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.

I am a stranger to real heat

So I'm currently on vacation and visiting my boyfriend in a small town called Copperopolis (part of Calaveras County) where it is HOT! I, having only lived in San Diego and Santa Barbara, am not equipped to handle heat - chapstick and ice-cold water have become my two most valued necessities here.

Nevertheless, I have been thoroughly enjoying myself. This last Saturday we went hiking down to a river which was absolutely breathtaking. Here are a few pictures.






The hike there was exhausting for a lil city girl like me, but swimming in the refreshing river water was so rewarding! I had no idea there was poison oak on the path, but I lucked out and apparently avoided it.

On Sunday (when it was 108 degrees!) we took a boat out on Lake Tulloch and went for a swim in the lake to cool down. I even got to drive the boat for a bit! So much fun!





I had never gone swimming in a river or a lake, let alone driven a boat, so the weekend was full of adventure for me! Plus, last night, we drove some quads around - yet another thing I had never done before!

Oh, and one of the most incredible things about being out in the country... one can actually see stars at night! And I mean lots and lots of stars! So out of the ordinary for me!

Anyways, I'm gonna go try to stay cool. Hopefully it's not too hot where you are!

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!

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!

I don't do well in heat. Or in the cold. Or in humidity or dry air. Thank you San Diego for ruining all extreme weather for me.

It is ungodly hot here. According to the internet, it is now 94 degrees here. NINETY-FOUR! That is 94 degrees of hell.

This heat is a product of the Santa Ana winds that are blowing through here, a fire nearby, and the quickening approach of summer.

I've compiled a list of the things I've been doing to cool down over the past day or so. This list is organized by the level of ridiculous behavior that is required to execute each action (normal person behavior to crazy person behavior).

1. Turning on my fan
2. Drinking extra water
3. Pulling my hair back in a ponytail
4. Wearing shorts and tank tops
5. Not wearing make up that will clump and/or melt in the sun
6. Wearing a dress
7. Standing in front of the freezer with the door open while moaning "It's toooooo hot..." over and over to my room mate.
8. Contemplating leaving German class early in order to organize a water balloon fight.
9. Contemplating leaving Linguistics class early in order to organize a water gun war.
10. Making it a point to ride my bike through all the sprinklers I can find on my way home from class.

Obviously number 10 is the most effective and fun method of cooling down that I've discovered so far - its made even more fun by all the weird looks I get (they're all jealous that they aren't adventurous enough to do the same). Now that I know when people's sprinklers are on, I'll be sure to schedule my day around that.