We finally arrived at Berkeley and the entire trip was only 6 days! It was definitely well worth the time and energy and I'm very glad I was able to spend that time with my folks. The drive went very smoothly and I was able to listen to all my tunes and then some! My favorite pit stop was the Grand Canyon. Here are a few photos:
Dad and I (Dad never smiles in photos, but believe me, he's very excited to be here!)
Mom and I.
Hello, hello out there!
Two condors soaring together...lovebirds.
We saw the sunset as well which was quite breathtaking.
I had such a good break, but I'm happy to return to work. Amazing how much has changed for all of us in the past 6 months. I'm really proud of us. Pacific time sucks though when all your friends are on eastern time, but I can accommodate the change. We will definitely need to coordinate phone/skype times, but for now here's to a really bright future. Cheers, my friends. :)
I watched this really superb documentary last night called, Happy. It examines happiness and its various forms across the globe. I won't reveal too much in case you're interested in watching it yourself, but I really do encourage you guys to check it out. It's on instant queue in Netflix! It gave me a different perspective on life and just the unmitigated value of simplicity. Happiness comes from within. Make the choice and be happy...or at least try. Though I'll admit, sometimes being happy and maintaining such emotion is beyond our level of control, but ultimately, it is up to you (well, unless you have a chemical imbalance or you're already genetically predisposed to be depressed, then it really isn't up to you, but...details, details!). At the very least, watching this documentary gave me some vindication for leaving Ithaca. Ha ha! Anyways...
Tomorrow I'll be on my merry way to Berkeley. Moving can be so stressful, but deep breaths, deep breaths and everything will be okay. That's what I keep repeating to myself. In all honestly though, I don't have any serious problems. Life is good...and much better with music. Doo dooo dooo!
I have about 30 roadie cds and counting. That should suffice, I think.
I hope the people are friendly. I hope my new lab will be a better fit. I hope I'll like the weather more. I wish there was someone I could talk to out there. I wish for a smooth transition. I hope, I hope, I hope...wish, wish, wish. I guess you never can predict what will happen in your life. Just go with the flow and enjoy that ride. I hope I won't have to move again because moving is annoying. I hope...
Pictures of the journey to follow. Toodles for now! xx
There are a lot of versions of this song, but I think Otis Redding's take is by far my favorite. Etta James isn't far behind. I melt every time. Here, have a listen:
There is now one more week until moving day. Hello, new beginnings: your life awaits you. Time sure does fly. I'm scared, but hopeful. That's more promising, I guess.
I'm in the midst of compiling songs for my roadie playlists. My folks and I decided that we will drive the 3000 miles from Palm City, Florida all the way to Berkeley, California. My dad figured that he would probably never in his lifetime ever again have this opportunity to drive across the country with his wife and daughter and so he said, "eh, why not". It's sad that we always assume that time will always be so generous as to allow us to seize those seemingly un-seizable opportunities. We think, "there's always tomorrow" and so we postpone what we were going to do because there's comfort and security buried in tomorrow, but the truth is life oftentimes gets so muddled with other obligations that usually take higher precedence than the thing we were going to do and then invariably, we forget that thing and just continue the routine. I guess the point I'm trying to make is this: the time is now. Whatever it is you want to accomplish in your life, do it and don't wait because you just never know what can happen. This sounds like those high school videos you watch in social studies with the bad actors with crooked teeth who always encourage you to "reach for your goals!" But silly or not, it's true.
My dad had surgery a few weeks ago and fortunately is recovering very well. I think about all the problems in my life and how trivial they seem in comparison to the big stuff. My family. My dad. As long as the people who I love are still in my life, there is nothing that seems too troublesome anymore. Nothing else matters, really. Leaving Ithaca was an excruciatingly more difficult decision than I would ever have imagined. Oddly enough, I miss it--well, not Ithaca per se, but my friends. I do have a lot of pride and no matter what anybody says, I couldn't allow them to dictate to me how to live my life nor could I let them tell me that I'm not good enough. That was just unacceptable and so I left. If you haven't already heard all the details, bug me again and we can chat over cookies and tea. There are so many uncertainties, too many, that lie ahead, but I guess sometimes, you just have to close your eyes and take the next step. Onwards, my friends, to a better life!
I went to Gainesville over the past Labor Day weekend. Here are some photos from the visit:
Harald, Scott, and I went to catch a movie and when we were leaving the parking lot, we found this beside our car. Wtf, right? Weeeeeeeird!
Afterwards, Harald cooked the rest of us a gourmet dinner and later we played some cards.
I love these guys!
It took us about 5 times before we could capture this photo! Haha.
I went underneath the Roosevelt Bridge again today to read my book and low and behold, a rainbow!
This song has been stuck on repeat. If you have any songs that have been stuck on repeat, please send them my way! I welcome all suggestions as I'll need about a thousand songs (quite literally) for my impending road trip.
Man, since my return from DC, these past couple of weeks have been an absolute whirlwind, but such is life, amirite? Anywho, the wedding was loads of fun and I'm glad I was able to attend and see our guy. Here are a few photos of the big day:
Here I am about ready to leave the hotel.
Have a look at Kyle as he waits patiently (or not so patiently as you may be able to infer from his facial expression bahaha).
And finally, the lovely bride has arrived!
And now introducing for the very first time, Mr. and Mrs! They were wed in this very comfortable historic building. It was a warm day and as trite as this may sound, you could really feel the love inundate the room.
I think my favorite part was Kyle and his gang of friends reenacting that scene from Top Gun. You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling has been on constant repeat for some time now, but you gotta admit, that's a pretty good song.
The cake was so yummy. I love how he tied the Gators to the cake. The Gator nation really is everywhere. W00t w00t!
And finally, here's our guy now tossing the garter.
I would have to say that this wedding was probably among the best that I've attended and I'm not just saying that because Kyle's one of my closest friends. His wedding is probably how I would want to have mine: small and intimate with only the people I love around me. And nothing else matters. I think apart from that, a ta-die-for cake, and a rockin' dance party, that would be my ideal wedding. And Kyle's definitely had all of that. I'm so happy for the two and I wish them well on their journey together. Congratulations, my friend.
Tomorrow I'll be heading down to DC to see Kyle get married! Aaaaaah, omgzomgzomgz!!! Freak out, seriously. Congrats to one my closest pals from college! March was a big month for loads of folks. Hello, adulthood! Photos to follow...
Today, I totally got ripped a new one as I had my first committee meeting which incidentally was also the prelude to my A exam. This was so not anticipated. Ten minute meeting? Yeah, right! This turned into an hour-long meeting with so too many questions about bud formation. Sometimes it kinda sucks when the proteins you're studying happens to be something that your boss discovered in his lab. Buh, whateva, s'all good, I s'pose. This just means more reading. I've got vesicles and spirals on the brain now. What is going on, really? It's beyond me.
Anywho, yahoo and yahoo again and again to my friends! xx
I thought I would resurrect my "Dear diary/friends." It's been a long time. March has been/is going to be HUGE/life-changing/around-the-world big--Jennifer moving to the city that she loves, Bala defending his thesis, and Kyle getting married. You're among the small group of people that I care about most and I'm so happy for you all. I just wish I could be there. Anyways, for you guys:
Who cares about all this crap--he said, she said, panic, tomorrow, worry--what? The Doobie Brothers got it right. Just pause and listen to the music all the time, all the time. Frankly, your life is much too precious for it to be spoiled by all these trivialities.
Remember Sublime? This takes me back to high school again. Imagine if we deposited songs instead of tangible objects in our time capsules. Our children would be greeted by the melodies that made us happy--think a dance, sing-song celebration every time somebody opened this memory box. Wonderful, huh?
I'm enjoying a warm cup of mango green tea and am about to fold another paper crane. Ugh, tomorrow...oh, well, can't dwell on any more of these absurdities, right? Right.
My room is like its own tiny planetarium now with my constellation projector. I like to listen to my records or my "Lake Alice" playlist while watching all the lights flicker fireworks on my ceiling. It's probably one of the coolest gadgets I've ever purchased. Maybe it will help me sleep better. Here's to hoping. From time to time, I tend to suffer from these terrible migraines presumably because of my poor sleeping habits, but I've learned to deal with it in spite of how awful these attacks can be. Yick. Anyways, one of these days I'd like to go to Yellowknife and see the Northern Lights. It's been a dream of mine for some time to witness something so beautiful. Anybody interested in going?
I don't know why this song feels so sad to me, but I love Rufus.
Why does the new year always inspire people to better themselves? Whine less. Read more. Lose 10 pounds. Shouldn't we strive to be better people everyday? Beginning and end are all relative anyways. I don't have an "end" per se in my calender, but there is a beginning. Maybe one day, after we fly my kite, I'll tell you my very uncomplicated story over coffee. I've started writing Valentine's letters early because I know that once classes resume again, I'll be one of those pathetic people who uses the excuse "I'm too busy" to write a Valentine's letter. Inconvenience is such a pitiful excuse, though admittedly, I can't say that I've never been one of those "pathetic people." Strike one. Well, as part of my endeavor for self-improvement, here is my first attempt. My relationships with people are so important to me and I always feel terrible when I lose touch with a friend. It's a bit analogous to reading the first few pages of a book that you know is good and never completing it. How tragic! Perhaps all these social networks (i.e. Facebook) eliminates the need for phone calls and letters, but I don't want to discover on a news feed that "so and so" is getting married or that "so and so" is moving here. I want him/her to tell me about it.
But sometimes, if one's efforts at maintaining ties with a person are not reciprocated, you just have to let go. Oh, well. Though I suppose, it's never really "goodbye." It's "goodbye" until fate or circumstance brings you back to somebody and then it's "hello" again.
Anyways, my love for planetariums has driven me to purchase my very own in home planetarium. Merry Christmas to me! This has pretty much been the highlight of my week...that and finding multicolored tube racks in my lab today. Oh, what a life...
So long, my home. Back to biz tomorrow...sob, sob, sob!
The photos above are of the Roosevelt Bridge in Downtown Stuart. Underneath the bridge is my absolute most favorite spot in all of my hometown. I could spend hours just sitting there, entranced almost.
Here is footage of my kite at the beach. Feast your eyes!
Kim, Alex, and I decided to take Binding to the beach.
This has been such a wonderful week--listening to my dad retell stories about his childhood, talking girl-talk over ice-cream with my mom, lunching at the Olive Garden with my cousins, car rides and long chats with friends, long walks, long drives, and flying kites. I love home--the sunshine and warm people--but as much as I don't want to return to the hell hole (otherwise known as Ithaca) I feel like a lot of time could be wasted if I diverted my focus away from living life to hating a place, so I'll carry on like that 1930s poster advises we all do. Harald, Scott and I have been discussing the very real possibility of hightailing it to California once we serve our time in grad school. My tolerance for cold weather progressively gets lower and lower with each snowfall so we shall see where the next 2 years will lead us.
Here is my Roadie #52 playlist:
And a few other songs that weren't on Grooveshark:
Happy New Year! Joseph Addison once said that the three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for so my wish for you all is that this year and future years to come will bring you those "somethings." Missing you all! xx
