more things i love

• sitting on this armchair with my laptop. if i'm in the apartment then chances are i am also in this armchair.
• thurston moore's "tree outside the academy" album. especially good for june gloom mornings. i love "honest james" the most.
• silvergreens (a restaurant in IV for non-sb folks). half ahi tuna salad with half hummus+mozarella sandwich... heaven for the taste buds.
• ace of cakes.
• just apartment living in general.
• facebook. which is not really anything newsworthy, but my tedious obsession has definitely escalated, since becoming attached to said armchair.
• blueberry bagels with cream cheese.
• talking on the phone with my sister, in the rarity that she does pick up.
• jojoba oil body wash and lotion, from crabtree & evelyn.
• time magazine's middle east blog.

urban exploring

got back from san francisco last night and now i am sitting in my summer apartment in santa barbara; i've been moved in for about seven hours and i like it so far. anyways, s.f. is a sweet place with a very distinct, laid back vibe. it's not my first time there but we tried to avoid the tourist traps for the most part. highly recommend the street art around the mission. next stop las vegas (for the millionth time) for fourth of july; hong kong, along with hopefully bangkok and beijing, in august; san diego in september. the more traveling i do, the more i love it.

on the road

on the plane coming to san francisco, i began to read the first of my many designated summer reading books. just thought i would jot down this passage:

"i woke up as the sun was reddening; and that was the one distinct time in my life, the strangest moment of all, when i didn't know who i was - i was far away from home, haunted and tired with travel, in a cheap hotel room i'd never seen, hearing the hiss of steam outside, and all the sad sounds, and i looked at the cracked high ceiling and really didn't know who i was for about fifteen strange seconds. i wasn't scared; i was just somebody else, some stranger, and my whole life was a haunted life, the life of a ghost. i was halfway across america, at the dividing line between the east of my youth and the west of my future, and maybe that's why it happened right there and then, that strange red afternoon."

looking forward to the haight today.

one year down

first year of college, summarized in a quick list:

1. learned a whole lot about myself. i am aware that i say this after every year, but i swear i mean it every time... i think it is only natural that i learn more about myself with every progressing year anyways.
   
2. gained a much greater perspective of the world.
   
3. went to state street obsessively. urban outfitters, reference, pad thai, repeat the next weekend.
   
4. met some great people - can't say i was very close to most, but i genuinely enjoyed everyone's company.
   
5. also successfully kept in touch with old friends.
   
6. had a lovely roommate.
   
7. did pretty well, grade-wise.
   
8. struggled (and am still struggling, unfortunately) with choosing a major.
   
9. became fascinated with middle eastern history and culture, after taking an 'islam & modernity' course.
   
10. did more writing than i have ever done in my entire life, and in turn got to hone my writing skills a little bit.
    
11. also probably ate more desserts in the dining commons than ever before.
    
12. isla vista - 'nuff said.
    
13. fell in love with santa barbara.
    
14. thoroughly enjoyed myself!

may thirty-first

once again i am really behind on news (i have been living under a rock ever since college), but dr. george tiller, one of the very few doctors who were willing to perform late-term abortions, was shot to death a couple of weeks ago, in wichita, kansas. quite ironic, considering that pro-life advocates use the "every life is a precious gift from god" premise as the primary basis for so much of their argument. and as if the irony was not scathing enough as is, tiller was shot while attending church! where would the world be without those silly religious zealots?