WHAT A WEEK!

Last week I started school!
I fell in love with ALL my teachers, minus my Sociology teacher.. ugh that was painful. There is so much more to why I didn't like her... but the selling points on dropping her class were the highest grade you can get in her class is a C(Sidebar: WHY?! why would ANYONE stay in a class and risk their GPA to only get a C!) UNLESS, you are willing to do heinous amounts of extra credit to receive just a B! AGH!...THEN.. she announces she is a Marxist and Atheist! So, I dropped that class IMMEDIATELY .

Minus, this past week also being President's Week and having F.S.Su.M.T off it was also, Valentine's Day week. I was bummed that my fiance Brandon couldn't come down to visit, but extremely excited that my mom wanted to come visit. So I cleaned up my apartment on Friday and waited. Around 9pm Someone knocks on the door and I open it to a HUGE teddy bear,Heart Shaped Box of See's Candy, a gift bag and rose petals surrounding it! I orginally thought it was my mom, trying to make me feel better, but i looked to my right and standing there was Brandon! I was immediately thrilled! My mom and him had planned for him to surprise me all week!So Saturday we ate at Paty's for breakfast, then i drove him up to the Hollywood Sign, Which this week was changed into "Save The Peak" so that sucked that he couldn't see it! Then, we went to Pink's Hot Dogs and stood in that line forever and ate some YUMMY hot dogs and cheeseburgers. After that we walked around the Grove and then saw a movie at the Burbank Town Center. We watched Valentine's Day. Which was a decently good movie, made your laugh, made you cry...was perfect for what else? Valentine's Day. Then Sunday, THE ACTUAL Valentine's Day we woke up and went to Bob's Big Boy for breakfast,we sat there thinking about what we could do with out day but everything just didn't fit (mainly cause we were on a budget) We decided on Knott's Berry Farms which neither of us had been and they were having a couple special , so our ticket was fairly cheap! I really like it! Knotts is like a less cool version of Disneyland and a WAY better version of Great America. The rides there are REALLY REALLY good and Brandon and I enjoyed playing the carnival games. After we drove back home, dressed quickly and went to Mo's in Toluca Lake for Dinner, then came home and watched Sleeping Beauty. Monday, we just drove around, ran some errands and then he left = (.

In Other News, I finished "Something Blue" and I for sure enjoyed it. I really ended up liking the main character, which in the beginning I was determined not too! Now, I am beginning to read "Reservation Road" by John Burnham Schwartz. It was made into a movie last year, but I think people may have gotten confused, because it came out the same time as "Revolutionary Road" anyways I have yet to see the movie to the book, although I have heard good things about it. I am a true believer that the book is always better then the movie, but so far... I am not sure; maybe it just starts off slow. Well, I will be go now and run some errands = )

Rain, Rain Go Away

The other day I had such a good topic to type about.. yet I had such trouble logging into my Blogger account, which I usually do and then later I re-attempt to log in and everything works fine. Now, that I am logged in.. I will type what may end up being a severely long blog.

Last week (Thurs. to be exact) I flew back home to San Jose, yet it is funny how quickly I had made Burbank/Toluca Lake my home. I mean San Jose will always be home-home but everything had already felt foreign to me back home. It was nice to see everyone again, and obviously my Fiance Brandon >Paty's.

Wow, I already can't remember everything I wanted to share!

Well. lets see.. I finished reading The Lovely Bones.. which I found to be an amazing book and would recommend for ANYONE to read. It definitely captures a real life situation and makes you feel and understand what every single character is going through and it's believable. I like that it doesn't only touch on the after life but it also, shows you the killers past life and what happened to make him who he is. Personally, i did not care for the ending, yet.. the ending was realistic. Now, I have begun reading Something Blue by Emily Giffin which is the sequel to Something Borrowed. The first few chapters may be a little boring since it is basically re-capping what happened in the first book, it's still mildly interesting cause you see it through Darcy's point of view and her feelings. So far, it's cute and different...I will enjoy seeing where this leads.

Yesterday, I did my first solo LA freeway drive (at night!) to Lakewood/Long Beach to meet up with Natasha and watch her boyfriend play hockey. He plays for San Jose State and they were playing against CSULB. The game was definitely intense and Long Beach played dirty, but San Jose won the game 6-3 or something like that. Overall, it was nice to see Natasha and hang out. They have a game tonight in Anaheim against USC but depending on the weather, I may or may not go. At The moment it is a thunder and lighting storm. Which in general dampens my plans for today just in Toluca Lake. I mean the people down here are horrible at driving when it's sprinkling, let alone a thunder storm. I don't go out period, during rain around here.

Next Blog will be about Books to read if you're in the mood for Valentines day and other things.. I know I promised a Political Blog, but I'm never motivated to write one at the right moments.

Redeemed

I have nothing really to say today, besides the fact that The Coffee Bean Redeemed itself completely today! I ordered a Caramel and Chocolate Ice Blended and it is EPIC! Now As I sit at the Coffee Bean eatting my chocolate Croissant and drinking my ice blended. I am surrounded by plenty of people typing away on there laptops, talking amongst themselves and sipping there drinks. The People here are actually really friendly and laid back. I can definitely say Toluca Lake has really captured a spot in my heart.

Beside, that I happy to say that I have found my wedding venue. Even If it is in New York, it has EVERYTHING I could have wanted and more in my wedding. everything I couldn't find in California. I am so happy and extremely protective of it as well, ready to verbally attack someone who says otherwise.

Later, this week.. I will be making a trip back home. Which I am extremely excited for! To see my family and to see Brandon Of course. I was waiting for Brandon to visit me and realized "hey, I can drive up!" I have 2 weeks til' school starts and the dreary weather has prevented me from going out and about Toluca Lake as well, being able to see my So.Cal friends. I truly cannot wait. Told you I had nothing really to say. Alright, I better get going before i get a parking ticket!

In My Opinion....

Although, every once in the awhile I love a good movie re-make, I usually enjoy originality in my movies these days. Perhaps, because most movies lack originality. I recently watched two movies Fame(2009) and 500 Days of Summer.

Personally, I was never really a fan of the original movie Fame, but love the soundtrack of the musical. To be honest, I can't even remember a lot of the original movie; since it bored me. I expected a lot of 2009's remake though. The movie had too many "creative differences" from the original and the play. It just lacked so much, and I can see why the director of the original movie hated this version. Bottom line, not worth seeing.

500 Days of Summer on the other hand, was extremely original. The movie is cute,creative and funny. I would recommend the movie to anyone and everyone. It is definitely a boy meets girl movie,boy falls in love.. but with a twist. Definitely will brighten your day and make you smile. Plus the lead actor is uber cute = )

As for books, I am currently reading "Something Borrowed" by Emily Giffin. I have not yet finished it but am a Chapter or two away from being done. I would definitely recommend this book to someone who was looking for a pleasant light read. The premise of the book, is Rachel this normal type-A lawyer has an affair with her best friend since elementary school Darcy's fiance. The book is realistic but will have you rooting for Rachel, even if you are not an adulteress most women can easily relate to the life style and personality of Rachel. Unless, you're a Darcy... then maybe you won't like this book. The book is cute and not completely original, but not something you've really read before. Once I'm finished I plan on reading "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold. I want to see the movie SO SO bad, but I am a firm believer in reading the books before seeing the movies,mainly because the book is ALWAYS better then the movie. Then after that I will read the follow-up book to "Something Borrowed" called "Something Blue".

Not That My Opinion on these movies or book really matter, but I thought I would share. Besides, that life in Burbank has been nice. Minus the crazy rain storms we've been receiving, which has kept me inside... no offense to southern Californians, but they don't really know how to drive in the rain. So I opted to stay of the roads while it was raining, which is annoying since I need to go run some errands. Hopefully, today won't be so rainy.

One Week Down...

It has finally been a full week since I have moved down to Burbank. How has my experience been so far.....? eh. I can't exactly explain it. Driving and parking are definitely something I will have to get used to down here. Since being down here I have already received a speeding ticket and parking citation. The parking citation kind of sucked..You see, down here they have certain days for street sweeping, which means on those days you cannot park on the street from 8am to 10am. Which sucks even more for me since I do not have a car port and only have street parking. Now, the city is smart and the opposite sides of the road are on different days. My side is Wednesday and the other side is Tuesday. So, Tuesday night i move my car into the court across the street, solving my problem...or so I thought... Apparently, although the court is on the Tuesday side of the street, the court also get cleaned on Wednesday, leaving me with a $40 citation. = ( Besides, that parking in general down here is new to me, most places have small behind the building parking lots that fill quick, which means parking on the street and usually parallel parking. Now, my parallel parking skills have never been terrible.. however, I avoid it as much a possible and usually only parallel park when I know for sure I room to fit. Now, down here all of a sudden; I am the parallel parking queen, it is crazy, how quick and easy it for me. Driving as well is different yet, I am managing, people drive a little more quicker and pushier then I am used to and almost all left hand turns are unprotected. So, I have to definitely keep my guard up and be an amazing defensive driver. Otherwise, I am adapting well.

What Else?
So far, I have eaten breakfast and dinner at Paty's; which was yummy and have stopped off at Target, the post office and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Overall my experience with people here as been AMAZING. [Sidebar:although I Live in Burbank, I am in the are of Toluca Lake and that's where most these places are] I have come to find that Toluca Lake and the people of Toluca Lake are so friendly! I love how it has a touch of LA/Hollywood but without the bitchiness of it. Wherever I go people start conversations with me and greet me on the streets. Just lovely.
Today, I was going to Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and this old man and I started a conversation. His son owns the Mexican grill next to Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and the man said if I ever come in and he is there, that I will be his special guest. Could be creepy, but I could tell he was generally a nice man. Also, today I bought lemonade from Miley Cyrus' little sister Noah. Her and her friend were selling lemonade to raise money for the people of Haiti, on the corner near Bob's Big Boy. It was really cute. PS. Although, I have been told Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf is phenomenal I have yet to be impressed by the green tea, it is atrocious... but, I have yet to try their coffee, so hopefully they can redeem their good name.

Besides good friendly people, we can talk about... not so, friendly people. Ugh! The other day I lost two of my best friends (now former best friends) the reasons for this in my opinion are childish. I have a feeling that this is something that was going to happen and I had prolonged from happening, since they have been my close friends for years. The circumstances of how it went down, I wish were different. I honestly have so much to say to them. but probably never will since now, they are useless and saying them on a blog post is just as useless and lame. It is just unfortunate that people can be so selfish and hurtful and blinded. That was something that definitely made this move a downer, especially since a small part of moving down here was to be closer to them.

On a happier note, I have almost finished building everything, that I got at IKEA. Thanks to the help of my dad who is visiting for the weekend. My table is now upright in the kitchen and not laying on it's side, the coffee table and drawer are built and I have Internet and cable service. = ) All that is left is to build the desk and then I can REALLY start unpacking everything and giving it, it's rightful place.

This week has had it's ups and it's downs, but it really is just to make me a stronger person.

You're Now Arriving In Burbank

After a stressful packing session on Saturday morning, My Mom, Brandon and I left to drop me off at my new home, in Burbank,CA. The 6 hour drive was rather easy (minus the heavy fog and crazy rain) and we made our usual stop at Harris Ranch. If you have never been to Harris Ranch and your ever driving I-5 (near Bakersfield) I suggest you stop in. The only not usual about this stop is the fact that CHP decided to pull me over for speeding. Personally, I compared to most of the drivers on I-5 I think I was going pretty slow, and I'm 90% sure i was in 70-80mph range. According to him, I was going 92-97 while he was following me! Now, here is my problem, I regularly check for highway patrol and did NOT see any in site and I also, always check my rear mirror to see if anyone behind me is riding my ass and i need to move over. For the few miles no one was behind me. I Only noticed him when I was getting on to the off ramp for Harris Ranch. Needless to say, I got a ticket and will now be waiting for my letter in the mail about how much my fine is and traffic school. CAN'T WAIT!

Around 7:30pm we arrived in Burbank and got me settled into my apartment. After we ate at Bob's Big Boy and then Brandon and I went and saw Avatar at The Burbank Town Center. For those people who rave and rant about how amazing Avatar is... I would like to ask them WHY?! The story line is UNORIGINAL,The Message is UNORIGINAL (and quite horribly liberal in my opinion) and it's WAY too long! The only thing cool about it, is the special effects, which we've seen before. You could just watch Disney's Pocahontas and you would have the same movie! Anyways, after that was done I took Brandon back to my apartment and I went to the hotel to sleep (Unsuccessfully).

So, now we are on to my day today. Today, we all went and had Breakfast at Paty's then went over to the Mall and shopped at IKEA, Surprisingly the experience was not horrendous and I am very pleased with what I got.(and Thankful, to My mom for getting me the stuff) After that it was grocery shopping at Vons, then back to the apartment for Good-Byes = ( I am sad that my mom and Brandon have left.. Yet, it is truly not hit me; that I am living on my own.

So now, I am laying on the floor, with my two cats, alone in an apartment, full of stuff yet to be unpacked and furniture yet to be assembled....

Not Enough Hours In A Day..

I am absolutely horrible at packing, mostly for my skills of heavy procrastination and plain laziness. This week was really suppose to be reserved for full on packing and shopping. It is now Friday at 4:51am and I managed to get my butt up around 2am and actually get things organized. At least Friday I have Brandon to help me, and he will kick my butt into full fledged packing shape.

Lately, I tend to feel that there are not enough hours in a day and that could be for my insomnia and sleeping in till noon or later, but I always feel by the time I get started on something that the day has already ended. I constantly feel as if if 3 hours is short like if I have to be somewhere at 6 pm.. then I need to get in the shower at 3.. then wait till my hair dries so by 4 I'm straightening it and then by 5 I'm getting dressed and working on last minute details and by 5:30 I'm on my way out... I don't know how these short things seem so long and do take long since.. i can get take a shower in 10 minutes, straighten my hair in 30 min (or less) and get dressed in roughly 10 minutes. So really that's less then an Hour.. yet it comes out to 3 hours.. I just don't understand.
This applies to my packing since, I plan so much to do in a day yet, feel i only have time do accomplish about 3 things in a day. Frustrating.

Today, I told Brandon to be here around 10am (for us that is relatively earlier on a lazy day) and while he is here we have to pack my stuff, put into cars,feed the cats, and move the cats from my dad's to my moms, mail a few college books back,go through boxes in the garage and clean my car all before roughly 4pm where I have a doctors appt. then after that at 6:30pm I am saying good-bye and hanging out with a 7-year old girl I babysit/sat for. I just don't know how I will have time to get everything done!

THEN. get up Saturday morning and finish whatever packing I have left and leave to Burbank with Brandon... 6 hours later arrive in Burbank and have to unpack.. buy, assemble, whatever it is you need for a new apartment in whatever time is left on Saturday and get it done the next day before the afternoon. I guess, I'm really over thinking things and I know it will all work out, it always does but I can't stop stressing myself over it.