crystalmirrors

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Peanuts, June 5, 1953

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May 17, 2017

Lost track of the updates -- I got caught up with finals and birthdays and grad celebrations these past couple of weeks, but I’m officially done with the semester!! I feel super confident and grateful reflecting back on this slice of college, in terms of grades, friendships, and memories. For every down so far, there’s been an up, and I’m optimistic about this year. Life is always good. In a couple of days, I’m heading off to China for a week or so, then to California, and I’m looking forward to the experiences I’ll encounter this summer as well. Feeling introspective and at peace. Hope everyone’s doing well!

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April 18, 2017

Today was a troubling day for me. I woke up to some terrible news. A girl I went to school with, someone I knew from a distance, died last night. She was rear-ended by a vehicle while she was driving on a moped near campus, and was pronounced dead at the scene. I was in a trance all day; I may have only been acquainted with this girl, but I had friends who were extremely close with her. When do we ever wake up thinking that today could be our last day? My heart ached because she had just come back from study abroad, and was honestly and truly, a kind and genuine friend. Of all people whose time it is to go, it wasn’t hers. I couldn’t help but think it could’ve been me too -- I’m definitely reckless when I’m on the moped. I appreciated it today when friends reached out to me about being careful on the roads, because you can never predict what others will do when they’re driving. I’m more vigilant now though, and I’m definitely shaken. I called my mom today just to hear her voice and catch up. I didn’t tell her why. I knew she would panic the minute I told her about it, and she’d probably never let me ride a moped again. I texted some friends I haven’t talked to in a while. I made sure to let people know I cared about them. Life is so fleeting, you guys. I’m just trying to enjoy every day. I’m just trying to be my happiest. Tell the important people that you love them. Tell your family you love them. Tell people you care without giving a fuck what they’ll say back. Be vulnerable. Invest in people like you invest in yourself. Of all things, people and relationships are what bring you joy and comfort in this world. Apologies for the solemn post -- I’m still in shock. Good night. Happy to be alive today, and every day. I love you all. 

Rest in Peace, Nancy-Jane. You touched the hearts of many. 

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April 11-12, 2017

April 11, 2017

I woke up feeling a little sick, but decided to go to yoga anyways. It was hot yoga at black swan yoga, and it was really challenging. On the way home, I got caught in the pouring rain and if I wasn’t sick before, that definitely sealed the deal. I went to class where I started feeling terrible, left my second class early, then went home and was basically confined to my bed. I took some Advil and Tylenol, and made some ramen and soup for dinner. C came over to catch up, popped more Tylenol and slept pretty early.

April 12, 2017

I woke up at 8:30 am feeling absolutely terrible -- my tonsils were completely swollen so I knew I had to schedule an appointment with UHS. I definitely think Chris gave me the Strep he had cause he tonsils were inflamed too. I went to breakfast with S and K because we had been planning it for a while, and I didn’t want to push it back anymore. We went to Josephine House and it was delicious (and super cute)! I had such a great time catching up with them, and I really appreciate them. K drove me to class afterwards, and V and I ate at O’s after. I went to tax, then the library to print my projects afterwards, then went straight home to nap, eat some food, do some homework that’s due tomorrow. I ate some dessert, then showered, and now calling it an early night so C can take me to my UHS appointment tomorrow. Goodnight. 

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April 9-10, 2017

April 9, 2017

I woke up around 10 am and ate breakfast with mom and dad; I always eat so much when I come home because of how much I miss my mom’s cooking. Then mom and I went grocery shopping to stock up on the food that I need for Austin. We stopped by the mall because I wanted to look these shoes that I wanted, but we got distracted by Zara and ended up spending about an hour in there. I got some cute new tops courtesy of mom. We went home, had dinner together, and hung out. Really grateful and happy to see my parents this weekend. 

April 10, 2017

After my doctor’s appointment, mom and I went to get a poke bowl for lunch. We drove to Austin and I mainly napped the way there. Mom and Dad dropped me off, and I was definitely sad to see them to go. I went to class, ate dinner, went to C’s to work on/print my case work on his computer while he went to class. I hung out with N, Z, and E for a little, then went home and drank tea/emergen-c (cause C is sick AGAIN!!!) and ate some fruit and chocolate, while I finished work on my case project. Not surprisingly, the world disappointed me today. The news of San Bernardino and United Airlines saddened me. I’m waiting for the day where I won’t expect violence in the news, even though I know that’s a pretty naive wish considering what just happened with Syria. Weirdly enough, reading about this stuff encourages me to be grateful, to be humble, to be hopeful. We can only look ahead. Goodnight.

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April 5-8, 2017

April 5, 2017

I went to class and met C at the SAC for Starbucks and lunch, watched the Get Right Witcha music video while waiting for class to start. I got my first request on Rover.com, so right after Tax, I headed straight downtown to get the keys from the customer!! I went to her place right afterwards near Airport Blvd, and got to play with her cuties for 30 min. I earned $35 from it, so it was a pretty sweet deal. On the way home I bumped into R and M, and we decided to go to happy hour at Raku!! We got mimosas and two rolls each -- I was really happy to catch up with them. Afterwards, I napped and picked up A and headed to the library to get some work done, and I bumped in N there too. I headed home relatively early, and studied at home some more with C and S. I ended up sleeping around 2 am. 

April 6, 2017

I woke up and headed to campus to get some work done outside and enjoyed the day. I headed to class (both uneventful -- but I did get a good grade back on an exam I thought I completely bombed!!!), and afterwards, headed home to eat before picking C up. We went to get our nails done, catch up, then headed to Cabo Bob’s for dinner. I dropped her off at meeting, then went home to meet A, A, M and J at Abel’s. I took A and I to Urban so she could buy an outfit for Bob Pees, and I ended up buying jeans and a bra cause I really hate myself. I went home to chill and change and then headed to Tejas for Pancakes for Parkinsons, and C and I got finessed into going downtown for the tab. So we went in t-shirts and it was eventful for sure....we ended up having to  take a girl home who was at an honestly astounding level of intoxication, then headed back to Tejas to chill, I took C home bc her heels were killing her, and C and I went home and fell asleep. 

April 7, 2017

We woke up bright and early -- C went to his doctor’s appointment ,I got dressed for Bob Pees and headed to class. I went straight to Abel’s afterwards to meet up with everyone, and it was pretty much downhill from there. C came into town from College Station to visit C (lol) and we all got really drunk, ate crawfish, and had an overall good time. I also ended up going to Wrang Jungle for a hot second with N and S, and we met V and A there. We came home on the first bus because the party was seriously wack, and A and I ate at Plucker’s after and got the Holy Mac!!! What a way to end a day. I went home after and passed out around 1 am.

April 8, 2017

Woke up early to clean my room/apartment, and C came and picked me up to take me to the bus stop. I headed to Houston (after sleeping the whole way), and parents and I just caught up at home and chatted. We went to dinner at this new Chinese restaurant that opened up, and it was delicious!! I ate my body weight in Chinese food, and then we came home to watch Nocturnal Animals. Props to Tom Ford, beautifully shot, great casting, deeper purpose -- all that jazz. It got me thinking a lot about what I wanted out of life, so it was definitely tragic, cause I hate movies that make me think about my emotions. Ending it with some tea and an early night. 

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April 4, 2017

I woke up today to the most bizarre series of texts, but I ate breakfast and got ready for class and headed to campus to do some studying/housework before my first class. Both classes were uneventful and headed straight to the bank after to get a cashier’s check for my rent/water bill. Made myself salmon for dinner and caught up with C while I ate. After taking a 10 min power nap, I headed to campus for my discussion -- really interesting today! Professor Carson headed it and we talked about strategic plays in the music industry. Afterwards, I dropped V off and bought some Starbucks for C, picked her up and took us to PCL to do some studying cause she has a hard week. I met with A and we studied until 12, after S joined us. I stopped by M’s apt on the way home to get some clothes from her, and now A is making me pasta at her apt. Today was a good day, I solidified my summer plans today! I love days with friends, tomorrow should be interesting. 

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April 4, 2017

It’s been a while -- these past two weeks have been such a struggle for me (exams, projects, quizzes, papers, etc.), but I’m back now! I definitely felt the repercussions of procrastinating. After waking up to another Monday, I went to class, V and I went to Fricano's for lunch and just chatted and enjoyed the beautiful weather outside, and I went to tax. Right after, I hustled and hurried to hot yoga, and it was super energizing. I felt really good afterwards, and I went home to eat (with strawberries for dessert!) and met A at the PCL. We found a table on the 1st floor, and worked there until 10:30 or so. We tried going to this small bar near Stubb's because they have $1 BBQ sandwiches on Mondays afterwards, but the kitchen was already closed. So we went to P. Terry's instead, and I got myself a chicken sandwich. I came home and ate it, while catching up on the journal entries that I had neglected. C and I established a healthy eating schedule today! Excited to see how well I follow it.

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Love Languages

I took a Love Languages test over spring break because my friends were curious what my primary love language was. I would say these are pretty accurate. Just for fun, here are my results: 

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Zion National Park, Utah Click to expand

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March 20-22, 2017

March 20, 2017

I woke up ready to start the day!! Started it right with avocado toast and eggs. I walked to Tejas to fetch the moped and went to my hip hop culture class. V and I had lunch afterwards at Taco Joint, as always, and caught up on Spring Break. I was happy to see him -- missed him!! I went to tax, then dropped B off at home, and ate dinner at home. I headed back to the library because I have hell weeks these two weeks, and severely underestimated how much work I needed to get done and I neglected everything over the break. I’m keeping a positive attitude though! C came over after Tejas meeting, and we ate watermelon and hung out/chatted about our breaks, and watched It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (a new show we just started -- highly recommend!). Perfect ending to the day. 

March 21, 2017

I woke up rather late, but I got to campus around 12:30 to get some work done. I wanted to sit outside cause the weather was so nice, so I sat at the tables outside Greg with Q and T. I don’t know Q that well, so it was really interesting actually having a real conversation with him -- we talked about everything, from sxsw to sales and trading. I went to my classes, then headed home and met with C and Z to have a one-on-one. I ate while they told me about their semesters, then I headed to discussion. After dropping V off at home, I went back to the library to do some work and print some stuff, then I went home and immediately passed out. 

March 22, 2017

Another slow start to my day today because I woke up at 11 am. I headed to hip hop culture, where we had to write an essay on More Life, how Drake has successfully navigated through the music industry using his race, which stereotypes he plays up and avoids in his music, and whether or not it was considered appropriation that he was utilizing dancehall/Jamaican vibes in his new music. She gave us 30 minutes to write, and we had a very interesting discussion about it afterwards. I love classes like this because I feel like I’m getting people’s candid opinions. Personally, I’m pretty neutral towards Drake (don’t hate him, don’t love him), but More Life was good. It didn’t change my life, but it’s better than Views for sure. I went to my second class afterwards, then headed to 26 West to meet with A, N, S, S, A and L to get free crawfish. It was deliiiicious; I’m so excited for crawfish season. I stopped home to get my books afterwards, and then I went to the library to get work done/print more stuff I needed for my projects, then came home, ate again, and now finally, sleep.

[crystalmirrors]

March 20, 2017

Hi friends, I’m back from a week long trip to Arizona, Utah and Colorado. We left on Friday (3/10) and made our way to Arizona, where we got to see Antelope Canyon in person -- it was beautiful!!! It’s always an experience seeing a natural wonder. We spent three days in the Zion National Park area (including one day in Bryce Canyon which was around 2 1/2 hours away). Honestly, it was so much hiking and pretty strenuous for someone who doesn’t exercise (like at all lol), but the views we saw and the time we spent in nature were both incredible. We had family dinners with all 11 of us, and we all got so much closer just living in such close vicinity for a week. It was such a wholesome group, and I’m glad I have friendships with people who can turn a 11-hr hike into a fun activity. I didn’t feel like I missed out on Cabo at all, and I’m grateful that I took this time to cleanse. We stopped by Colorado on the way home and did SXSW for the last two days, and finally took a rest day on Sunday to do grocery shopping and rest up. I feel like it was so much longer than a week, because so much happened in between. I’m feeling happy, feeling peaceful; welcome back. 

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March 9, 2017

Today was another trip. I woke up in a good mood and ready to take on the day, but I was still a little frustrated because we still hadn’t hashed out all the details for our trip tomorrow. But I was determined to have a good day and be productive -- I had a lot of errands to run. It turned into a full-blown bad mood once I went down to my ruckus to go to the bank. There was notice on it saying if I continued to park in the garage, I would be towed/booted.....I was SO frustrated, like WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS!!!!!!!! I don’t even take up a parking space, so what is the actual purpose of making me pay $100/month for a parking space that I won’t even be in besides the sole reason of conning college students out of their money. So that, going to the bank, and getting a new student ID, took out a good majority of my day. I went to the SAC to do some housekeeping/check emails/etc. and V and K ended up having lunch with me because I had a table. I went to my class, skipped my second class, then headed to the lib to take a quiz and do some homework. I came home to eat my dinner, watched TV for a bit, then headed to C’s to see how he was doing. He has Strep B, and I was trying really hard to make sure he didn’t get me sick too, but knowing my luck, I probably did. I went to Abel’s afterwards to hang out with S, N, C, A, T, V, M, and others for a bit before coming home, taking my quiz, cleaning, doing last minute packing. Looking forward to this week. I probably won’t be blogging much, so I’ll try to document when I have the chance. 

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March 8, 2017

I woke up on time this morning -- made myself breakfast and headed to class. D sat next to me, V came in late so he sat separate. After class, V needed to go straight to studying so I went to the food trucks in west campus to eat with D while he ate Korean Komfort. I didn’t eat anything, but it was fun getting to know him better -- turns out he’s got the in with Migos and Travis Scott. I went to my second class after, then headed home after dropping B off. I made myself chicken, broccoli and quinoa, and rested for a bit while I figured out some spring break plans. I absolutely hate it when people don’t come through with things they were expected to come through with or when things don’t go the way they’re planned. My day was brightened a little though because I had a delivery -- from V! He sent me two containers of this dank cookie dough, and it was really serious cause it came in a dry ice container and I had to go down to the office to fetch it. It was so excessive just for two containers of cookie dough lol. It definitely improved my mood though. I went to the lib for a little to work with K, K and T. I was productive until 9, then I came home and ate a bit. I was planning on going to Abel’s to watch the game with some friends, but I ended up going over to C’s because he has a high fever and he’s really sick, so I made sure he was good, gave him some medicine, and made him some tea. I’m hoping he feels better before his trip! I came home after and watched The Pacifier while I cleaned my room, packed, and did laundry -- such a throwback film. I remember I used to love watching it when I was little, but watching it now made me realize how terrible of a film it is. It’s crazy how the film industry and Hollywood has upped their game from when I was a kid. C just came home from The Local (where they relocated to after Abel’s) and I’m sleeping now cause I have a lot of errands to run tomorrow before my trip. 

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March 7, 2017

I woke up around 10 to have breakfast with C (cause she wasn’t at work this morning) and for my Barre class at Barre3. It was my first time taking the class, so I had no idea what to expect. From what A told me, its a mix of yoga, Pilates and ballet barre. Surprisingly there were a lot of moms there, which definitely confused me, and they brought their kids because the studio had a daycare. Every time a mom walked in with her child, the other moms would go "how cute!" and they would crowd around and comment on her kid. I felt so out of place -- can't relate. The class itself was a good workout, but I was exhausted for the rest of the day. I packed a bag of grapes for a snack, and I was definitely put in an afternoon lull. Afterwards, K and I went to eat at the Union (I got Chik-fil-a and he got Quizno’s) and he told me about his business idea. He came with me to Greg afterwards to the Amazon Pickup so I could get my package. Afterwards, I walked home, dropped off my package, and picked up my moped so I could go to discussion. I took V and I to the library after discussion and we made a $20 bet that he wouldn’t come back to campus to study after he went for dinner. But he did! And he brought me an iced tea when he came back. It was sweet. We did work until around 10:30 pm (so I lost the bet), and then we headed home separately. I came home, made myself a yogurt, and hung out with C a little. I packed some more, showered, and now ready for bed!! Goodnight, it was a good day.

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March 6, 2017

I was late waking up this morning because C was distracting me, so I ended up being slightly late to class. I had lunch with V at the alumni center as always, and then I headed to my tax class. I had a massive headache for some reason, and went home to eat dinner, soothe it, call A to talk about spring break plans, and rest. I came back to campus to finish my homework, and now I’m about to head home to do some reading before meeting friends at Abel's to watch the Spurs/Rockets game. Surprisingly I've gotten most of my work done, so I'm excited to just hang out with friends today (A, C, R, C, A, S, M, K and C are there). R and I played C and N in pool and we won! I had a shot where I got 2 balls in at once, I was pretty proud of myself. Even so, I definitely felt like I was in a funk today, no idea why. Looking forward to a new day tomorrow. I'm going to go to Barre class tomorrow to get ready for all the physical exercise I'm about to do in Utah!

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March 5, 2017

I had a slow start to the day because I woke up at noon. I made myself an egg sandwich (with coffee of course), got the mail and headed to campus to do all my homework. I was productive for a good amount of the day and headed home to eat dinner. I watched some tv, ate my salmon and quinoa, and in a little, I’m going to go over to Tejas so C can help me put on my license plate on my ruckus -- just waiting for him to get out of a group project! I’m feeling extra sluggish today, but thankfully, I got a majority of my work done. After C helps me put on the license plate, I’m going to call it an early night.