Furthering my Edumacation

It's been two weeks since I walked through the Barnard gates with five or so pieces of luggage in hand, two parents digitally capturing my every move despite my embarrassment, and a helpful Columbia boy, whose name has slipped my mind at the moment (it might have been Matt or Nick). But here's a quick summary of my life as an official college student:

Orientation: I was bombarded by a multitude of opportunities to explore the world on and off campus. I took the opportunity to get myself familiar with the buildings on both the Barnard and Columbia campus. I made sure that I knew how to get to Milbank by using the tunnel system because of the ongoing Nexus construction, which will be completed in 2009. I took the train down to Time Square, Central Park, The Natural History Museum among many other attractions. But I'm still not comfortable with transferring and finding where the stations are that'll take you the opposite direction. That is why I'm sticking to the 1 train for now. I'll probably end up just getting off at 34th St since that's where I'll do most of my clothes shopping. I am officially in love with H&M.

School: School. Homework. Reading. Lectures. School. First off, college classes are nothing like high school classes. The teacher no longer holds your hand and walks you through what you need to do. No neatly typed notes to copy, structured classes, and clear instructions. You basically sit there and take notes whilst trying to decipher what are the main points amidst the incoherent ramblings of the teacher. I'm still trying to figure the system out. But I must bring up the fact that I am still completely weirded out by not only the upperclassmen in the class, but the 40+ year old students sitting next to you. Here's my impression of my classes:

1. Intro to Computer Science (Java) - Thankfully, the girl to guy ratio isn't that bad. Of course, walking through the engineering department of Columbia, the place is highly populated with males, specifically Asian males, which only backs up the stereotype. But again, my class seems to have a fair amount of females. Then again, we're still in the middle of shopping period, and every year 20% drop the class by the end of it (There are 160 students in my class). The only downside to this class, asides from the class size, is the fact that I can't read my professors handwriting. Another downside is having to rush down 19 flights of stairs (2 flights per floor) in order to make it on time for my next class over at Barnard.

2. First Year Seminar (Technology and Society) - This class is basically made up of half of my hall, which is nice since you already know some people. We're basically going to read a book a week and then discuss it in class. We're also going to watch films here and there, and occasionally go out on a field trip to observe the city's architecture. So far, I had to read The Veldt and The Aleph. I read The Veldt in either fourth or sixth grade. But now that I'm more "mature", I find the story to be a bit creepier than I remembered.

3. Spanish Intermediate II - I will be happy if I can survive this class. Sadly, the poor IB Spanish education that my high school had to offer doesn't meet the standards of my college. In general, I found it slightly discouraging whenever my professors would stress the difficulty of an "Ivy League education", but that we were all smart enough anyways with our "cracker jack SAT scores" (haha...right. ACT scores, plz) to deal with it. Spanish seems to be scaring me the most, which is rather unusual because Spanish always was one of those sit-around-and-get-an-A type of class. My public school education compared to the private school education where students begin to learn a foreign language as a child has unfortunately put me at a disadvantage. Oh, well. I'm dealing with it.

4. Intro to Linguistics - I love this class, mainly because I'm completely interested in the subject. The professor can be a bit unorganized at times, jumping from topic to topic. He brings up some interesting points that sort of make you sit there and think about it more. I'd love to just sit down with this guy and talk about languages. Seriously. But again, this class seems to be entirely independent in terms of doing homework. However, this class ends at 7:25 pm, so I'm basically falling asleep by the end of class. I know that doesn't make any sense since it's my favorite class. But that's how I work biologically, you know?

College Life:

Independence - The independence is something that I have easily adjusted to. Well, perhaps the only independent thing that I have to do is laundry, which I have already been doing over the past years. I mean, food is already prepared for you. You just have to head on down to to the dining hall, swipe your card, and voila, food! I don't think it has still hit me that I'm living by myself in New York. The transition seemed too easy. I mean, I have several friends from the city, New Jersey, Long Island, places that are essentially a 20 minute car/train ride away, and they still get homesick, which is why some of them go home for the weekend. And then there's me. I'm living clear across the country in fucking New York City and I'll only see my family twice the whole school year. It still amazes me.

Diversity - The diversity of the student body is amazing. When walking around Columbia, you're surrounded by people from all over the world. British, German, French, Dominican, you name it, they're all here. And the amount of girls here with curly hair is amazing. Yay, curlies! Of course, a majority of them are Jewish. Yay, jewfro! And once again, many people were surprised when they found out I was Filipino, let alone Asian. Yay for racial ambiguity... Oh, and another note about Barnard. The girls here are all pretty. It's kind of scary how many of them could pass for being models --and there is professional model here. And now celebrity freshmen!

Celebrity #1: Kyle Sullivan. That's right. You may not know him by name, but once you see him, he probably would look vaguely familiar. He's the kid from All That who sort of reminded you of a chubby Harry Potter, glasses and all....sans the scar. Or maybe you know him from The War at Home? Or maybe you don't recognize him at all. Either way, I've seen him twice so far. Once when I walked right pass him on my way to the Lerner Party. And just last night when all of us desperate freshmen were standing outside Carmen. And then there's the story of my roommate getting his number from a friend and calling him. I had the pleasure of hearing the awkward speakerphone conversation of a just-woken-up Kyle and my roommate. The reason for the call was mostly legitimate. She wanted to ask for acting advice (she has a 15 episode contract for All My Children). Again, it was very awkward.

Celebrity #2: Well, she's George W. Bush's niece. And her mailbox is 2 rows away from mine.... Ok. That's my lame claim to political fame.

Other random college observations:
- I saw my first roach last night. I freaked out. Partially because it was crawling up this guy's pant leg.
- I'm getting used to taxis speeding past you at 50 mph...mind you the taxi is literally a foot away when it's speeding by.
- Frat boys are annoying, especially when they are drunk. Also, frat houses are disgustingly messy. And beer pong is overrated.
- No one listens to alcoholedu. No one.

One-way Ticket

Around 8 months ago, I was sitting in this exact same spot staring at the pixelized arrow hovering over the "send" button. It was that impending click that would steer my future towards a path that I had always dreamed of, but never really took seriously. It was the dream of living in New York City someday.

I was in love with the city life. The constant stream of people walking by, the steady line of cars, the constant turn of natural and artificial light. I loved Seattle and would have been content staying there, but there was that part in me that wanted to explore the rest of the world. Little did I know that I'd be taking a huge step by spending the next four years of my life living in what is undoubtedly the biggest and most well known city in the world.

Four years ago, it was my ultimate dream to study in New York. And I guess that I did get what I wished for. In less than 35 hours, I will be on a plane heading towards New York (via LAX) with my first ever one-way ticket. In less than 35 hours, I will be leaving my beloved Washington and will officially become a West Coast transplant. I am a bit anxious, a little nervous, somewhat scared, but my excitement for what is to come over the next four years is what makes up for my second thoughts.

I always knew that I wante to live in New York some time in my life, but I never thought it would come so soon. I still feel like a kid. Heck, technically I still am. Sometimes I wonder whether I can take care of myself in such a large city. I've never been anywhere by myself. I don't have any family over in the East, which is slightly unnerving. Everything will be so new and unfamiliar. But I guess that this is the ultimate test.

So, I guess that this is probably my last post before I head off to college. I will miss everyone so much. My two best friends have already left for school, so I'm basically waiting around for my turn to go. I still can't comprehend how far I will be from everybody. It almost feels like it's a whole 'nother world. But I guess I will sign off for now. Hopefully, my next post will be full of the exciting college events that await me!

From the Cascades to Puget Sound

Today marked the last of my Seattle-ings as a pre-college student. This day spent in Seattle was like a small trip down memory lane.

After eating at that one huge Chinese restaurant over on Lake Union, my parents and I headed over to the Ballard Locks to watch the rich people anchor their yachts while waiting for the gates to open and to stare at the salmon swimming up the ladder. Then while driving through the Ballard/Fremont area, I excitedly pointed out certain memorable places such as Sonic Boom, Sunset Tavern, The Paradox, certain Thai restaurants, and the place where my friends found $20 on the sidewalk. Oh, that little Nordic neighborhood adorned with little boutiques, an array of restaurants, and a statue of Stalin (which had a cone comically placed on its head). There are so many memories that took place in Ballard: going to various shows, walking for what seemed like forever just to find a Thai restaurant and then smuggling that well-earned meal into the venue (though I had to sacrifice my soda), reenacting the Indie Asshole Clerks sketch, and hoarding all of the free stickers/posters/flyers at record stores. Takk fyrir, Ballard!

Then it was over to downtown Seattle. We drove by the granary over by Elliot Bay which is the farthest point that Ben and I walked to during our Seattle day. I wanted to go to that park again, but then I noticed, as we were driving by, that the infamous Hemp Fest was going on. So, instead we went over to Pike Place Market to be touristy. And then it was off to Macy's for some last minute college things.


And that was my last Seattle day in a nutshell.

Oh, and there's nothing more awkward than being hit on by a random stranger while your mom is right there. :/

Goodbye, Seattle! I LOVE you! I will always heart you more than New York.

Ol' Washington Weather

I woke up today and it felt like a school day. It must be the weather.

A Two-day Recap

Tuesday: We headed out down to Ocean Shores for what was possibly my last family getaway escapade as a kid/pre-college student. And I loved it. I haven't been down to the coast, particulary Ocean Shores, since I was still a wee child. It only seems like yesterday that I was scrawling my newly learned-how-to-spell name with a stick in the sand. I completely love the ocean! And I found a intact sand dollar which really made my day.

Wednesday: Seattle-ing with my mother! Ha, I'm too lazy to write more....I shall update this later.

I fail at blogging.

At this point, I'm calling it quits on daily blogging seeing as I have not been able to update this darn thing everyday. But I can guarantee you that it'll be updated every week, if not every few days. As of two days ago, life is still the same. Boring. Until I head on over to college!

So, as I reach the stage in my life where independence will be soon bestowed upon me, my mother has been taking every advantage of what time she has left (just under two weeks) to shower me with words of wisdom. I am essentially taking a crash course in the Mother's Guide to College Life. But of course, I am a naive young adult who still questions her parents' authority. Teenagers...think they know everything, don't they? But all is well. I am slowly maturing and learning to listen to my mother.

My mother's college tips:
1. Don't go to too many shows. (This is my mother's #1 concern since it is what I would most likely be partaking in)
2. If you do go to shows, go with a group of friends, preferably with a guy in the group. (My mother thinks that all guys are manly and can beat up dangerous knife-carrying strangers)
3. Don't leave money laying around your dorm. (Simple enough)
4. Don't walk around the Columbia campus at night by yourself. (That is why I love Barnard. I feel so safe there. And she secretly fears those Columbia boys)
5. If you can, avoid those raucous parties. (Ok)
6. When at a party, never leave your drink unattended. (This actually my mom's number one #1 concern. It is her greatest fear that someone might drug my drink. She's given me this advice only about 50 times)

Estaba comprando cosas para la escuela

So, what's my next excuse? I spent a day shopping for last minute items. Mainly toiletries. I also bought a few shirts/sweaters/dressy things. We apparently have this Red Carpet Affair event going on during the last day of orientation week. I'm still a bit wary of that event. It's another one of those Lerner Columbia/Barnard parties. I went to the one during the overnight, and it was a little less than fun. Plus, one of the current Barnard girls told me and a group of other girls that the Lerner party is usually lame anyways and that most people just head out into the city where there is a vast array of fun-seeking opportunities. Besides, how are they going to fit everyone in the Lerner basement? Considering the size of the room, I don't find that all too possible.

Over Heard in New York. Oh, that satirical site filled with random, amusing quotes heard throughout the city. Minus all the ones that are a bit racy and filled with sexual innuendos--albeit, still rather funny, the quotes are hilarious and makes the thought of spending my time in New York even more exciting. My dream is to one day be able to post a quote! Because we all know my obsession of jotting down quotes in a notebook! (i.e. "Stretching it like a fat kid wearing spandex." - Courtesy of Amanda)

Taken off the site:

Blond Tourist Bimbo: I've never even heard of the G Train.
Blond Local Bimbo: Yeah, it's a ghetto train.
Blond Tourist Bimbo: Where does it go?
Blond Local Bimbo: Nowhere.
Black eight-year-old boy: Except my home, bitch.

Hobo: Can you spare a quarter?
20-ish guy: I'm broke. I owe the government 70 thousand dollars.
Hobo, after a pause: Would you like a quarter?

Suit to hobo holding sign reading 'End apartheid in South Africa now!': They already ended apartheid in South Africa. They also freed Nelson Mandela.
Hobo: Shit, nigga, I gots to get me some CNN or some shit.

Mother: Don't you ever do that again! [slaps child hard]
Child, calmly: Well, are you happy with yourself?

And last but not least, a quote from my future neighborhood (listed under "Classic Quotes"):

Guy #1: I'd totally hit that.
Guy #2: Dude, I'd hit that so hard whoever could pull me out would become the King of England.

--College Walk, Columbia University

Oh, god. Once again, the Columbia boys have tarnished their reputation. ---->

Uh, hold on. What reputation?

Excuses, excuses

Ok. So, after my post about my paranoia of missing a blogging day, I already broke it. But I have a good exuse! I was out all day in Seattle with Ben. 7:15 am - 9:00 pm. (The Sounder is amazing.) Tons of walking and going to every single sight seeing place that that wonderful city has to offer. We started at the Pier and stared at the jellyfish. Then we climbed up the stairs to Pike Place where we had breakfast at Le Panier. Then it was off to the Seattle Center/Easystreet Records. And then pizza at Zeek's. Then back to the waterfront where we threw rocks at various pieces of driftwood around Elliot Bay. Then back to the pier (where we were gipped by a $10 bike ride, oh well), Pike Place, and Westlake Center. And we only took the bus once! And that one time was to get back home. Ha! I'm so ready for the streets of New York!

But yeah, then it was time to say goodbye which was hard to do.... The walking away part was even harder. And then I sort of just broke down once I got in the car. But my momma was there to comfort me! But I think she even started to tear up.

Thanksgiving seems pretty far away.