This week of vacation has been busy but grand.

I have worked almost all day at the city, picking up some extra cash. It is good to be back in the office with my buddies. Working the 8-5 schedule when I am not used to it, makes it feel like a vacation. It only gets old when it becomes a routine.

Today I taught gymnastics. It was so much fun. Trampoline and parachutes. I was all into it. I liked the big parachute best. Hopefully there will be more gymnastics fun in the summer.

Yesterday I took my friend's toddler to the park. It was fun to go down slides, play hide and go seek, and just be a kid.

somehow this break called for children. Kicking back, relaxing, and laughing with kids.

Easter was nice too. It was quiet. Lisa and I made a yummy sangria and fruit salad. Then Palina, Lisa, and I dyed some eggs:


We are probably going camping to the Indian's tomorrow. I am really looking forward to it. We have not gone for the past few years because of rain. I just wish I had a working camera.

Nothing, nothing tastes better than a beer after you turn in your final paper for the quarter.

Yes. I just emailed my final paper to my professor. I am OFFICIALLY done with this quarter. I have a cold beer in hand and am reflecting on this feeling and moment that cannot beat anything in life. It really is an amazing feeling.

Now I must devote my break to work and hope my tax return comes soon, so I can get me a new camera. I feel naked without a camera.

One paper left and Spring Break here I come! The paper is due Tuesday, but I think I'm just going to do it today, get it over with, start spring break.

Yesterday I had my final exam for my undergrad class. It took me 10 minutes. Fastest final time ever. I hope this means the test was easy. I believe it was. I studied so long and hard for it. The professor also handed us back our papers that are worth 50% of our grade. I got an almost perfect grade. She took of 2 points for no reason really. All her comments say my paper was perfect, just what she was looking for. She just took those points off just to spite me. But oh well. 2 points? Seriously. I just want an A. I tried so hard in this class. The only thing she really could give me low points on was participation.

I just really want a 4.0 this quarter. I have never got a 4.0 in a college quarter.

This time I want to do it though. Just a little goal I set for myself. No reason why it really matters. I just want to prove to myself that I can do it. Cross your fingers. Grades will be ready next week.

I finally got a hair cut and I am loving it. It took me a month to find the time to do it. I decided to go after my final as a reward.

I also got a new tent. I want to go and use it. Maybe camping next weekend when I am truly done.

Last weekend I went to SF with Katie and Ellie. We went dancing at night and then bridesmaid dress shopping during the day. We found a perfect dress at Anthropologie but it was the wrong color. I can't wait till Katie's wedding it will be so much fun. I am starting to do planning for the bachlorette party. We're doing it in Napa. Way to much fun. I like weddings, especially when it is for your long time friend.

P.S. my camera broke- this is the new one I want: Pentax Optio M50 8mp
I need that tax return to come...

I am so exhausted my legs feel like they can't move. I feel sick, I feel tired, my brain feels dead. I can't walk my dog that is driving me crazy and won't let me write my paper that is due tomorrow. The things my dog does while I am counting down the hours to deadlines:

Breaks a purple ink pen on the light carpet making a huge stain

Steals a sharp cutting knife from the sink and runs around the apt. with the knife blade sticking out of his mouth, like he's the dog version of the Scream man.

Swallows a whole tampon

Attempts to chew the heel off a shoe

I wish my dog understood what "Bad Dog" meant.

Spring Forward Savings sucks.

Especially when you have to stay up all night writing a paper that is due the next morning.

Tomorrow morning will even be harder than tonight. Especially since I wasn't able to get to the 170 pages of articles my professor wanted us to read for tomorrow, along with a paper being due, and I know she will pick on me to tell her all about those wonderful articles.

Couldn't they have decided to have daylight savings next weekend? They did it with Fall falling back.

This morning I woke up to the news anchor saying there was a dunkin donuts on Power Inn road in Sacramento. I have been waiting for this ever since last August. I was planning in my mind how I would make the drive out to buy my bakers dozen. Sadly, I went on line to check this out...since it sounded to good to be true. And the news anchor was wrong. The dunkin donuts in Sacramento closed down. The nearest one to me is Arizona.

I told Lisa this morning perhaps I should open a California franchise. Use my graduate education wisely.

Yesterday I found out there is a good thing about getting this graduate education at a school that is fully funded. The department is giving each of us $700 to pay for any writing conference we want to attend in the summer. I am very excited about this. After researching I was even more excited to find there is a writers conference held in Mendocino that I never knew about. I believe this is the one I hope to get accepted too. Of course my first choice: Amy Tan and Anne Lamott teaching workshops in Tahoe...but it is offered when we are in Costa Rica.

So I'll have to stick with another one.
The other ones I am considering are in Portland and Napa. I may apply to both and see which one I get into. The only cool thing about the Mendocino one is that $700 would cover my whole trip: food, gas, registration, and hotel. I think if I went to Portland or Napa I would go over my budget and have to pay out of pocket.

I also found out yesterday that the english dept. hired their new creative writing faculty. It is going to be Yiyun Li. We stole her from Mills College. People are convinced she is going to be HUGE: the next Jumpa Lahiri. I am excited to take a workshop from her next fall. She really is a talented writer. I recommend reading her stories. My favorite one is " Death is not a Bad Joke if Told the Right Way"

Everyone should go read up on her.

Here at UC Davis they let us grad. students take an undergraduate course here and there for credit. To me this always sounded like it would be a time to take a breather from your regular intensive grad seminars. A time to take classes that interested you. A time to take classes in other departments.

I am finding this is a complete misconception.

I am in an undergraduate class currently and it is kicking my butt in every way possible. Not only has the professor targeted me as "the graduate student" in the bunch, but she picks on me in a huge lecture and constantly humiliates me. I was the idiot who decided to take the class outside of my department. I went to a department that I have no experience in and no nothing on the topic. I thought I would take it as an interesting class. It is interesting. But I hate that I feel more pressure in this undergraduate class than my grad. seminars in my field. I hate that I put more effort and work into this undergrad class that was supposed to be for my own personal interest.

I just wish I took it pass/no pass, because I worry, I worry about what my grade is going to look like.

This is Town

Yesterday was amazing. I went to Blue Mountain to teach kids about blogging for their community. I was there ALL day, but it flew by. At one moment I just stopped everything I was doing and thought...
This. This, today. This experience. This moment is worth my whole two years of grad school.


Never in my life have I felt what I did yesterday. The experience. The kids. The distraught community coming together. It just really was amazing and it made me feel like for once in my life I really made a change. A real change. An impact. And not just some silly role model at a summer camp. It felt good.


Yesterday we gave the kids cameras, taught them how to take pictures to tell a story, gave them laptops, and taught them how to blog about their community. These are kids who maybe have been to Sacramento a handful of times in their life. These are kids who feel like Davis is such a long trip away. These are kids who maybe have touched a computer only a few times in their whole life. Their enthusiasm, willingness, and patience for new technology was amazing. It was admirable. Check out their posts on the blog I made for the community (on the side bar click on the link that is my work). Make comments on their stuff. They are so proud and they need the support from the outside. They are trying to make a difference for their community that is depleted in so many ways. If they know people care it will only be a positive impact.

I can't wait to go back. These kids are so cool. These kids. This community. This is my passion. This is what I want to do:
Blogging is simple really

New Computers are Cool

Trying out the Cameras