~:[CH2 - Day 315]:~ A Bowl Full of Joy

~:[CH2 - Day 315]:~ A Bowl Full of Joy

Two types of salad, three meats, some rice, and all kinds of things nice. It was quite the interesting day with a long morning practice, a bowl full of pho, a wonderful nap and time to catch up on absolutely nothing except for rest. Lazy days are sometimes a required part of someone's day, but now I realize why I like to have a lot on my plate, otherwise, it turns into days with no productivity. I still was able to enjoy a nice basketball game, scarf down some amazing food, cut my hair, and the most exciting of all, install final cut on my new editing mac book pro. This year's video will hopefully be exceptional since I will have a better machine working on that final product! Buckle your seat belts, as it's the busiest but most fun five weeks of my life.

~:[CH2 - Day 314]:~ Progress

~:[CH2 - Day 314]:~ Progress

This was only our second year back at UCLA for BruinMUN after a short layoff from the conference and while the normal crisis concepts bring down the conference and the ideas of Model UN, the conference itself wasn't too bad. We only brought our advanced groups to UCLA and none for the novice level groups, which may have impacted our delegation as a whole, however, we ended up with 53 students receiving awards (and even more with research awards) of the 80 or so that we brought to the conference including eight students with gavels and 28 with outstanding. It was a little weird heading home when it was already pitch dark, however, in the end, there was much to be proud of at just the beginning of MUN season. It was also great catching up with a few alumni and just enjoying the great environment of UCLA and Westwood. Now, it's time to rest and enjoy a half day off after practice tomorrow morning.

~:[CH2 - Day 313]:~ Eagerly Waiting

~:[CH2 - Day 313]:~ Eagerly Waiting

There has been a lot to look forward to lately. Today, I received my tile from the + Pool project in New York. I thought it would be cool to sponsor such a project. I also got to look forward to a relaxing day of catch up where I got to do ALL my laundry and for those that know me, you know how many loads of laundry that is! I also was looking forward to the release of our cross country heats for prelims! It's always fun to hit refresh and start researching right when we get the sheet. Of course, I have a lot of trips to look forward to as I begin to plan San Diego, Vegas, Seoul, Green Bay and San Antonio, all in the next month. I am a little impatient, but I don't mind this wait, as I know it will all be worth it in the end.

~:[CH2 - Day 312]:~ ARRRRRguably the Best

~:[CH2 - Day 312]:~ ARRRRRguably the Best

This was one of the best ways to end the week, as we ventured with our team to the Pirate Adventure Dinner in Buena Park. I was not sure what to expect from this, but in the end, I think it was quite the enjoyable time, cheering for our red pirate who won the title of first mate. While he may not have been as cool as some of the other pirates, we still enjoyed ourselves and cheered him on. This followed a long day at work with notes, more notes, a great stop at Yoshinoya and a time trial. I am totally pooped from this stretch of events and I think it's time to catch up on those Zzzzs and finally get to cleaning! It's sad to think I am happy to have time to clean. 

~:[CH2 - Day 311]:~ Keeping the Focus

~:[CH2 - Day 311]:~ Keeping the Focus

It's a new experience having 16 days before CIF competition, but it actually has been quite nice, as we have not had to worry about racing and more about practicing, learning new things, and getting healthy. This stretch still has another week before we have a "real" race, but at least I feel that we've been productive and have time to do some things we haven't yet been able to do. We still are carrying  a pretty good sized team, but obviously much smaller than our normal crew. While I miss the larger team, it's nice to be able to focus on this group and we are so much more efficient with practice. Today itself was a crazy day as we missed out on our third period and I had to have our first Nationals MUN meeting, which is always a thrill. Regardless, I survived and hope that the rest I got today will pay off for the next month, haha.

~:[CH2 - Day 310]:~ Setting Sun

~:[CH2 - Day 310]:~ Setting Sun

The sun set on such a busy stretch of my life ... the past six days. While it hasn't been the busy six days of my life, being sick while trying to last has taken its toll. I know I will survive as tomorrow night, I will be able to rest and relax for the first time in a week, but I am glad that I am going to survive this. Obviously, the year will continue to be busy, however, at least it won't be as crazy.

~:[CH2 - Day 309]:~ On the Campaign Trail

~:[CH2 - Day 309]:~ On the Campaign Trail

After a long and exhausting day, I had practice, a Nationals mini-simulation and had just enough energy to head to Lynda Johnson's election night dinner. It was great to catch up with everyone that night including the Gal Pals, a group of supporters and friends of Lynda Johnson, who all happen to have a son or daughter who ran cross country at Cerritos. It was great to enjoy the night and eventually see Lynda Johnson's name on top of the polls. At last count, with one precinct left to report, she was a top by 3%! It's great to know as I head to bed that she will be re-elected, as she has done such a wonderful job for our district and I know will continue to do so as her love and passion for everyone will push her to do the best for all of us.

~:[CH2 - Day 308]:~ The Suite Life

~:[CH2 - Day 308]:~ The Suite Life

Adjusting to Daylight Savings is always tough, especially when you start up your first period as well. I normally wake up early, but am able to do work in the morning. Now with first, I have to get up even earlier if I am to make any phone calls for the day. Regardless, with a little nap, I survived and headed to the Clippers game after school. I wasn't anticipating the environment in the StubHub suite, but it was amazing. The seats had an amazing view, we got free food and drinks, and got to see one of the most entertaining games I've been to with the Clippers scoring 78 points in the first half, which would have been 80 if not for the referees. Houston surrendered with almost five minutes left in the game and put in their subs, but we still stuck around to see the Clippers score a whopping 137. While we need to play better on defense, that was an amazing offensive game.

~:[CH2 - Day 307]:~ All Grown Up

~:[CH2 - Day 307]:~ All Grown Up

It's amazing how times flies. It seems like it was just yesterday that it was September of 1997 when I first met Jenn. I'd run into her, Eleen, and Shannon almost every day at snack as we went to our lockers in what is now the 600 building. There are no lockers in there anymore, but still are the many memories that we had since then. In high school and college it was MUN conferences such as UC Riverside and chairing conference, the dances, and watching you grown and be active in sports and activities on campus. In life, you were always the greatest of supporters, helping me chaperone in Mammoth and New York and being there where I needed someone the most. You were there when I was my most vulnerable, I hope that I can be there for you as much as you've been there for me. I am always so impressed by your energy, your positive spirit, your amazing creativity and your love for everything around you. I know that in everything you do going forward, you will be success and I hope to be there to witness all of your greatness. Thank you again for being such a great an amazing friend and I hope that we can take more jump kick pictures in the future. Congratulations to you and Wayne and I wish you two the best going forward.

~:[CH2 - Day 306]:~ Waves of Tranquility

~:[CH2 - Day 306]:~ Waves of Tranquility

It's weird what nature can do to your soul. It can make you relax and enjoy all that is around you and make you forget the stress that is around in this world. It was great to spend a few days by the calming and soothing beach and while I probably could have stayed a few more days, I am happy to have had the opportunity. Will I one day take residence by the beach ... probably not; however, it was a great getaway and a much needed rest.