Time flys... when you are doing stuff.

So I kinda haven't written in 4 months... I apologize to all my avid fans out there, just dying for another episode in my life... *sound of crickets is hear in the background* Ok, to be fair, my life has been busy and I've finally gotten some time to write. To sum up, I'll do bullet points of the important things from last I wrote.

April
Finished up my internship at the Smithsonian
Went to Video Games Live at the Landmark Theater
Got an email from ILP asking if I wanted to be a Head Teacher in China...

May
Graduated Summa Cum Laude with a 3.83 GPA from Southern Utah University
Got an email from NARA saying I made the cut and more information was needed before I could be interviewed/ sent them the info
Applied to ILP as a Head Teacher
Celebrated 6 months together with my boyfriend :)

June
Got accepted by ILP and placed in a school in China
NARA called to interview me on the same day
Rearranged interview with NARA several days later due to various circumstances
Accepted the placement in China
Turned 22 years old!!!

July
Interviewed with NARA
Got my wisdom teeth removed (Ouch!)
Traveled to Las Vegas to prep for my friend's wedding
Began preparing for CHINA!!!
Quit my online job (hopefully)
Got a Nintendo DS and my first DS game - My Chinese Coach (What else do you think I'd get?)

So in short, thus has been the last 4 months.

As mentioned above, in the next few weeks, I'll be headed out to China as a Head Teacher. I'm super excited to go and I can't wait, because even though this is my 4th trip to China, I'll be seeing new places and meeting new people, which is always the best part!

Also, hopefully, I'll be more active on my blog while in China, but time will tell... Well, anyway tat-tat for now!

Sick Day

So I caught something nasty this week and am taking the day off to *hopefully* get better. In the meantime, I thought I'd post at least once during the month of March. Things have been pretty busy here. I'm loving my internship and I've been learning so much there, it's crazy. I'm pretty sure I've found something that I'd love to do for the rest of my life. In short, I think I would be very happy being an archivist or at least working in an archives of some sort.

In other things, earlier this month, I found out that I didn't get into either Oregon or Washington for graduate work, which in hindsight, is probably a blessing. I say this because I've been looking to some schools that have archiving programs and I found one at University of Maryland that sounds perfect. It is the History and Library Science program and if accepted, I would be able to get two Masters' degrees - one in History (and University of Maryland has Asian History!) and another in Library Sciences, allowing me to follow both of my passions. I plan on applying to this program for Fall of 2010 and in the meantime, work and prep the documents that I need to apply.

As for work, I've also been looking into getting a job at NARA (National Archives & Records Administration) while I am out here. They have this program called FCIP (Federal Career Internship Program), where I could work full time, train for a position and then after 2 years, get a more permanent position. Sadly, yesterday, the 8 positions open were "filled", so as of now, there are no more positions. However I plan on sending in the rest of my information and see if hopefully, I can eventually get a job there. In the meantime, I have other options that I can look into.

Finally, I do actually have a "job". I am an examiner for the DC edition of Examiner.com. I am the Frugal Finds Examiner and while this job isn't a full time job, its nice to be able to make some pocket change with my writing. If anyone is interested in seeing what I am writing about, here is the link to my homepage:

http://www.examiner.com/x-6092-DC-Frugal-Finds-Examiner

So far I have 2 posts, but part of the job is to write roughly 4 articles a week, so I figure there will be plenty more to come.

Anyway, that's about it for now. Hopefully, if I get better, I'll be able to write more soon. :)

February in the District

Before I say anything else, I'd like to wish everyone a belated Happy Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day is the District was fun for me. My boyfriend came up and we had a fun time ice skating and visiting Smithsonian museums. (Pictures will be uploaded as soon as I find a stable Internet server for my laptop!)

At the National Museum of American Indians, we visited the Power of Chocolate Festival. The festival was fun, we got to see different ways in which chocolate is made and I got to grind some chocolate powder. While there was no more of the hot chocolate that had been offered - three times as many people showed for the festival as expected - we ended up getting some Mexican Hot Chocolate at the cafeteria that was amazing. In fact, NMAI, as the museum is known in Smithsonian circles, is known for having some of the best food on the Mall.

Another fun thing that I found out about this month is the Museum of Crime & Punishment, recording both from the Middle Ages onward. During the month of February all employees of the Smithsonian (paid as well as interns) can go to the museum for FREE! So earlier this month, my roommate Heather and I went there to visit and had a blast.










Yes, I know that my eyes look weird... So much for museum mood lighting.










My emotions after 'being on' America's Most Wanted... The show is actually filmed inside the Museum of Crime and Punishment, but this room was for visitors to pretend like they were being taped for it and is not actually a part of it.

Also, during the month of February thus far, I have been able to visit the Freer Gallery, which has really cool Asian artwork....














...As well as the Natural History Museum with its giant fossils.







I also got the chance to visit the Saudi Arabian Embassy and eat tons of delicious food there, as well as try on cool Saudi Arabian clothing. (Hopefully I can procure photos from that soon as well!)

Anyway, so far it has been a lovely month and I am excited for what I will do during the next two weeks (as well as be able to post now that I figured out the photos!) See you all soon!

Life in Washington D.C.

(Note: I finished this on January 27th, 2009)

So I am at the beginning of my 4th week of being in Washington D.C. as an intern for the Smithsonian and one week after surviving the most historic day in United States, the inauguration of the first black president, Barack Obama. To celebrate this momentous occasion, I planned on staying out of Washington D.C. as much as possible. They were planning for 2 to 4 million people in all to attend the inauguration and below freezing temperatures.

Unfortunately, plans don't alway go according to plan. The night before Inauguration, one of my roommates and I were informed that extra tickets were available in the Silver Section. So we and another friend of ours got Silver Section tickets and agreed to wake up at 3:50am the next morning to make the 4:30am Metro into L'Enfant Plaza and walked a mile to the line for Silver Section. There we stood and froze with a couple from Southern California and a boy from UMBC, sharing stories and scones until 9am when the gates were finally opened and there was a mad rush of people inside to get spots (Silver was all standing). In the midst of it all, we lost track of the couple from Southern California and then reconnected with them on the other side of the gate. After that, they ended up becoming my group's 'parents' for the day, helping us through the crowds and sharing their snacks with us.

The Inauguration was interesting in and of itself. It was both awe inspiring, the music from the Marine Corps and from the choirs brought in was stunning, both John Williams and Yo-Yo Ma played, and it was terrifying in its sheer magnitude. 2.4 million people (equivalent to the population of Utah) squeeze into the Mall, all the way back to the Lincoln Memorial and beyond to the Potomac River. That number doubled what was the largest Inauguration crowd to date: 1.2 million people in 1965 to the Inauguration of Lyndon B. Johnson. Thankfully the area where we were in was relatively uncrowded (mostly because our group was completely fine with not being as close as humanly possible to 'Brother Barack'). The other slightly disturbing thing was the ability for the government to shut off reception to everyone's cell phones, pagers, BlackBerries, etc. during the inauguration. While I understand that it was to keep thousands of cell phones from ringing during the ceremony, the fact that anyone is able to do that is somewhat unsettling.

While most of the Inauguration went off nicely, there were 3 things of note that happened I found mention worthy:
1. The booing and jeering of George W. Bush as he walked out of the Capitol.
Honestly people, there is a small thing called maturity. It would be lovely if you had some. I understand that many people didn't like Bush while he was in office, nor like him still, but during the last few minutes of his presidency, at least have the decency of not booing him or chanting, "Na na na na, hey, hey, GOOD-BYE!" If you hate his policies, if you think he destroyed America's reputation overseas, if you feel or felt that he is a war mongering imperialist, so be it! But have some decency and respect your President, whomever it may be! At the very least, you can be quiet. I disagree with a lot of Obama's political beliefs and policies, but I didn't boo him when he became President. I cheered, not because I supported him, but because he is my President now and I have enough respect to do that at the very least.

2. The trashing and destruction of the Mall.
As I and my friends trailed around D.C. trying to find a way home (we didn't even try to get on the Metro.), we ended up circling back onto the Mall on our way to the Arlington Memorial Bridge. As we walked in the cold afternoon, all three of us commented on how terrible to Mall looked. In all honestly it looked like a riot had happened, not a peaceful transfer of power. One friend mentioned that it reminded her of Kenya, while another said that it looked like New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Trash laid strewn about, flying everywhere in the wind, broken and disregarded U.S. flags, tossed into garbages and left on the ground. C'mon people... Not 20 minutes before, Obama gave his Inaugural speech and spoke of being more environmentally aware and being united. Don't tell me you already forgot...

3. The state of the Metro on Inauguration Day
Don't get me wrong, I love the Metro, every day they get me to and from where I need to go almost efficiently. But while they were telling everyone about their new 8 passenger trains and their starting up at 4am in the morning... they forgot to figure out how to efficiently get people in and out of the Metro stations.

Now, I know that I sound like I am dissing on Inauguration Day. I'm not. I actually had fun that day. I got to get to know Washington D.C. on a very intimate level. I found out that I could keep a level head in a crisis situation and I found a new way to get home from D.C. I found out that the Inauguration brought out both the worst in people, (i.e. bum rushing gates and angry chants as people waited in line to get in) as well as the best (i.e. virtual strangers looking out for each other, *nod to Katherine and Jay*, politeness and helpfulness in the middle of a flood of people, tireless military folks helping people 'evacuate' Washington D.C., etc.)

Overall it was a good, but exhausting day that I will never forget and that in the end, I am actually glad I participated in.

Anyway, that's about it for now. I'll try to report more about D.C. in later days. Have an awesome week, everyone and Happy Chinese New Year!

Days til Santa: 3.0

Anyway, this is the first time since October that I've been able to write and I apologize. Life has been crazy and only now have I had a chance to finally settle down. On a random note, today is my half birthday. I have exactly 6 months until I am 22. Weird. In the last 6 months, I have written way too many papers, gained a boyfriend, gain an internship and realized that I have no idea what I will be doing in the next 6 months. Nearly all of my friends are engaged or married now and I'm feeling slightly older with every reception. Graduation is within sight and the fact that I will have a degree under my belt soon, seems weird. The fact that having a job nowadays is so important and that eventually I'll be on my own and that I'll need to get one (that pays) perhaps sooner than I expected, scares me slightly, but it is also making me realize that I can't do this on my own, which in turn makes me thankful for my friends and family and that I have people I can rely on.


Anyway, enough of my ramblings. Because it has been so long since I last wrote, here is a list of everything that has happened in the last 2 months.

- I got an internship at the Museum of American History in their Archives for this upcoming semester.
- I'm now dating an amazing guy.
- I'm 14 credits closer to graduating.
- I applied to graduate school finally!

So, that is pretty much everything. So in light of the season, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Life: I wish I had one...

So as you can see, life has not gotten any less hectic since getting my applications off. Only things that I suppressed as being less than VERY IMPORTANT have filled up that space. I now have two papers due this week. One for tomorrow and one for Friday... Aiyo! I'm still working on my APAP proposal as well as trying to figure out time for everything else that is seeking my attention. Needless to say, I am running on a high level of stress which isn't very healthy. But in an attempt to lower said level of stress and to keep those reading, updated (Sound of crickets chirping)...
Here is a list of stuff I deem important:

I gained 1.4lbs last week. Ugh. It's the stress. I know. I need to get back on the bandwagon and meditate more. When I find time...

Spencer comes home in 4 weeks. Wow. Time flies by so fast. I seriously can't wait to see him. Two months, baby!

GRE in two weeks...need to study... when I find time...

That's about it for now. Signing out.

Frantic - In a word, the last two weeks...

So I haven't written in the last two weeks, but I have an excuse! As the title notes, my life has been frantic for the last two weeks.

A nutshell list of the last two weeks:
School - My regular classes with crazy teachers, bizarre philosophers and the usual randomness that is my life.

Creative Writing Conference - A lot of fun, but very time consuming. I especially enjoyed getting my story critiqued by a professional writer.

Work - The Usual, finding articles, doing archival stuff, etc.

Internship Application - I have been given the opportunity to intern at the Smithsonian or at the National Archives next semester in Washington DC. Let the squeals of joy commence! But before I do, there are the various applications that must be sent out by next week.


Graduate School Prep - This is part of the cause of my nervous breakdown two weeks ago. Statements of Purpose, applications, teachers to review, little to no classroom experience in the field I'm going into... I just have to take it a bit at a time...

Phi Alpha Theta - I'm the president, therefore I am in charge. Lots of fun, but what did I get myself into???

Nervous Breakdown - Fun little episode a couple of weeks ago in which I questioned both: whether I will get into graduate school and whether I want to right now... Involved the canceling and reapplying of a GRE, a simmering annoyance at ETS and too many tears, a nasty headache and mounds of chocolate. However the silver lining on this cloud is that I learned how many friends I have in Relief Society and that I don't have to deal with my bad times all by myself.

Graduation Papers - Due by the 15th of October, I had these finished by September 30th, but gaining all the signatures that I need was like playing a wild goose chase.

With all of this happening, I haven't even had time to post weight. But in the past two weeks, I've gain .4 lbs. Highly annoying but I am hoping to actually lose this week, as I've been drinking more water.

Anyway, hopefully things will be slowing down now. *Sigh* (Hears the maniacal laughter of Fate in the background...)