11 Resolutions of 2011

1. Laugh AND cry more
2. Be more present in each moment
3. Get straight A's last semester at RCC and first semester at UCI
4. Learn to let go even more
5. Develop stronger relationships with those I care about
6. Walk the middle way
7. Meditate daily
8. Stop wasting time (facebook this means you!)
9. Stay true and confident
10. Practice more patience
11. Love, love, LOVE!

Day Thirteen

A picture of my favorite artist! I have been listening to him since I was 15 and in those 6 years he has helped shape my life with his music and lyrics. His songs helped me through the good, bad and the in between. Glad that I'm 21 now so I can go see him play at more private functions whenever he's in california. I hope this guy never stops making music because I'm his fan for life.

Early Morning

I am sitting here with the bowls of breakfast staring at me. No motivation to get up at the moment with my little handy mini heater warming my feet. Seems like a gorgeous day out with the sun shining but my wind chime tells me its quite breezy. One more day before New Years Eve and I am left wondering what to do today as to not waste the remaining hours of 2010. Time, although a made up notion, is our most precious gift. There are so many hours I know I've wasted in this past year either through procrastination or by being crammed with activities that weren't worth it. But not everything was this harsh, I also learned to slow down quite a bit and be enjoy more moments by being more present. This never meant indulging in every whim, quite the opposite. It meant taking the time to feel the water rush through my fingers as I washed the dishes or feeling the silkiness of Ezra's fur as I gave her the weekly brushing. I can only hope to live each moment more in the new year but also hope to learn to let each moment go as it passes by.

Day Twelve

A picture of something I love would be school! This photo is RCC where I attend now and it was here that I developed this love. I adore learning new information and constantly challenging myself. Hate to say it but I could probably go to school forever and not become bored of it.

Day Eleven

A picture of something I hate. War touches us all and never positively. My take on it is that an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind and slowly but surely we are doing just that. War is never the answer.

There is no way to peace, peace is the way.

Day Ten

A picture of the person I do the most fucked up things with would be Michael! This guy does bring out the wild child in me. Silly litte things that they may be but they're still out of the norm for me. From going out clubbing to snowboarding to driving midweek to pick up a hedgehog, this guy is there.

Day Nine

The person who has gotten me through the most would be WRM! Truly I would not be the person I am today without having him in my life. Pure fate brought us together and the quote I would use to describe that goes:

then my soul saw you and it kind of went
‘oh there you are. i’ve been looking for you’

So this would also be the perfect time for me to say thank you to him for everything he has helped me through, hoping that I can one day do the same.

Day Eight

This is my mom and I at Glen Ivy, the spa in Corona, this past summer. This photo makes me laugh everytime I look at it because we look so ridiculous. The crazy things that women do to look good!

Christmas!

Merry holidays! Here is a little update on how my Christmas was spent. The 24th we went up to Bear with some friends to snowboard. Perfect blue skies, great snow conditions, and wonderful company made that day complete!




















Today woke up and lounged a bit before heading to church with my mom. Later headed to a friends from where we went to Fairmount to feed the ducks! Tonight planning on seeing another close friend before heading to bed to get some rest before attacking Ontario Mills for some shopping tomorrow! Phew! What a wonderful christmas it has been and I am truly blessed to have had such great friends and my mom to spend time with. In that regards I wish my dad and other family were here and I truly miss you all and hope you know that you are all here with me in spirit. Happy holidays everyone!

Day Seven

My most treasured item I am almost embarrassed to admit is my iphone! For no other reason besides it providing so much to my life. It provides me contact to those I am close to via phone and text. It also keeps me organized through the calendar, notes, and list app. I also listen to music both through the ipod function and pandora. I wake up to the alarm on it every morning and check facebook whenever I'm bored. Also whenever the weather is warmer I use the nike+ integrated to my nike free runs. For little doses of inspiration there is the TED app. Whenever my fingers need to dance I play tap tap. There is much more I can say about it, sad but true, and that is why it is my most treasured item!

Day Six

There is no need for temples,
no need for complicated philosophies.
My brain and my heart are my temples;
my religion is kindness.

The person I would trade places with for a day would be Tenzin Gyatso! His words radiate wisdom and compassion. They have helped unify and bring peace to many. To have that for one day would inspire me for an entire lifetime!

Day Five

Shades of grey wherever I go
The more I find out the less that I know
Black and white is how it should be
But shades of grey are the colors I see.

I don't know if this photo counts as an old memory because I can't remember it. This photo is priceless to me because this is the only day that I have in photos of my mom, my brother and myself together. Wish there was more to say on this subject but its a hard one for me to talk about especially during this season where families usually come together. Now for some uplifting news, I'm heading up to Bear tomorrow for some snowboarding! I'll be sure to post some photos when I'm back!

Day Four

A picture of my night! A huge thank you to my dad for sending me this book, it truly is a must read. A favorite passage that I thought I would share goes:

He who binds to himself a Joy,
Does the winged life destroy;
He who kisses the Joy as it flies,
Lives in Eternity's sunrise.

Also sort of in conjunction with the book tonight was my weekly chan meeting. Gilbert, our Dharma teacher, wasn't there today so we did extra meditation and talked as a group about the benefits of meditating. My response was that meditation has helped me calm my monkey mind and has helped to let go. Meditation is a great way to clear up your mind when it becomes muddied up with thoughts. This quote I found in a book a few weeks back helps explain what I mean.





















Here's to learning to quiet our monkey minds in the hopes of us being able to benefit others better.

Day Three

The cast from my favorite show! Friends still is to this day my favorite show. Although I watch newer shows such as the office, desperate housewives, and family guy, this classic still remains. I could watch re-runs of seasons 1-10 and never grow tired of it!

Day Two

The person that I've been the closest with the longest would be my dad. He's not always located close to me but I know I can turn to him for anything. We're ridiculously similar and I aspire to be more like him. Although he's a guy he still understands my girl troubles. Thanks for that and so much more dad!

Day One

1. I know how to drive a stick shift
2. There isn't one working TV in my house
3. Broke my arm as a kid falling off the top of a big bookshelf
4. Could eat fish all day, every day
5. My blood type is O positive
6. I'm not mentioning things I've never done, because I still might do them
7. I practice chan
8. Bare feet is the way to be for me!
9. I've seen one shooting star
10. I prefer to hug than to shake hands with people
11. Had a suspended license for six months when I was 17
12. I have my own little library collection with my favorite books
13. The reason why katatak appeals to me as a nickname is because its a palindrome
14. I was born in the year of the snake
15. Love is my weapon

30 Day Photo Challange

Day 01 - A picture of yourself with fifteen facts
Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest
Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show
Day 04 - A picture of your night
Day 05 - A picture of an old memory
Day 06 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day
Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item
Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh
Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most
Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the most fucked up things with
Day 11 - A picture of something you hate
Day 12 - A picture of something you love
Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist
Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without
Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die
Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you
Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently
Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity
Day 19 - A picture and a letter
Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel
Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget
Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at
Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book
Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change
Day 25 - A picture of your day
Day 26 - A picture of something that means a lot to you
Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member
Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of
Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile
Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss

On Dreams

I got an A in ochem! Hoorah! Hard work does pay off and Im one step closer to my ultimate goal! I know I had an easy semester but its been nice since last winter's hardships to relearn how to go to school at a slower pace. Its nice to see how much smoother the semester feels when I'm focused and aren't dealing with minuscule problems that I'd generally create for myself. UCI is right around the corner after spring and then two years there doing pre-med before MCATs! Yikes! Those two years will probably fly by too and as long as things are constantly kept in perspective pre-med should be nothing more than a fun challenge. I feel like I was set out to do this, really and truly. The combination of the puzzle that the human body is, the biology/chemistry/physics behind it all, and the motivation to help others and make a difference fits like second skin. My only real concern can be described in a quote from the movie Coach Carter-

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others."

Hope this gives you all some inspiration to embrace your dreams and believe in them whatever they may be.

Mazda Musings

I am currently at the Mazda dealership, waiting on an oil change, so I figured I'd post a little something for you all. With the chemistry final out of the way it was like a weight was lifted and my spirits uplifted in the thought of being able to take on everything I'd been putting off.

This had me in a laughing fit after the final, thank you Brian for sharing, glad I can laugh about it now!!




The new place out in Irvine is still in escrow until the 1st of January from what I've heard so I'm unable to start remodeling it but there is plenty keeping me busy. I've taken on a membership at the Riverside indoor rock climbing gym, Threshhold, and I plan to go until my fingertips form calluses! Its got this great little friendly environment and its a very homely place. I'm not sure about keeping up with ballet after this semester with climbing being the replacement but I will definitely look into taking a yoga at RCC during the spring. I know I'm glad to be done with school at the moment but I know I will be craving to go back very, very soon. That is the nature of learning I suppose in that one can never have enough! This constant striving is the best gift and also a constant curse and with that I will share an article from Gwyneth Paltrow's website that caught my eye:

GOOP

enJOY!

Just a Little Reminder

Right now with finals around the corner it seems I need a little reminder to keep myself grounded in truth. The truth of not letting little things bother me, the truth of knowing myself enough to confidently step forward to do what needs to be done, and the truth of love. This may seem like a silly thing to be reminded of especially with the christmas spirit all around but I've been hermiting it this past week which includes me not getting a sufficient amount of exercise resulting in a slightly gloomy me.

Me and ochem are not even in a love-hate relationship but more of a infatuation-detestation because it's gotten that intense and extreme :-)
I really need a solid A to get an overall A in the class and it would really be unpleasant watching that chance slip through my fingers due to my lack of concentration and effort studying. Speaking of which this blog is my latest form of procrastination and I probably should get back to organic mechanisms! Hoorah, wish me luck all! Ill be back after finals are over and done with!

PS: Diamonds are made under pressure!