Yosemite!

I've been back in San Diego since Sunday and it's so nice to be back in lovely 80 degree weather. :)

I've been enjoying myself and have committed myself to waking up every morning before 10 and then going out for a run along the bluffs along the beach here. It's great to get all those endorphins going and talk to interesting people on the beach when I go down there to run along the water. I'm feeling good about myself, physically and mentally - I've resolved to try to either run or do yoga every day until I leave for Siena, which is just over a month from now.


Before I left northern California, we took a trip to Yosemite - I had never been before and had a photo-taking frenzy... there were just too many beautiful things to photograph there!





The first photo is a photo of Bridalveil Falls where you can see a beautiful rainbow.
This was the last place we stopped in Yosemite and it is undoubtedbly my favorite place I saw there. I was in awe as I watched the water slowly fall down the rocks. Beautiful.

One is silver and the other gold...

Took my camera out again this weekend. Here's a cool shot I got.



I normally hate bugs - whenever I hear anything buzzing near my ear, I automatically jerk my head away from the noise in a very awkward and ungraceful manner - but I was able to get close and capture this bumble bee with the (unintentional) help of my friend.

This weekend, my brother, his friend, and two of my friends came from San Diego to visit me. One of my best friends, who also loves photography, is not a sissy little baby when it comes to bugs and other creepy-crawlers. In fact, I remember going to the beach with her when we were little kids and running away in sheer terror as she picked up a handful of sand crabs like they were as harmless as jelly beans.

So the other day, when I was taking pictures with her (she also has a fancy SLR), she was photographing this bee. I saw the potential for a beautiful photograph and because my friend was able to take a picture of the bee without flinching away from it, I found the courage to do the same.

While my ability to photography this bumble bee demonstrates only the tiniest personal victory for me, I think it says a lot about the worth of a good friendship. If my friend can encourage me (without knowing it) to approach something that scares the crap out of me, I believe that's someone who is worth having around.

I love my friends because they bring out the best in me and cause me to take risks and experience more of life.

Pictures! (finally)

Alrighty, so I finally took my new Canon Rebel XS for a test run. I love this camera so much, but I'm still a newbie when it comes to Digital SLR's. So here are some photos my friend and I captured while walking around IV.

Peace signs and such things crop up all over IV



Love the ocean



Downtown IV



A pretty wall painting and some bougainvillea



And what better represents IV than the public's general attitude toward the infamous IV Foot Patrol? (it says "calling cops pigs is an insult to the animal")

Don't question my drinking habits (or lack thereof...)

I haven't posted a new blog in a while, and I have a very good reason: school and study abroad forms are slowly sucking my soul right out of me.

Aside from running around trying to get all my school work done, I've been frantically trying to turn in all necessary paper work to my Education Abroad Program (EAP) office. I will be studying abroad in Siena (Tuscany) in Italy for the entire next school year. As excited as I am to go, I am not excited by the crazy amounts of paper work I have to do.

Today I had to go into the doctor's office on campus to get my health clearance. Basically I just had to fill out a health questionnaire and have them take my vital signs so they can make sure I'm healthy enough to travel.

I didn't think this would be a problem at all, but upon filling out the questionnaire, I came across the question "How many alcoholic beverages do you consume on average per week?" I answered zero.

Now this is a completely honest answer. I may go to the biggest party school in southern California, but I do not drink. There are multiple reasons as to why I don't, but the main reason is that I suspect I have an allergy to alcohol. I get sick almost every time I try to drink any sort of alcoholic beverage. So i tend to avoid the stuff.

But, this being Santa Barbara, the nurse takes one look at my questionnaire and says to me "and you're sure you filled out everything truthfully?" ...like its not obvious what she's hinting at.

"Yes, I'm sure," I say. Do they want me to say I drink copious amounts of alcohol? I would imagine that would create more problems for them.

She looks at my paper again and says "so, you haven't suffered any severe illnesses in the past year?"
"No."
"And you drink...how many drinks per week?"
"None."
"...Alright. Lets go take your vitals then."

I know this isn't a huge problem, but its just so disheartening that due to my surroundings, people don't believe me when I say I don't drink.

Anyways, my new camera finally got to see some daylight today! I'll post some pictures soon! :)

The early bird gets the cake...or something like that

I woke up early this morning - which is nothing short of miraculous - and the sunlight streaming into my room was pink. Looking outside, the sun looked like a red ball, obscured by the smoky clouds covering the entire sky.

I attempted to photograph this to share with you because it looked so surreal. Unfortunately, my wimpy little point-and-shoot camera is old and refuses to filter light properly. Soon I'll have a Digital SLR, and when that happens I'll be posting tons of photos here to add some color to this blog.

Anyways, the sky is now clear and blue - but ash is falling down and coating everything. My bright blue bike, which is locked up outside, looks like its been spray-painted white.

Aside from me getting up early this morning, something else amazing happened. Are you ready for this? I don't think you are, but I'll tell you anyways: I cleaned my desk.

Now my desk has been piling up with papers and books since the beginning of my school year. For the last 2 months I have not been able to sit at my desk because there have been tons of clothes and notebooks stacked on my chair. I've been doing all my work while siting on my bed (which makes work hard to do, seeing as all I want to do is take a nap). But now, I am proud to announce to you that I am writing this blog post from my desk!

One last bit of interesting news: I had chocolate cake for breakfast this morning! Oh, the joy of being an independent, lazy college student.

I don't know why I felt compelled to eat cake for breakfast... Perhaps it was a way for me to validate my autonomy. Maybe it was to rebel against the monotony of breakfast bagels and cereals. Or I could have been reveling in the uncertain and adventurous side of life. But it is quite possible that it was solely due to the fact that this delicious cake has been siting on my desk for a few days and is the first thing I see when I wake up in the morning.

Life is full of a million opportunities to break free of the ordinary, and by doing so you can find joy and excitement every day. So enjoy your freedom - eat some cake for breakfast.