Currently Reading Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation By Lynne Truss see related

As of yesterday, OZMA has disbanded. They will be missed...

I wish I could've gone to their last show here in SF.

Currently Reading Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister : A Novel By Gregory Maguire see related

A bunch of things have happened since my last post.  For one thing, I got a part-time job as a receptionist at a hair salon, thanks to my old grade school buddy Cesar (my biatch)!  I'm glad to have found a summer job where I'd only have to work once a week.

As for my goal of losing weight: not much has happened.  I have, however, been going to the gym 5-6 times a week, which is a great accomplishment for a lazy lard like myself.  Ah, if only Meesh knew. . . she would be so proud!

On a more serious note, Brad and I have hit some bumps in our relationship this summer.  It just goes to show that no matter how long you've been with someone, there are still things about the other person that you have yet to find out.  The big trigger to our relationship problems is the fact that we only have about a year left until graduation.  At that point we will both have to figure out what to do with our lives, and I for one am beginning to feel a gentle tug from my parents, urging me to return "home."  Also, Brad keeps suggesting that I should just move to the midwest with him, but I feel as though that decision would leave me in a vulnerable rut, emotionally and academically.  I like I'm being tugged left to right by both places, and it makes me all the more eager to just stay here in the Bay Area, since it's the only place where it seems like I can actually run my own life and learn more about who I really am on my own.  There's so much more that I need to find out about myself, but it's so hard to do so when there are so many people I love whose opinions and feelings I must consider.  I guess this is all part of growing up, but I'm not sure if I'm ready for it just yet.

Currently Reading Clinical Psychology: Evolving Theory, Practice, and Research (4th Edition) By Norman D. Sundberg, Allen A. Winebarger, Julian R. Taplin see related

So, someone stole one of my housemate's wallet last night when she stepped out of her room to fix herself a snack.  Kind of disturbing considering that the culprit has to be someone living in the house, since he/she had to be at the right place at the right time to know when Jackie wasn't in her room.  To prevent theft from happening in my room, I'm hoping to put up a chain lock on my door, and maybe even a new doorknob... one that locks.  I don't know if the deadbolt I have now is enough to ward off the mysterious thief.

This last week has been going quicker than I thought it would.  Always something to do, like last Wednesday when Amy, Dustin, and I went to San Francisco to the exploratorium.  It was fun -- I felt like I was a kid again.  I wished Brad were there though, especially since we had always planned on him taking me to the palace of fine arts. 

I'm going to be in the midwest for the first time ever in a couple of weeks.  It's going to be an interesting experience.  I'm excited to see Brad's hometown, playing with his dog and seeing his house, but most of all I'm excited to see him after a month of being apart.  I can't wait!

Oh yeah, I got another research position, this time at the RASCL lab (with Amy)!  It'll be fun sticking electrodes on people...mwahaha >=)   More on research later...

For now, here's a quick list of things I want to accomplish this summer:
1. Prepare my thesis (including talking to Professor John about it).
2. Draw every Saturday morning.
3. Learn to play tennis.
4. Work out.  Maybe get an ab ball.  Lose a centimeter around my waistline.
5. Read for fun.
6. Go to a show. (Rex Navarrete? Margaret Cho? OZMA?)
7. Learn to play "More than Words" by Extreme in its entirety on the guitar.
8. Learn more guitar chords.
9. Sell old clothes to thrift store.
10. Make money.

#10 is a longshot since I'm busy Monday through Friday every week doing unpaid research and taking classes, but we'll see...

I'm in So-Cal for the weekend.  It was kind of a last minute thing, but I'm happy I flew down.  It feels good to be home again, even if it's just for a little while.

My parents say they might be selling the house.  I already have no intention to move back home after I graduate, so selling the house makes me even more willing to find a place of my own elsewhere in the country.  Who knows where I'll be next year?  I kinda like it...not knowing and all.

It worries me that my parents keep pushing that I don't go to graduate school.  They think it's a waste of time and I don't know how to make them think otherwise.  I understand that my loans are piling up on top of each other and that it'll take me years and years until I pay it off, but just the thought of graduate school makes me...tingle.  I want to go, not because it's the "next logical step," but because I feel called to do it.  I hate it that the reality of my financial situation is impeding me from going after my dreams.  Granted, I've decided to take a year or so off after graduation before heading to graduate school (which made my parents very happy), but I still hope to do something research-related when I'm out in the working world.  I know an undergraduate degree in psychology won't really get me anywhere, but I'm ready for the challenge.  Grad school will have to wait.  I just hope my parents eventually come to understand how important it is to me.

Currently Playing Rock and Roll Part Three By Ozma see related

- Shooting Stars

About zippers being Freudian, think about it.  Here's a hint:

Mrs. Poreba was shopping for a pair of pants for her little boy.  "Do you want pants with a zipper?" asked the clerk.  "No," said the Polish woman, "Piotr has a sweater with a zipper and he's always getting his tie caught in it."

How does this joke provide an indisputable confirmation of an example of Freudian symbolism?  What well-known Freudian comples is implicit in the Polish joke's punch line?

This was an actual question in my final.  God bless Cal for allowing such a class to be offered.