similar to that of Berkeley. The city itself is really similar in terms of the streets around campus resembling Telegraph Ave. and the likes, but the campus itself is so similar to Berkeley's! When I stepped onto the campus, it was as if I was transported back to Berkeley--the landscape, the green, the buildings--just too cool, dudes. I do think, however, that the campus is a bit larger than Berkeley's (makes sense though, right, since everything is bigger and better in Texas?). Amy was a great tourguide because despite the fact that she attended Texas Tech (yes, that's right, Kent, I know a couple of Red Raiders here!) she was still able to point out a lot of things to me.

UT's campus has something similar to Sproul and the Camponile with the exception that they are located right next to each other. I believe the inscription on the Main Building says, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Very beautiful buildings...

From the main entrance to the university, Amy and I walked to the State Capitol of Texas so that I could take pictures and whatnot. Of course, with our luck, just as I was starting to take pictures of the building, it started thunderstorming. We ran into the Capitol, and dudes, it's awesome inside! If you thought the outside was pretty, you've gotta see the Rotunda. The Senate and House of Representatives rooms' were gorgeous, and the portraits of the govenors in the rotunda was amazing too. After the rain lightened up, we went to the visitor's center and raided the gift shop. If you want Texas memorabilia, you've gotta go to this store, dudes. Seriously. It's really after the visit to UT and the Capitol do you really feel the pride Texans have in their state.

Back at the campus now, Amy and I try very hard to find the Longhorn Aquatic Center so that I could take a picture for J9ners! =) We passed the School of Social Work, the rec center, and also the football stadium, but we could not find the swim center! We finally spot a map and find out that the swim center is right next to the School of Social Work. It was really funny, but we ended up going back the next day, and I took a sign of the sign. I wonder if Brendan Hansen was there. Hah.

From UT, we ventured back to our hotel to get ready for our night out as well as just chil-ax for a bit. That night, we went to the Cool River Cafe to watch one of our co-workers, Miguel, perform with his band, Vertigo. Let me tell you, the food and drinks there are amazing! I had the best grilled chicken panini ever--the aioli definitely made the sandwich! I really need to get a panini grill now. Heh. But yea, Miguel was a very gracious host, coming by to talk to us during every intermission. I think we both had a lot of fun, especially with the cameras and the drunk lady. So Amy, I guess we need to "shake it", eh? Fat chance.

I am going to stop boring you with the gory details of our Sunday, but I will say that Amy took me to the outlet mall in San Marcos. Dudes, seriously, if you are an avid shopper, you have got to go there sometime. They have EVERYTHING there, and there are actual sales that qualifies the stores to be outlets. So if you ever come visit me and want to go there, just let me know! I am down--

Thanks, Amy, for being such a great hostess, and for such a great road trip! We really did have a road trip and not just rushing to get to our destination. I think we definitely need to eat at Chili's next time we go on another road trip, and if we take the I-10 back, we need to stop off for some TORTILLA chips!!! Haha! I really had a lot of fun, the best time since I've been in Texas, I think. So yea, thanks for such a great time! I really appreciate it!

Lastly, I just want to say that I have gained a newfound respect for Mr. David Beckham. I've never quite bought into his popularity or the frenzy that seems to encompass him everywhere he goes. I will say that I do understand where it all comes from now. Good luck to you, Mr. Beckham, and I hope you enjoy your time in LA.

Filibusters

I'm going to make a quick disclaimer: I am usually not all that interested in politics, per se. I find it to be a very frustrating and aggravating topic, especially when you're talking to people who don't agree with you.

That being said, I have a fascination with filibusters. Don't know why nor do I care enough to figure out why, but the word itself is just cool. Filibusters don't happen often, obviously, and when one comes up, I always get really excited! I'm not exactly sure I like the reason why they are filibuster-ing this time, but at the same time, I just want it to happen because it's a filibuster! Seriously, dudes, how awesome are they?!

I remember learning about filibusters in Mr. Zatkin's government class (I still can't believe I passed that AP Exam--I was so NOT prepared. Of all the AP exams I've taken, I was least prepared for this one and Spanish, though with those after school oral prep sessions, I knew what to expect with Spanish. I completely winged government, I'm telling you. Consider this, I took the honors class instead of the AP one b/c I didn't want to do all the projects involved with a one year class, and I could still take the AP test with the 1 semester class. Only problem was that they assigned the class to me in the fall which made taking the exam even more difficult. You swear I could remember all those facts half a year later while taking Doc's and Mr. C's classes. Oh and who can forget Mr. Morlock's church history class? =) Anyhow, I think I was coerced into taking the exam, and miraculously, I passed. Wow. I totally digressed, dudes. My bad!). My next encounter with filibusters was with that episode on The West Wing. I don't remember what it's called, but that senator literally read a book out loud. I don't think he even stopped for a drink of water cause aren't they not allowed to go to the bathroom? How crazy insane is that?! Does anyone else not see how intriguing and humorous this is?!