I hate cleaning...for good reason.

Today as I slid into my boiling hot car, and my legs were burned by the hot leather seat, I thought to myself "Summer weather has definitely started".

So in preparation for the summer, I cleaned out my dresser and closet in hopes of finding bathing suits from summers past so that I wouldn't need to spend money on a new one this summer. While I did discover 4 perfectly good bathing suits, I also discovered a lot of my clothes from high school when I had absolutely no body fat and could squeeze into a size 3. Now let me say, I am skinny and small and have a good body. I am confident in my image. BUT pretty much all women can find something they don't like about themselves or some excuse to hate their body; and for me, trying on those size 3 jeans again didn't do anything for my self-esteem. I just hope that one day, when I'm older, I don't find my current size 5's - that would most likely throw me into a mid-life crisis.

So here I am, boxing up my jeans that remind me of a...skinnier time... Soon they will be given away to some girl who will also, one day, grow up to hate those awful size 3's for reminding her of the effects of time.

Hello summer time.

I have an aversion to being productive during the summer...

I have been far too lazy over the past few days - laying around the house while the 20 or so boxes and suitcases I have from moving back to San Diego for the summer sit, unpacked, in my room.

But instead of achieving productivity through unpacking, I have decided to focus on my upcoming trip to Italy. Which brings me to the main point of this post:I need to start learning some Italian.

You know, just a few key words to get me around the airport and the bus station before I get to Tuscany in a few months. While the whole point of my studying abroad is to learn the language, I am still a bit apprehensive about dropping myself in the middle of a foreign country without knowing how to say anything aside from "Ciao!".

I have an interactive Italian language CD/DVD (something similar to Rosetta Stone) that has been sitting on my desk since Christmas time. Every time I look at it, the linguist in me wakes up and I get a rush of excitement at the thought of learning Italian, but then comes this feeling of extreme guilt because in all honesty I know I probably won't ever break from my lazy summer routine to use the CD...

Oh well, even if I don't start learning the language now, I'll just have to use the country of Italy as my classroom - which is really one of the best ways to learn a language.

Alright, the sun is shining outside and I best go enjoy it.

Ciao!

Travel Tip: Cheap Flights

So as of late, I've been doing a lot of searching for cheap flights to various places: Italy, Sacramento, San Francisco, Tahoe, etc. Now, after spending much time trying to find good deals on flights, I've found a few (logical but sometimes overlooked) tips that I'd like to share here to help you out.

1. USE MULTIPLE TRAVEL SITES

Now if there's one thing I've learned about finding the cheapest flights on the web, its this: search the same trip through as many different flight search engines you can find. Not all the prices are the same on each website - certain websites list more flights and airlines than others, thus offering you a bigger price range.

2. TRAVEL DURING THE WEEK

You can save a good chunk of money if you can manage to travel during the middle of the week, rather than the weekend when a considerably larger amount of people are traveling so prices for flights are higher.


3. DON'T BE PICKY

If you're on a budget, you can't afford to be picky and write off extremely cheap flights. So what if the airplane is uncomfortable and the service is mediocre? If it's cheap and gets you safely from Point A to Point B, suck it up and save some money.

Happy Father's Day!

Today was a relatively sunny day in a string of cloudy, overcast days here in (supposedly sunny) San Diego. And it is also Father's Day!

It's been a pretty low-key day and my father (who never takes a day to stop working because there's always something to clean or fix around our house) has - hopefully - been enjoying himself.

Here are some chocolate covered strawberries I made today to celebrate the holiday!




My dad plays a very unique role in my life. Sometimes I feel most similar to my father than anyone else in my family. Its from him that I think I get my appreciation for things such as classical music and art. I'm more inclined toward creativity, such as my father, rather than methodical and calculated approaches towards situations.

But the trait I most enjoy that I've inherited from my father is my natural pessimism. Now, If I had to classify myself as an optimist or pessimist, I would say optimist. But underlying that cheery outlook on life, is my natural negativity that causes me to always see the worst case scenario that can arise from specific situations. For example, what if I fail my German class? Or, if I'm going on a trip, what happens if I lose a contact lens?
When making plans, I always identify these negatives. And then I worry about these negatives.

Now why would this be a good trait for my father and myself?

I see it as an asset. Because of this natural, underlying pessimism, my dad and I never rush headlong into situations without first assessing all the negatives - and then preparing for them. We clear the path before sprinting ahead. So if I fear I may fail my German class - I study harder. Or, if I'm afraid of loosing a contact lens, I pack extra.

Don't get me wrong. Spontaneity is great, but so is planning ahead (at least within reason).

I'm glad to be my father's daughter. Aside from the excellent parenting he has provided to me over the years, I would be nowhere without this healthy dose of natural pessimism that I learned from him. Love you, Dad!

Busy Busy Busy!

The night I finished my last final (Thursday), I came back home to San Diego.

Ever since then, I have had a non-stop agenda. I don't have to start my summer job until next week (at the earliest)so the past few days have been filled with family events - my brother's high school graduation, my other brother's birthday party - and catching up with all my friends from high school who have returned home for the summer.

Here's the thing about going away for months on end and then returning home and trying to pick up right where you left off: people change. Obviously, strong friendships endure the passing of time and the personal developments that accompany it. But even those strong friendships need to adjust to the shock of change.

While I can see that my friends are growing and changing for the better (as am I), it is sometimes a shock to the system that our old relationship needs to be modified a bit before we can be fully comfortable with one another again.

People never cease to intrigue me.

FINALS WEEK: The Final Hurtle

Finals are in full swing now so it's been a while since I posted.

I'm currently sitting in the library, taking a break from a huge take-home final for my Teaching English as a Second Language class (TESOL). I just wrote 6 pages (of pure brilliance constructed from bullshit) and am now chugging an energy drink in an attempt to gain back enough energy to write at least another 3 pages.

There's no question that the library is the least distracting place for me to study (no TV, no beds to nap in, no food to eat) and I am at the peak of my productivity here...but it is so depressing. At least around finals time.

The stress from all the students cramming for finals is palpable. The person beside me is nervously typing away at the computer and some people across the room are frantically flipping through pages of textbooks that look like they have to be at least 500 pages thick.

Alright, back to discussing the importance of motivation in language students and how one can incorporate the internet into lesson plans.
Wish me luck - I need it.